Compare And Contrast War Of The Worlds And District 9

Connected Text Essay | Rhys Kavanagh-Jones | TG:22 |

War of the Worlds (2005) & District 9 (2009)

The 2005 film War of the Worlds directed by Steven Spielberg (adapted from the H.G. Wells novel) focuses around the survival during an alien invasion. In the attempt to survive many themes of desperation and struggle are introduced and communicate. The 2009 film District 9 directed by Neill Blomkamp focuses around the themes of oppression and human nature when humans have control.

War of the Worlds gives insight into the desperation of humans and how it is instinctive for humans to fight for survival. The film takes the scenario of an alien invasion and puts everyday people into the mix, it is clear to see that all people, regardless of pre-existing capability, will fight for survival. This allows one to assume that humans have not lost their prehistoric instinct to stay alive and that regardless of the situation a human longs for control. This theme is mirrored in District 9 when a vessel full of aliens ‘breaks down’ over a human city. The humans investigate the situation and allow the aliens to live within their society. In this scenario the humans have been allowed control and so the aliens are forced to live in cramped and filthy living conditions similar to that of a ghetto or concentration camp. The similarity between the two can be seen

through the human desire to maintain control.

Due to the obvious differences within the two stories there is a significant contrasting message between them.

In War of the Worlds the humans are fighting for control where in District 9 the humans are fighting to keep control. Both struggles come with their own issues and it soon becomes clear that the struggle to maintain control is never ending. Be it with aliens or humans there will always be an opposition to any position. In District 9 some humans believe that aliens deserve equal rights and so they fight for them, this is contrasted by War of the Worlds as the humans all follow the same pattern of thinking…

survival.
This leads one to believe that the oppression of a race, species, gender or any social outlier is far more cold and calculated than the simple desire to survive.

The change in the humility of people is a theme that runs throughout both of the films. As aforementioned the desire to survive is a simple one but this does not mean it is an honourable one. In an attempt to survive the people affected by the alien invasion in War of the Worlds will do anything regardless of consequence. Similarly in order to survive the humans of District 9 will do anything to oppress their inferior alien guests. The change in thinking occurs when normal everyday ideology, swiftly turns to blunt, instinctual thinking. This portrayal of human nature and the inability to escape the reality of it is common to both movies, the theme adds a psychological dynamic which is difficult to overlook.