Neill Blomkamp reveals the hidden face of the global city of Johannesburg in ``Chappie''

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2020.02.26Hayato Otsuki

"Chappie" synopsis

2016 - The world's only robot equipped with AI (artificial intelligence) that can "feel, think, and grow" is born in Johannesburg, South Africa, a crime-prone area. His name is Chappie. Chappie just started up and looks brand new, like a child, but he only has five days left to live. Chappie, who is kidnapped by a gang, learns how to live like a gangster and grows up at an accelerated pace. We witness the shocking outcome of Chappie's inhuman actions that simply desire to live.

Index

Nostalgia for the motherland

Neill Blomkamp is a film writer in his prime who made his impressive feature debut with the unique science fiction work `` District 9 '' (2009) and continues to be supported around the world. Although District 9 was his first commercial feature film, it was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, shocking Hollywood industry observers. Elysium (2013), his second full-length novel, depicts the poor and the rich from a unique perspective, and captures the widening gap between rich and poor in an extremely clear manner. More than 10 years have passed since Blomkamp's feature debut, and he has released three feature films in that 10 years. His latest work is ``Chappie'' (15).

The director was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1979. The city is one of the largest developed cities on the African continent, and in recent years poor public safety has become a social problem, with the upper and middle classes leaving the city in recent years, and the economy has continued to deteriorate. The director immigrated to Vancouver, Canada at the age of 18, but even after moving, his hometown (Johannesburg) had a large influence on his life. As a result, the director's films continue to depict his hometown of Johannesburg.

``District 9'' vividly depicts the appearance of alien lifeforms flying over Johannesburg, and the story exposes the evil prejudice/discriminatory ideology of apartheid (racial segregation policy). ``Chappie'' is a brilliant satire of the absurd aspects of South African society, focusing on the link between the economy and crime in the city.

As mentioned above, the director lived in Johannesburg until he was 18 years old, and during that sensitive period he experienced many social changes, such as the end of apartheid. In other words, it is the very existence of his hometown of South Africa or Johannesburg that has shaped the director's personality, and the undercurrent of the director's authorship is a sense of nostalgia for his homeland.

However, since the abolition of apartheid-related laws in South Africa, reverse discrimination against white people (reverse apartheid) has become rampant, and white people are reportedly fleeing the country one after another. It is likely that the director's family chose to immigrate to Canada in light of the uncertain situation. The reason why the director is so particular about his hometown (Johannesburg) in his films is probably because the reason he left his hometown was against his will. I can't help but feel that this is connected to the strong nostalgia of the current director. In any case, the director's work strongly reflects the complex reality of South Africa.

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