Week 6: Independent Research

While we were discussing the topic of Winnie Mandela's own film I suddenly remembered another movie set to open in theaters this weekend called Chappie. The movie itself isn't very important to my discussion but the director, South African native Neil Blomkamp, is. In 2009, he directed an amazing documentary-style feature titled District 9 that I am just now beginning to see has parallels to the working history of South Africa. The film follows a government agent as he is tasked with evicting the resident aliens of District 9, a slum in Johannesburg, South Africa. I won't divulge more of the plot but it does take a thrilling turn. There are some interesting details involving the development of this film. Apparently, it was inspired by Blomkamp's childhood in South Africa during apartheid (many parallels to apartheid can be seen throughout the film). Even the movie's title refers to more real events. District 6 was a mixed neighborhood in Cape Town during apartheid that was eventually demolished to make room for white suburbs. The shacks used to film in District 9 were actual shacks existing in a section of Johannesburg that were due to be evacuated and torn down. This is not entirely relevant to our current discussion of race and discrimination in South Africa but I definitely recommend watching District 9 if you want to get an artistic perspective from a South African citizen who witnessed apartheid. If you want more information about the movie I posted two links below. Click Watch Trailer through the first link to view a preview.
District 9 - IMDB Page
Critics Consensus
From a Global Media studies class I took last semester we took a look at the phrase Simunye! in South Africa and how this contributed to a cultural identity within the country. According to a peer-reviewed paper we read, sometime in 1996 the South African Broadcasting Corporation promoted the image of South Africa as a rainbow nation and national unity through a marketing campaign centering on Simunye!. The article never clearly states whether the campaign was effective but it does consider the implication of shifting public opinion through the media. I couldn't really find the article on the internet but feel free to research the term yourself and find what you can about it.