Metaphors In District 9

Both images show restroom signs that are discriminatory or prejudice against another race or being. In District 9, there is evidence of discrimination against the aliens or ‘prawns’. This refers back to the Apartheid Era, where White Supremacy ruled over the nation of South Africa and caused an unfair racial divide. The ‘white people’ were more privileged than the other races and were forbidden to integrate with said races. The above images assist in showing the similar social issues present in the film as well as during the Apartheid Era. They also classify humans as being the ‘white people’ and the aliens as being the ‘non-white people’. This entails that the aliens were forbidden to be in close proximity to the humans as they were believed
to pose a threat and would be punished. This links in with the Apartheid Era because if a non-white individual was spotted in a designated white area without the proper documentation they would be arrested and punished. This also shows how the aliens had no freedom and were all packed in a very small crowded living space much like the oppressed during Apartheid. As mentioned above, District 9’s image shows an alien to be compared to a non-white person and shows how the ‘non-whites’ were seen as ‘The Other’ and as if they did not fit into society and were seen as alien-like. District 9 is successful in incorporating Apartheid regulations into the movie and put it into a different perspective where it is a battle of species instead of races.