Thursday, September 03, 2009



The real District 9

While everyone is drooling over District 9 (which I agree is good, but somewhat ruined by a one-hour gunfight), spare a thought for the inhabitants of Chiawelo, the Soweto-edge slum the movie was filmed in. Real people live there, scrounging for a living in the same way the aliens did in the film. And like those aliens, they're going to be forcibly relocated to clear space for the "new" South Africa.

The film made US$90 million. The inhabitants of Chiawelo got fuck-all out of it. They're so poor they can't even afford to see it. It would be nice if the film studio gave a little more back.