In the years since Elysium was released, its future has begun to seem less ham-fisted. In an age when certain billionaires are prone to sharing their plans for leaving Earth behind, the idea of a space station reserved solely for the world’s elite doesn’t seem as far-fetched as it should. Time has been kind to Elysium, even if it hasn’t been kind to us.
District 9 is weirdly racist against African immigrants but is otherwise solid, same goes for Elysium aside from its white savior complex.
It's been a while since I last watched it, but Isn't the portrayal essentially intended to be racist to demonstrate the evil of the racists?
The African immigrants are depicted as rapists, cannibals, thieves, and cheating merchants IIRC. They’re usually interacting with the main character and the prawns, not the mercenaries hired by the South African government.
Damn, my memory is shit, I don't remember that at all
IIRC Blomkampf repurposed interviews from and earlier documentary he had done about immigrants from Zimbabwe. I think he reshot the scenes with actors and just changed the subject matter to aliens.