Representation of Race and Colonialism in Science-fiction Films - Avatar and District 9 - Assignment Example

Analyze the representation of race and colonialism in either/or both of these two recent science-fiction films: Avatar or/and District 9. Our centuries-old history has managed to outlive numerous trials and obstacles, including various wars, rebellions, starvations, upheavals, crisis, acts of God, oppressions, discrimination, and, of course, racism. It is fair to admit that humanity has managed to achieve a great progress in development of every sphere of people’s life. Hence, there is a big discrepancy between political, economic, and social level of the country that we have had hundred years ago and current level of growth that we may observe today. Also, if we compare modern development of society with stratification and racial discrimination that have taken place during the World War II, we will see how significantly humanity managed to grow and mature. However, in spite of the salient success in the fight for equality, even nowadays there are still individuals left, who proclaiming racism as valid ideology are prone to express various chauvinistic actions. Today anti-racism policy is implemented in legislative, political, business, and even entertaining spheres in many countries. For example, there are a lot of films dedicated to the problem of racial discrimination. For the purpose to raise people’s awareness concerning equity and legality of own deeds and treatment granted to individuals of various races, nations, religion, and other criterions, different banners and notes of anti-racism campaign can be found in advertisements, music videos, billboards, and miscellaneous sport events, as like placards on football playgrounds and stadiums. This means that government is still concerned about people’s lack of education, proper comprehension about equity, and respect to other races. That is why authorities have to do everything possible for inspiring and instilling a correct understanding into population’s conscience. Racism does not need any introduction or analyses. Its ineradicable slogans are spread with a high speed as a flood, which is able to inundate the entire society any moment. The existence of racism does not require any substantiation. It is the categorical statement, which is so absolute and unproven that contains all the characteristics of axiom. As an obsessive idea that is diffused with a speed of rumors, racism touches a person or a group of people according to the scale of individual’s feeling of vulnerability that presupposes that a person has lost any political, social, economic, and religion ego. Hence, frantic searches of own values are conducted striving to legalize policy of genocide. Therefore, racism still remains one of the most urgent global problems of modernity. And as every important task, it demands specific solutions. Although a lot of countries have solid and effectively elaborated legislation concerning racial discrimination, there are still people, who may have discontent and feel other individuals’ unfriendly treatment. A lot of authors claim that the most influential aspect that hampers people to build their lives in a right and beneficial direction is their mutual disdain for different races. As Peggy Terry stated, “when a wave of immigrants came here, there was always some just above them. There has to be a top crust and a bottom crust in our society. Somebody has to be on the bottom” (cited in Terkel, 1992, p. 12). For a lot of centuries various emperors, rulers, and political leaders have propagandized this kind of principles. It has always been like this. Some nations have been considered to be prime ones, others have been proclaimed as second-grade and less respectable. Meanwhile, the most essential ordeal of the authorities that govern in every existed state is to eradicate any similar vision of racism from people’s minds. There are over six billion people on our planet. We all differ by race, nation, color of skin, form of eyes, and languages that we speak, but no matter what kind of disparities there are in appearance, culture, and moral norms, each of us should always remember that we have one something extremely sufficient and vital in common. It is all about humanity. We all walk on the same planet, do the same day-to-day deeds, cherish the same ideas about love and happiness, and strive to achieve the same terrestrial goals. In this respect, we have to be supportive to each other and accept other people as our brothers and sisters, who in their turn will eventually be encouraged to treat us the same way. When the main principles of equality and justice are followed and every individual on the planet has the correct comprehension about importance of anti-racism campaign and expresses respect to other nations, only in this case countries will be able to develop economic and political spheres achieving the top of social growth. According to Goh, “Race is not simply an artificial idea to be deconstructed but a sociological fact, a category of analysis” (Goh, 2008, p. 235). And it is absolutely no doubt that racial factor is taken into account while communicating with different people. However, it is always important not to let this aspect to become a major criterion of personal statements and judgments about specific individuals. Because this may damage a scheme of favorable and beneficial to both parties the process of communication and interconnection. Therefore, for the mutual benefits humanity should take into thorough consideration all negative consequences of racial discrimination and colonialism before encouraging prosperity of overall racism. As it has been mentioned above, today there are a lot of instruments that people use for affecting audience’s conscience. One of the most influential methods is made with the help of entertaining factor that currently plays rather solid role in people’s lives. The bright examples of successful modes, which aim at raising people’s awareness about colonialism’s incorrectness and encouraging viewer’s interest and attention to the problem of racism, can be mentioned two sensational cinematographic works that have managed to achieve great success and positive reviews from audience. The first film that presents its viewers thrilling fantastic plot along with a surge of mixed emotions, including fear, disgust, compassion, and anxiety, is a work produced by Peter Jackson District 9. The film enchants with rich imagination of the script, high quality of special effects, and professionalism of performers. The most interesting thing is that film is made as a documentary saturated with interviews of different respondents. So watching this film, a viewer has such an impression as if all the events depicted in cinematography work have previously taken place in real life. Globalism of the problem presented in the film will not be able to allow even the most persnickety and critical viewer to stay listless. The story of mentioned film tells about historically significant moment in the process of humanity’s attempts to develop and regulate communication with inhabitants from different planet. Hence, aliens that have appeared out of blue are welcome by earthmen, who abruptly express will and aspiration to help and support newcomers. In one of African towns, authorities grant aliens with designated territory fenced in wired enclosure and call it “district 9”. At first, relations between aliens and earthmen seem to be quite friendly and favorable, but later on their communication becomes more intense and quarrelsome. People start to see a real danger caused by extraterrestrials. Feeling themselves as prisoners and being treated as second-rate creatures, aliens face the conditions of unemployment, poverty, and oppression from people’s side. For the entities that feed on garbage and wastes earthmen make up quite offensive nickname calling them “prawns” due to aliens’ weird appearance and preferences in nutrition. Suffering from such unfair and discriminating treatment, aliens do not see any solution except breaking the law. Extraterrestrials start to steal, conduct assassinations, trade weapon illegally, and even murder each other and human beings for food. The salient confrontation arises between aliens and people, who organize riots and boycotts demanding to expel extraterrestrials from the Earth. It is not hard to understand earth people’s behavior. All they want is just to protect themselves and lives of their family members. However, it is fair to say that in spite of outrageous and unacceptable actions of aliens, a viewer may feel empathy for them. This can be explained with the fact that further analyses of extraterrestrials’ situation indicates that aliens have been forced to show indignation and disobedience due to poor social conditions that people provide. Hence, we can see that a lot public places have signs, which prohibit aliens to visit them. People practice and propagandize discrimination. In addition, they do not support and make any assistance in aliens’ efforts to go home. That is why, being not able to leave the planet or live normally on the territory of the Earth, extraterrestrials violate all the rules of decency and legal behavior. The film depicts an abrupt change of human’s comprehension. Hence, the main hero, a manager of Alien Affairs Department, Wikus van de Merve, does not seem to respect aliens’ rights at all. Especially we can see his hostile and unfair treatment when being in charge of aliens’ deportation campaign he mercilessly orders to kill unborn fetuses of aliens for the purpose of regulating population. As everyone else from MNU, Wikus does not cherish aliens’ rights and feelings. However, having unfavorable incident when extraterrestrial fluid is spilt on his face and the human being starts to mutate into “prawn”, only then the main hero begins to realize the fallacy of own judgments. In the moment when everybody turns away from him, authorities search for Wikus, scientists are eager to make experiments and testing on him, Mr. Merve comprehends how unfair surrounding people’s treatment and condemnations are. Staying human inside and being formerly treated as equal, after final transformation the main hero faces racial discrimination, which compels him to change his point of view about colonialism and own attitude to other races. This peculiarity of the plot proves the fact that nobody cares until this specific person gets in a situation when the sides are substituted. Therefore, only after walking a mile in the shoes of discriminated parties, people are able to realize all the importance and humiliation of the racism. As the plot of the film states, the earth people do not show any respect or care for the aliens, whose rights are violated dramatically. Human beings are listless and even cruel to aliens’ feelings and condition. The only thing that people care about is how to find a way for being able to use extraterrestrial weapon so that later on humanity will not have any fear of being seized by extraterrestrial creatures. People strive for supremacy, which has been considered to be the main reason of colonialism for many centuries. Hence, subjugating other nations, people extolled their own nationality and highlighted possessed status. It is relevant to say that racism is not just a modern theory that presupposes a mixture of beliefs and ideas, but it is practical implementation of own thoughts about human disparities and formation of hierarchy in population’s layers (Fredrickson, 2002, p.6). Due to this, it happens that some nations believe that they have enough authority and legislative power to decide destiny of other countries and order them what they should do. The main explanation of this fact can be seen in biased assessment of own significance. Some people are prone to exaggerate personal importance and erroneously consider their nation to be above all the rest. However, there is no any ground for such conclusions because God grants equal rights and possibilities to all of us. That is why all the assumptions concerning dominated position of specific nations are fallacious and farfetched. It can be noted that the main motive of colonialism is tempting intention to conquer new territories and use natural resources and wealth of other nations. In this respect, enslavement of other countries’ population always pursues self-profit. Hence, in the film, it can be seen how the specialists make experiments, torture, and consequently kill aliens for the sake of science. Particular cruelty can be observed in the scene where representatives of MNU decide to send Wikus to laboratory for research. When his farther-in-law asks administration’s members whether his daughter’s husband will manage to survive or not, he receives the answer that states that it is absolutely does not matter. Nobody cares about Wikus’ future. The most vital thing is to take everything possible from such rare opportunity. In other words, humans are more willing to kill one of their society’s individual than lose a chance to emphasize own supremacy and take any possible advantage. The idea of human’s greediness and its dominated position over ethically right deeds is depicted in well-known all over the world film of James Cameron Avatar that has managed to win several Academy Awards in 2009. It is not just an ordinary epic film with fantastic plot. Inherently, there is the theme of deep confrontation between two planets that face language barrier and clashes of interests. The film shows far future times, when humanity has exhausted own natural resources. Therefore, for being able to secure own lives, people seek for additional help on a planet called “Pandora”, which is located more than five light-years away from the Earth. With the help of special creature called “avatar” that combines DNA of human being and DNA of planet’s aborigine, Na’vi, scientists devote their lives to research lifestyle, habits, norms, and principles of the local population, while representatives of private security company try to use obtained information against Na’vi and expel them from rich with valuable minerals territory. Triggering off the war, all the allies of colonel do not understand ideology of Na’vi individuals, who live in a harmony with nature. The main hero, Jake Sully, appearing in the beginning of the film as a cripple who has lost any hope for recovery, shows indifference to the destiny of Na’vi. However, after getting know local population a little bit better and learning their language, traditions, and way of life, he passes on aborigine’s side and tries to help them in a fight for own independence. It has to be stated that the main heroes of two mentioned films have one major thing in common. In the beginning the both are depicted as listless people who do not understand, care, support, or sympathize extraterrestrial creatures. However, later on Wikus and Jake get opportunity to find out more information about aliens and live in their environment as equal. Suffering from human’s oppression and discrimination, gradually they both start to realize that their previous attitude and treatment to aliens have been seriously wrong. Each person should be judged according to the deeds but not for the reason of race, color of skin, or any other characteristic of appearance. Every individual of society is unique personality, whom others should respect and accept the way nature has created this creature. Because exactly such behavior can be considered as the sign of society’s intelligence, prudence, and wisdom. The final scenes of Avatar manage to amaze. Jake’s decision to transfer himself into Na’vi-human hybrid and stay in this condition forever states about extreme importance and scale of conscience’s change, which the main hero experiences. To leave accustomed and native world for the sake of totally different milieu is a big step in which Jake does not doubt at all, because as it has been found that the planet of aliens is closer to his character and state of mind. Therefore, it can be concluded that every nation can and should be understood and accepted if there is enough knowledge about its culture, population’s way of life, and ideology. The idea depicted in District 9 and Avatar easily persuades viewers to re-think their attitude, opinion, and moral position to the problem of racism and other forms of discrimination. These films are recommended for viewing especially to those people who have rather low judgments concerning other races. It is possible that under influence of such impressive and powerful cinematography works the number of racists in the world can be reduced. As Memmi states, “The struggle against racism is the condition of our collective social health” (Memmi, 2000, p. 161). It is urgent to foster such comprehension of audience which claims that everybody on the Earth is not an enemy but a close friend and our life is utterly short to spend it on a hatred for each other. There is no any doubt that in such many-sided and extremely advanced society which we have there are a lot of miscellaneous interests and competing groups. Therefore, it is essential somehow to insure peace and harmony in the world. Consequently, the study on such categories as stereotypes, prejudices, and their demonstration in the form of discrimination is considered to be the most important task of modernity. To eradicate discrimination in a full way will be rather hard, however, to make the specific steps of its successful control and regulation is realistic enough, especially when products of entertainment sphere provide such strong support and salient effectiveness. Reference List Cameron J, executive producer. Avatar [videodisk]. United States: 20th Century Fox; 2009. Fredrickson, G M 2002, Racism: A Short Story, Princeton University Press, New Jersey. Goh, D. 2008, ‘From colonial pluralism to postcolonial multiculturalism: Race, state formation and the question of cultural diversity in Malaysia and Singapore’, Sociology Compass, vol. 2 no. 1, pp. 232–252. Jackson P, executive producer. District 9 [videodisk]. United States: TriStar Pictures; 2009. Memmi, A 2000, Racism, The University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. Terkel, S 1992, Race, The New Press, New York. Read More