Valencia: District 9

District 9 is a mockumentary that covers the story of extraterrestrial aliens in South Africa and their relationship with humans. It all began when a strange alien ship stopped over Johannesburg. Personally I’m glad it didn’t stop in New York or Chicago or any other place most would expect it to. It makes it seem less likely that the aliens came to invade Earth. Technically, humans invaded the alien space ship. What they found however, defied their expectations. On board the ship were multitudes of malnourished aliens.  They were taken, nursed back to health, and given shelter. However, the shelter they were given was absolute trash and prejudice ensued.

I believe the message in District 9 is about xenophobia, exploitation, and colonialism The biggest case for this is the life of the main character Wickus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) before and after his transformation. It is ironic because he was formerly in charge of evicting the aliens (also known as Prauns), but then he is exposed to a liquid which slowly transformed him into a Praun. Once he begins his transformation, he begins to feel the same unfair treatment the Prauns were given. The prejudices and mistreatment becomes especially evident as Wickus witnesses first-hand what he had been contributing to.

A couple of things I like about this film are the use of extraterrestrial aliens as aliens from a legal standpoint. It makes things very clear-cut.  It shows how in society, foreigners are feared, but exploited. All throughout this has been the case. Every single colonial power has gone to a foreign territory and exploited the “aliens” for personal benefit. However in District 9, rather than humans exploring a foreign territory, the aliens come to the humans and are then exploited by them. This flips the typical alien-thriller movie where the “evil aliens” come and take over the earth completely on its head. In District 9, humans essentially are the “evil aliens” who take over.

Valencia: Restrepo

The film Restrepo follows the lives of the men in a platoon of the US Army, whom were deployed in the Korengal valley located in Afghanistan. The film focuses on the platoon’s campaign in the valley, which is to set up an outpost and drive out the Taliban, in order for the US to move freely through the valley without coming under fire. The outpost was named after Juan “Doc” Restrepo, a good friend of all the soldiers in the platoon who had been killed in action. The film follows the progress of the entire campaign and the lives of the soldiers who carry it out.

Restrepo is a direct first-person view into the reality of a US Army soldier. It almost reminds me of a real life version of a “Call of Duty” video game. However, instead of every moment being filled with massive explosions and constant intense action, Resptrepo shows what it is actually like to be a soldier; the work, the boredom, and what it is like to lose a friend in battle. What I like about this film is it’s not slanted. It shows the negatives of war (which isn’t hard to do) realistically, for instance the innocent children who were injured and killed by American attacks. It also shows the negatives of the soldiers, for example, when Captain Kearney says he did not read about the valley because he wanted to go in with an open mind. I found this just plain ignorant. The fact that the man who has other mens lives in his hands would not get all the possible information about a place where he and his platoon were going to be stationed for a year.

This film has changed the way I look at the war in Afghanistan, and specifically how little progress is being made because of the way our soldiers are dealing with diplomatic situations. There is little empathy or understanding, and there is stubbornness on both sides. I believe that the way this war is being fought is much like our drug war. I believe that little progress is being made because certain issues are not being dealt with appropriately, shooting and bombing doesn’t fix everything. In my opinion, this war cannot be won with manpower alone. We need to change our diplomatic tactics to work with the people and give them reason not to join terrorist organizations.

Three questions I would ask Sebastian Junger are:

1.       How has filming Restrepo changed your view of US soldiers?

2.       How well do you think the US is working diplomatically in Afghanistan? What would you change?

3.       Why do you choose to film right in the action (in the middle of firefights, bombing runs, etc) as well as the personal life of the soldier (the dancing, dinner, etc.)?

Valencia: Rendition

The film Rendition covers the story of a man, who was suspected of working with terrorists, whom was kidnapped, shipped off, and tortured by the US government in cooperation with the Egyptian government. The film brings up issues like national security, human rights, constitutionality, and government cover ups. It is a very political film that is hard to watch at some parts, but this also makes it a powerful film.

This film shows the real, ugly side of torture and the practices that our own government denies it carries out. I personally don’t believe in torture. Being tortured is my worst nightmare, especially after seeing films like Hostel and Reservoir Dogs. The fact that our government carries this out in the first place is horrible, not to mention illegal. Also the fact that our government denies it happens doesn’t help either. 

I do not believe our government should in any way shape or form physically torture someone, especially without substantial evidence or a trail. I find this blatant stepping on constitutional and human rights deplorable. Not to mention, what happened to innocent until proven guilty? If tortured enough, practically anyone would confess to any crime they were charged with. The victim could confess to having been Christopher Columbus and discovering Norway while sailing in a mini-van if put through enough pain. As Shakespeare wrote, “Ay, but I fear you speak upon the rack, where men enforced do speak anything.”

The unfortunate individual also does not have any way of fighting back. There are no lawyers, no trails, and according to the government, it doesn’t even happen in the first place. The individual is rendered completely hopeless; they are at the mercy of their captors.

I am completely against the use of physical torture techniques for interrogation purposes. I am also against the complete lack of rules or regulation when it comes to the kidnapping and torture of people without a trail or even substantial evidence. It is illegal, unconstitutional, immoral, and inhumane amongst many other things.