Alive in Joburg
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Alive in Joburg is a science fiction short film directed by Neill Blomkamp, released in 2005 by Spy Films. It runs approximately six minutes long and was filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is noted for its visual effects as well as its documentary-style imagery.
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[edit] The Story
In 1990, Johannesburg is home to a number of Extraterrestrial refugees, whose large spaceships (estimated to be nearly one kilometer in length) can be seen hovering above the city. When the visitors arrived, the human population was enamored with, among other aspects, the aliens' advanced "bio-suits", and supposedly welcomed them with open arms. However, later on, the aliens began moving into other areas of the city, committing crimes in order to survive, and frequently clashing with the police. The film goes on, playing as a documentary, complete with interviews and footage taken from handheld cameras, highlights the growing tension between the civilian population and the visitors, especially once the ships began to steal electricity and other natural resources from the city.
[edit] The Aliens
According to individuals "interviewed" in the film, the aliens were captive labor, forced to live in "conditions that were not good" and had escaped to Earth. As the film takes place in 1990, while Apartheid was still effect in South Africa, the aliens were forced to live amongst the already-oppressed black population, causing conflict with them as well as the non-white population.
The alien species in Alive in Joburg are never named, and are frequently referred to simply as "them" or "the aliens." One black citizen referred to them as "the poleepkwa." In their biosuits, they resembled bipedal, humanoid robots. Outside of their suits, their most obvious non-human features are a lack of hair and ears, and protruding tentacles where a human's mouth would be, features very reminiscent of H.P Lovecraft's fictional elder god Cthulhu. In the film, the area where one would expect eyes to be is pixelated.
The aliens' language is not clearly defined, and seems to be made up of gurgles and animal noises, not unlike Wookies in the Star Wars films.
One scene in early in the film, shown as television news footage, shows an alien fending off an attack by two police officers by telekinetically, while wearing one of their biosuits, throwing large vehicles towards them. Whether or not they themselves have this ability or whether it is done through the use of the suit is never explained.
[edit] The Film
Alive in Joburg shows a race of oppressed alien beings escaping to a new planet, only to find even more oppression. This was a similar theme explored in Alien Nation, in which a ship of alien slaves escaped and landed in Los Angeles In the early 1990s.
The film is considered one of the reasons that Blomkamp was offered the director's job for the upcoming Halo film.[1] However, that film has since been put on hiatus.
