trailer break: ‘District 9’

What a truly intriguing trailer! It teases you into thinking it’s gonna be a documentary about racism and segregation in South Africa... and then it turns into a trailer for a science fiction film -- perhaps one that’s done in a documentary style -- about specism and segregation with, maybe, an extra dollop of irony because it is, judging from the accents, set in South Africa.

Ooo, ooo, and the pixellated alien face? Is what the aliens look like being hidden only from those of us watching the trailer, as a way to build suspense? Or is the pixellation actually in the movie, because the alien’s individual identity is being protected (is it an informer on its own kind?) or because the government in this story is trying to hide what the aliens look like from other humans?

So tantalyzing! So clever! I can’t wait to see this movie.

There’s lots of cool viral Web sites devoted to this movie. Check out the official site of Multi-National United and the inevitable anti-MNU site, MNU Spreads Lies (because someone’s gotta push back against the global corps... and don’t miss this post at MNU Spreads Lies for an answer to one of my questions above). There’s also Maths From Outer Space -- kids, alien math is fun! And the movie’s official site is the MNU Local Alert System for those living in or near District 9.

District 9 opens in the U.S. on August 14, and in the U.K. on September 4.