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

Johannesburg, a crime-ridden city

The proportion of white people in South Africa has declined sharply in recent decades. The main factors include reverse discrimination against whites, rising unemployment rates, and deteriorating public safety.

Johannesburg's crime rate is extremely serious, and its insecurity ranks among the worst in the world. Although there have been signs of improvement in recent years, the dangerous image still remains. The director portrays the dark side of Johannesburg head-on while depicting a science fiction-like near future.

The setting of the film is Johannesburg in 2016 (the film was released in 2015, so the film depicts the future one year later). At the suggestion of the defense contractor Tetravaal, the Johannesburg police introduce autonomous robot police equipped with advanced AI (artificial intelligence). The crackdown by the immortal robot police has been successful to a certain extent in preventing crime in Johannesburg. This setting is exactly like " RoboCop " (1987), which depicts the exploits of a cyborg police officer in the crime-ridden Detroit .

“Chappie” (c)2015 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., LSC Film Corporation and MRC II Distribution Company LP All Rights Reserved.

However, the big difference between the cyborg police officer in "RoboCop" and the humanoid robot police officer in "Chappie" is that the former is half human, half constructed, born from a living human, while the latter is an inorganic humanoid machine. In "Chappie," one of the mass-produced robot police officers develops an ego, and although it is supposed to be in a position to deter crime, it unconsciously participates in crime. In other words, "Chappie" depicts the "singularity" in which artificial intelligence exceeds human capabilities.

Sharlto Copley, a regular actor in the director's films, plays ``Chappie,'' a robot police officer who awakens to his sense of self. In this work, he uses the latest motion capture technology to create Chappie's realistic behavior (and voice). Like the director, Copley is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa. Most of the film's scenes were also shot in their hometown of Johannesburg. In other words, the only fictional part of this movie is the existence of robo-cops, and the rest of the world is depicted as being no different from the real Johannesburg. The unique line between reality and fiction is perhaps what makes Blomkamp's works so appealing.

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Movie “Chappie” theatrical program

Text: Hayato Otsuki

Born in May 1993 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Writer, editor. He started his writing career in 2016 and currently contributes columns, movie reviews, etc. to various media. By reading the creator's Arrival from a bird's-eye view, we incisively analyze and explain the original intention of the work. His writing publications include "THE RIVER", "IGN Japan", and "Real Sound Movie Club". My specialty is action and fantasy.

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"Chappie"

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(c)2015 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., LSC Film Corporation and MRC II Distribution Company LP All Rights Reserved.