Is District 9 Racist?

http://nnedi.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-respo...

This is a sensitive subject for me since I am a scifi fan and black. I have and had high hopes for District 9. And while I believe that the film had huuuuuge problems I also think that the film was a harbinger for good things to come wherein People of Color in scifi is concerned. I've gotten a lot of flack for saying this amongst some of my friends. (Actually, I've had my head taken off a few times.) And while I see their points--and they *do* have a point--I look at the film for the door it opens and not just for the inflammatory images that it presented.
There seems to be two drastically different reactions to the film. One of complete pleasure ("This film is awesome!") and one of complete hate ("That film sucked eggs! Boooo!"). It comes down to the images. The depiction of the Nigerians was the main problem. And that was very problematic. A lot of people found the voodoo rituals quite insulting. So did I. But I also saw what the film was trying to do. Though slightly misguided, they were trying to depict ALL humans as disgraceful, bloodthirsty, greedy individuals. The message got garbled along the way. That is the fault of the director. He needed to have more control over the images he used. I may have understood. MANY did not.
I hope that the film will open the door for many scifi films to be made in Africa. But for this to happen the RIGHT way, this discussion about how Africans are depicted HAS TO HAPPEN. We have to argue this out and LISTEN to each other. Don't dismiss one side or the other because you disagree. BOTH sides have valid points and by expressing them I think will make the scifi genre stronger, more relevant, and much, much better.
10 ways District 9 will change sci-fi moviemaking forever
* http://scifiwire.com/2009/08/10-ways-district-9-will-c.php
Is District 9 Racist?