Movies | September 19, 2009 | 20 comments

Nigerian officials:"District 9 not welcome here"

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090919/ap_on_en_mo/af_nigeria_district9

Image
JanforGore
One of the summer's biggest blockbusters — a sci-fi morality tale about aliens and apartheid — is not welcome in Nigeria because of its portrayal of Nigerians as gangsters and cannibals, Nigeria's information minister said Saturday.

Information Minister Dora Akunyili has asked movie houses in the capital of Abuja to stop screening "District 9" because the South Africa-based sci-fi movie about aliens and discrimination makes Nigerians look bad.

"We have directed that they should stop public screening of the film," she said. "We are not happy about it because it portrays Nigeria in bad light."

Akunyili said she has asked Sony for an apology and wants them to edit out references to Nigeria and to the name of the main Nigerian gangster Obesandjo, whose name closely resembles that of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

"We have written to the producer and distributor of the film, Sony Entertainment, expressing our displeasure and demanded an apology," she said. "We have asked that the areas where Nigeria and Obasanjo are mentioned should be edited from the film."

She and other government officials first saw the movie Wednesday during a private screening.

In one scene, Obesandjo tries to cut off and eat the arm of the film's protagonist, in an attempt to gain his supernatural powers. In others, Nigerian prostitutes are seen courting alien customers.

The film's portrayal of Nigerians has also drawn the ire of critics and bloggers, and has spawned a Facebook page called "Nigerians Offended by 'District 9,'" which had 57 members on Saturday.

Corlize Luttig, marketing manager for the South African cinema chain Ster-Kinekor, who represent Sony in South Africa, said they had no comment on the request by Akunyili. Ster-Kinekor does not distribute to Nigeria, she said.

Luttig said they were still waiting for comment from Sony's head office in Los Angeles.

"District 9" tells the story of an alien ship that mysteriously comes to hover over the South African city of Johannesburg. Its inhabitants are separated from the human population and segregated into a walled area known as District 9. But after nearly 30 years, government officials aim to relocate the extraterrestrials, with disastrous results.
  1. groups:
    Community,   Entertainment,   Movies,   Upstream,   3 more
  2. tags:
    Movie News,  Censorship,  South Africa,  Aliens,  6 more
  3.     
    |

20 comments // Nigerian officials:"District 9 not welcome here"

  • sirpaulmcdarkney
    • 0
      sirpaulmcdarkney  

    • They have a valid gripe; they do not have a valid solution. As an African American I do get upset when the majority of black characters in films are bumbling idiots or ghetto thugs (not to mention being among the first to die off- lol)but my anger is not because those images are in films; my anger is in the fat that those are the majority of the images. To ask that they be left out would be to deny that these kinds of black people exist. When this kind of thing occurs the best thing to do is to allow it to spur you to show another side, a better side of you. Be a better person and demand others around you do so as well. Being upset with your image and demanding the rest of the world change their view of you while you sit on your ass and stay the same is so last presidential term.
      :P

    • 2 years ago
  • MoonLoon
    • 0
      MoonLoon  
    • sirpaulmcdarkney:

      "Sir Paul", I support the rights of Nigerian citizens. The abuse that they suffer at the hands of their leaders is unwarranted, in a supposedly democratic society. However, there is a light at the end of this tunnel!

    • 2 years ago
  • cynker
    • 0
      cynker  

    • oh god its only a film, do you not think it pisses us brits off how every bad guy in American films seems to be from the south east of England?

    • 2 years ago
  • morirjedi
    • 0
      morirjedi  

    • They should be happy anyone is even thinking of them. Be happy you are in the conversation. Hope you get another mention in a movie. After this I think not.

    • 2 years ago
  • MoonLoon
    • 0
      MoonLoon  

    • Nigeria has, in the past year spent millions in a project to, "Rebrand Nigeria", in the World's eyes. The information Minister that was in charge of the project is also the same one that banned the film. Her head administrator resigned last week and returned to London over frustration of the project. This primarily a political move to bolster the rebranding efforts.The Ministers previous posting as overseer of Drugs was marked with controversy as fake medical drugs have flooded the country and many children died as a result of adultrated products.

    • 2 years ago
  • sirpaulmcdarkney
    • 0
      sirpaulmcdarkney  
    • MoonLoon:

      See, and when I say that the European takeover -not quite colonization- of Africa, the witholding of power from the natives, and the abrupt abandonment of the continent by said Europeans left a bitter and power-hungry group of people to take the reigns of a system they only know from the other side of disenfrachisement is at the heart of Africas troubles (in most areas) I get called all sorts of political/paranoid names!

    • 2 years ago
  • galwayman
    • 0
      galwayman  

    • all governments censor anything that depicts them in a bad light there is nothing new about that! I too saw the movie and thought it was good,made you think,and moreover showed how ingrained attitudes of those who are different from us are dangerous, counterproductive ,and do harm not only to those who are subjected to those attitudes but to those who practice those attitudes as well
      ] \

    • 2 years ago
  • Acedia
  • lamborghini
  • remanns
    • 0
      remanns  

    • If political correctness stands in the way of ART, it can get the hell out of the way. The question "but is it ART" then becomes something of merit and gravity to discuss.
      So I don't think it becomes an 'anything goes' commercial/media/lobby group free for all; value judgment and aesthetic analysis is still applicable and in fact demanded as DUE to society at large and the arts.

      -that was a bit long-

    • 2 years ago
  • booksellergirl
  • Denica_Cassandra
  • vistapoint
  • MoonLoon
    • 0
      MoonLoon  

    • This entire issue is ridiculous! Of course ,some Nigerians continue to practice JuJu and cannabilism( mostly Cross Rivers and Calabar), for ritualistic reasons. It is commonly reported in Nigerian newspapers. Almost every day! The elite multi-millionaires also participate in sacrifices for wealth and death of their enemies. They of course deny their beliefs, however, the JuJu man still has plenty of business! P.C. is worthless in a country run by criminals. I could elaborate, but my comments would likely be banned! Powerful Nigerians educated in London still hold on to their tribal beliefs, can you imagine a villager never stepping outside of his remote village, yet holding close his beliefs in forest spirits and worse? It is a World well described in District 9! However, there are many very good Nigerians and I love and respect them.

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  
    • MoonLoon:

      Yes, this belief is part of some tribes in Nigeria, and that is their religious belief. Why it would be racist to show that is beyond me, and certainly does not suggest that all Nigerians are either terrorists or cannibals. And for me that is what makes the whole controversy about this so inane.

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
  • booksellergirl
    • 0
      booksellergirl  

    • This whole "political correctness" sarcasm has really got on my nerves. So what exactly does political correctness mean? It means that when you speak and do things TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION HOW SOMEONE ELSE WILL FEEL with your words and actions. This is basically the Golden Rule, you know, that thing you were supposed to learn in kindergarten and Sunday school. Somehow conservatives over the last 30 years have turned this into a negative thing.

      So when some says "Ow!" after you stepped on their foot is your reaction to say "suck it up and don't be so sensitive." Or do you say, "sorry, I didn't mean to do that." Which one you choose says something about who YOU are.

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • And this just in: ET is fairly pissed about how the aliens are depicted so they won't be showing it on his planet either. ::: more sarcasm.:::

    • 2 years ago
  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • Well, hey, the MNU thugs were white, so I don't want it shown anywhere. ::: sarcasm:::

      But seriously, is this a valid outrage, or has political correctness run amok in this world?

    • 2 years ago
  • J_Jammer
more from Movies:
from the community

top videos