Many seem to be disappointed that director Neill Blomkamp doesn’t seem to be making a clear point about economic inequality, or immigration, or healthcare, or whatever it is. At least not the way he did in District 9! The problem for me is I don’t exactly remember a clear message being provided in District 9 either other than Apartheid suuuuucked and stuff. Neither story is a clear allegory where each thing is supposed to represent another real thing nor a parable meant to teach us a lesson.
The point of the social backdrops of each film seems to be in service of the story, as a way of imagining a representation of obstacles the heroes are forced to overcome, and presenting them in a way that’s relevant to our current cultural climate. Those looking for a larger point are going to be dissatisfied, yes. It’s a different movie they’re hoping for, and I hope they find that movie one day. This movie’s strengths come in the sense that many of history’s problems that revolve around human beings being shitty to one another are cyclical, repeating in numerous variations over and over, and essentially all coming down to a question of who gets to call the shots and possess as much power as they possibly can. I know that sci-fi is celebrated for its allegorical tendencies and creating worlds that are alien to us to illuminate things about our world that are difficult to address directly, but I’m perfectly fine with this movie functioning in contrast to these conventions. It’s more about story and setting. I did like that most of the residents of future California are some varying shade of brown.
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