I'm not convinced that District 9 is a science fiction film. I'm not entirely sure where District 9 fits on the spectrum of film genres, but I feel that its different styles and emphases make it a hybrid of science fiction and monster elements wrapped up in a historically analog narrative. In my attempt to definitively determine what genre I would place District 9 in, I turn to Sobchack to help me define the difference between science fiction and other closely related genres, such as horror or monster films. Sobchack thoroughly examines his distinctions between the science fiction and horror genres, detailing the different emphasis in themes and focus. For example, Sobchack believes that horror films are characterized by their focus on the disruption of the natural order and individual moral struggles, while science fiction films focus on the disruption of the social order and the alien other (30). While District 9 certainly includes aliens, I'm not sure it includes the "other," especially when science fiction today tends to "embrace alien Others as 'more human than human' or finds that it can barely mark their" otherness' as different from that of aliens". ours" (293). Although it includes a couple of shots of pro-alien protesters, the documentary-style footage in the film's opening half is tinged with anti-alien sentiments, "humans only" posters, and derogatory references to aliens as "shrimp." The people in this film do not see the crayfish as themselves, but the mistreatment they suffer, such as locking them in slums, causes the audience, almost immediately, to identify with their abuse and begin to see the crayfish as their own. history, especially particularly South African apartheid. The coldness and calculability of the humans in the film are alienating to the audience, who beg… middle of paper… through Vikus, Christopher Johnson, and his son. If the novum is becoming the "Other", this is also given very little consideration by people in the film after it is interpreted as sexual deviance and the details beyond Vikus' indiscretion are not fully released for the audience to ponder. and reflect on what it might mean for the race as a whole. Overall, I think District 9 managed to transcend and complicate classification into any genre, while simultaneously serving as a bridge between different types of genres, perhaps making the film itself a novum for filmmakers everywhere. Works Cited District 9. Dir. Neill Blomkamp. Perf. Sharlto Copley. TriStar, 2009. Film.Sobchack, Vivian. Screening space: the American science fiction film. 2nd ed. NewBrunswick: Rutgers UP, 1987. Print.