Part 1 can be found at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7054
To supplement and conclude the arguments raised in last week’s TV Watchtower column, the following are additional reasons why “District 9” is a more Oscar-worthy film than the mega-hit “Avatar.” As a recap, the issues previously discussed in last week’s column were (1) costs v. profits, (2) realism v. fantasy, and (3) micro-story v. epic adventure. Continuing along there are six more issues that address why “District 9” deserves the Best Picture Oscar more than “Avatar.”
Portrayal of Physical Disabilities
Another area which is incendiary, but pivotal, is the significant contrast in how people with disabilities are portrayed in each film. In “District 9,” Wikus found himself turning into a prawn, which was a horrific disability for him. It made him an outcast, potential medical experiment for his own kind, and an oddity amongst the prawns. He was unwelcome everywhere he turned. There is no place for a half-human, half-prawn. He was even more discriminated against than the prawns, as they are at least minimally tolerated. In “Avatar,” while Jake saw himself as less than a man without the use of his legs and being confined to a wheelchair, he was accepted as a valued member of the Marines and the science unit in order to complete the avatar mission. He was treated with equality and welcomed as a useful member. He was not simply tossed aside or hunted down because of his disabilities.
While both Jake and Wikus rejected their disabled status and sought to be free from it, in the end, Wikus accepted his disability and learned to live with it. Jake, in turn, fled his own human body to escape his disability. This sent a distinctly different and prejudicial message about those suffering from physical disabilities. “District 9” showed the horror, denial and then eventual acceptance of Wikus adapting to his new disabled state. Despite not being happy to be converted into one of the prawns, Wikus made the best of his changed-state and modified his life to fit in and adapt – even thought he clearly wanted to be human again, for he still loved his wife. But in the end, he did not reject his own kind in order to fit in with the prawns.
But “Avatar” showed only Jake’s disgust and revulsion for his disabled status. He did not accept his human limitations in the end, and hastily forsook being human to escape his disability and embrace a new life as one of the Na’vi. Thus, “District 9” portrayed a better depiction of living with, not escaping from a disability.
Big Name Stars v. No Name Actors
Striving to keep it real in “District 9,” Neill Blomkamp used virtually unknown actors. It was risky to cast an actor who had only one other small film role before entrusting him to carry a major feature film project. Yet it was a gamble that paid off in a big way. Having an unknown face playing Wikus made it easier to believe that he was a real person stuck in a horrible real-life situation. It kept the viewer linked into the story.
“Avatar” of course took the direct opposite approach and cast several big name and recognizable stars in order to attract an audience. There was Sam Worthington (who had just come off his starring role in “Terminator Salvation”), Sigourney Weaver (a James Cameron favorite from the “Alien” films), Zoe Saldana (made famous for her role as Uhura in “Star Trek”) and Michelle Rodriguez (best known from the television series “Lost”). Every time a new scene started, there was a familiar face for the audience to exclaim at and admire. It did not help keep the audience grounded in the film and the reality that “Avatar” had created; instead, it promptly took the viewer out of that reality.
High Expectations v. No Expectations
Also with “Avatar,” everyone saw it coming. It had been highly publicized since the day it had begun filming. For it was touted to be the next great film from the Oscar Award winning producer James Cameron. It was relying on James Cameron’s hefty reputation to carry it through in order to become a box office success. So, with the James Cameron legacy and promotional machine pushing it in a huge blaze of glory and high expectation, virtually everyone had heard of the film well before its release and it was simply a countdown to the Christmas extravaganza at the box office.
“District 9,” on the other hand, was a film that no one saw coming. Despite coming from Peter Jackson, another Oscar Award winning producer, the name recognition and publicity push just was not there. Instead, the studio elected to focus on a novel grassroots publicity campaign. It screened select scenes before a rabid group of sci-fi fans at Comic-Con one year before its release and let them, along with some strategically and thought-provoking ads, drive the momentum to introduce “District 9” to its audience before its release. Because those mysterious billboard ads and bus bench ads simply read “Humans Only,” no one knew what the film was about. It was simply out of curiosity movie-goers initially checked out the film and word then quickly spread. But even with the tagline “a Peter Jackson film,” it was not a hyped film. It was only because of the grassroots campaign that, once lit, spread like wildfire.
Continue reading article at:
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/7078
