Surprise: Nigerian Government Bans 'District 9'
Filed under: Sony, Exhibition, Movie Marketing, Politics
Charges that Neill Blomkamp's science fiction blockbuster District 9 was racist began popping up almost immediately upon the film's release back in August. Considering the film features an in-over-their-head South African government that allows a mega-corporation to quarantine and exploit an entire alien race, one may assume the obvious core parable for apartheid was at the heart of the racism charges, but aliens-in-a-concentration-camp was not the bullseye of most accusations. The actual problem some people had was with the portrayal of a Nigerian gang that illegally traded alien technology when not mutilating and devouring unsuspecting aliens in crude shaman-led rituals intended to imbue them with extraterrestrial powers, so to speak.
Nothing much came of the hullabaloo until recently, when the film found its way into Nigerian movie theaters. According to a BBC report on the matter, "The information minister said she had ordered the Nigerian film and video censors' board to ask all cinemas to stop showing the film and to confiscate it. "I have also formally written to Sony Pictures Entertainment, the company that produced this film, demanding an unconditional apology for this unwarranted attack on Nigeria's image," she added."
Though, I find the idea of writing a sternly worded letter to Sony Pictures for an apology pretty dang amusing, the BBC article is the first I've found that mentions something I didn't pick up on in District 9, that, while not racist, may have actually been an intentional dig on the Nigerian government, "The Malawian actor, Eugene Khumbanyiwa, plays a gang leader with the nickname of Obasanjo, also the surname of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo."
Oddly enough, this isn't the first time this month the Nigerian government has had it in for Sony. Just last week the makers of the Playstation 3 gave-in and edited new advertisements for their new console price drop after the country took official protest against the line "You can't believe everything you read on the Internet. Otherwise, I'd be a Nigerian millionaire by now."
So what do you think? Does District 9 have an anti-Nigerian agenda? Even if it does, should the Nigerian government confiscate all prints of the film? Should Sony apologize for the "unwarranted attack on Nigeria's image"? Is that Prince really going to pay you back when he turns 25 in two days?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-20-2009 @ 7:27PM
Creep said...
Any person or group that cannot deal with criticism or stifles anyone that criticizes them should be looked at suspiciously.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 10:54AM
Bobbystarks said...
Don't be a moron.......last i checkecd america & the uk, are not safe havens and if we are talking about corrupt the american goverment has its own place in the history book.
the same point of all the idiots who are passing - judgement every time the american film houses makes a film they change facts to suit their story....forgetting that people see it and take it for gods honest truth.....
No one on this blogg has been to africa judging by the comments......
if u have visited nigeria , south africa, its no different from any place that was under colonial rule.
So dont point the finger when u should be looking at yourselves.
9-21-2009 @ 12:29PM
Creep said...
Yet film after film, book after book, show after show, stories depicting a corrupt police department, government agency, conspiracies, cover ups, etc are major plot points. To think that the American government shuts down every production or strong arms creators into changing their stories to better reflect a Utopian society is straight up moronic and uninformed. Thus, you have a tainted view of reality and should step back a bit to get a better grip of it. Who's the moron? You bobbystarks.
9-20-2009 @ 7:37PM
John said...
Maybe the Nigerian government should go after E-mail scammers and violent gangs first, instead of movie producers. I think that would clean up their image.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 10:03AM
knox said...
dats a global problem, guess it happens everywia
9-22-2009 @ 1:30PM
Ih8ignorantmonrons said...
You sir, are a true walking moron...
Before opening your dieseased mouth, find facts & research.
Another moron who gets his facts from the tv.
10-09-2009 @ 2:45AM
Nevan said...
only Nigerians are seen as scammers, while othercriminals from the west hide under the name nigerians while they perpertuate their crimes. Nigerians maybe judged as sinners, thier accussers are HYPOCRITES.
It is unfrotunate that hardworking Nigerians had to find ways of survival in the mist of a poor government.
when drugs are sold Nigerians are blamed ,yet the main drug farmers are not found in Nigeria, when people are scammed for falling for greedy offers- They cry.
Nigerians are strong , hardwordworking and intelligent Black people. Certain people simply cannot handle that. so they set their media agaianst Nigerians. I wonder what will happen if US or Uk or SA or the Nigerian accusers are monitored closely too - it will be surprising what will criminal activities will be disclosed.
Unfortunately, Nigerians do not have the world political power to hide crime or fercious activities- like the so called 'holy countries'.
Dont get me wrong am against criminal activities, but i also detest hypocritcal judgments.
HYPOCRTES, HYPOCRITES HYPOCRITES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9-20-2009 @ 7:48PM
martisco said...
I have sent an e-mail to the Nigerian government hereby banning all 419 spam from my mailbox. I eagerly await their compliance.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 10:24AM
knox said...
tell me about it. scam mails come from nigeria alone right. you people are unbelievable
9-20-2009 @ 8:36PM
Tom said...
Nigerians don't take well to criticism as usual. Just look at all the bad comments on the series The Philanthropist after the first episode. I have to agree with the people above me... I'm tired of spam mails from scammers !
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9-20-2009 @ 10:06PM
Pretty Paula said...
I can see why they would want to ban this because it was extremely offensive. It plays into stereotypes of Nigerians and Africans in general with the portrayal of illegal activities and "primitive" behaviors....
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 12:40AM
Matt said...
Neil Blomkamp is a white South African raised during apartheid. I don't know if people in the US know much about the situation, but here in Australia we received many refugees from that regime and the political situation is common knowledge.
My friends and I all thought the film was an example of white South African supremicist attitudes, and I think the Nigerian government has every right to protest.
It's easy to yell 'free speech!' when it's not you being targetted - the Nigerians in this film were a ridiculous charicature far worse and more explicit than the Sambo-bots which caused Michael Bay to be pilloried in the American media.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 4:42AM
LordPaul said...
That's strange.
The director is 30, so he was raised in the final throes of appartheid & the beginnings of what they have now (the resulting classism being questionable at best right now)
The film is an example, but in a critical way, of the attitudes of slavery & ghettoism in SA but is by no means in & of itself a racist film & to suggest it is would be missing the point!
9-21-2009 @ 12:56AM
Batzarro said...
I don't get why it's an attack to them. Or is Nigeria such a Utopia, that the mere possibility or suggestion that there might be crime there, that there might be some people that are shamanistic and supertitious, offensive to the whole of Nigeria? Not to mention, that District has no upstanding characters. The white suits are evil, the mercs are evil, Wikus is a douche, the Prawn are not exactly good. Think about it! There are no good guys in D9!
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9-21-2009 @ 2:09AM
Walter said...
I think the Nigerian government might be overreacting a bit, but not by much. Think about this: the South Africans who made this film knew it would reach a world audience, yet they recklessly included some of the ugliest stereotypes from the continent. For many viewers, this film will likely provide one of the only views of Nigerians they will ever encounter, and it is a deeply negative view. If you were one of the millions of sane, peaceful citizens of Nigeria, how would this situation make you feel?
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9-21-2009 @ 8:14AM
Kevin S. said...
The Nigerian government is overreacting a lot. Batzarro is right - there is little portrayed positively in this film. One of the key lines in the film is "you're like me."
If every government got pissed and demanded a retraction of every film that portrayed them negatively, no film would ever be released anywhere - I mean, hell, the police are corrupt idiots in Kung Fu Hustle, the Chinese government is making deals with gangsters in Lethal Weapon 4, I've even known some people that thought American History X was a pro-racism movie.
I never heard anyone complain about the voodoo woman in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - despite the fact that she was a shamanistic, superstitious caricature of an Elderly superstitious black woman from the old south.
Banning this film for racism totally misses the point.
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9-21-2009 @ 10:27AM
Walter said...
I agree that the banning is excessive, but I think the demand for an apology from Sony is completely justified. The stereotype of the Nigerian gangster is pervasive (at least it is in South Africa) and is one that transcends race (black people in SA joke about it too). These South African filmmakers were giving one of the only views many filmgoers will get of the African continent, and to spread negative portrayals of Nigerians is irresponsible at best.
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9-21-2009 @ 1:08PM
khia213 said...
I agree with Walter. If there were massive numbers of films out that that show Nigerians in any light, District 9 wouldn't matter. But when there's only one film with a portrayal of a group of people as barbaric and criminal, it sends an awful message. And that message isn't in any way balanced in the film by a single image of a "regular Nigerian" who is not involved in criminal activity.
9-21-2009 @ 12:01PM
Parl said...
Hello friend I am the son of the deposed King of Nigeria. Before my father was overthrown from his government, he put US$5555555555 in a bank account but now we cannot get into the country. With your helps, we can retrieve the US$. All you need to do is please e-mail me your bank account information and stop showing District 9. If you do these two things, we will wire to your bank account a fee of US$555555 for your help.
Reply
9-21-2009 @ 10:18PM
Matt said...
Yeah, cause all Nigerians perpetrate email scams and therefore deserve to be labelled criminal animals in international cinema. Idiot.
Reply