assignment 2: essay writing

1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT
NAME: ONG SHI HUI
STUDENT ID: 0320303
FILMS SELECTED: DISTRICT 9& BATTLESHIP
WORD COUNT: 898 WORDS
SUBJECT: ENGLISH 2(ELG30605)
ASSIGNMENT 1: CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: MISS CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSION DATE: 8 APRIL 2015

2. Contrast Essay
Movies can be considered as an important part of human society as they depict the
human nature in an interesting form and also expands our imagination. They can be classified
into many different categorize such as myth, social drama, science fiction and adventure. My
choice of genre is science fiction and to be exact, film about aliens. Alien can define as a
foreign life form which is not a naturalized citizen of our planet but from the others planets or
galaxies. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word alien? It is a
colonist, planet destroyer or vicious killers? Most people will think that aliens will kill
humans, steal our technology and occupy our Earth. However, aliens could also have the
same characteristic of a human, there are good and bad. We cannot evaluate one and
determine the others. Battleship and District 9 are the most suitable movie for me to show
some contrast between movies. Thus, I would like to show the contrast for the theme, aims of
alien come to Earth depicted by the movie, the human nature and one’s mind might change
following the situation.
Every movies have different theme for its. In District 9, the film refers to
contemporary removals and forced eliminations to suburban ghettos in post-apartheid South
Africa. The film emphasizes the satire of Wikus becoming more humane as he becomes less
human. Themes of racism and xenophobia are shown in the form of speciesism. Extremely
self-determination shows in this film. The word to describe the aliens "prawn" is a reference
to the Parktown prawn, which is a cricket species that found in South Africa. In Battleship,
the film refers to ambition of alien to steal the technology from other planet. It is also
emphasize on unity and decision making from Paul Jones. Take two to tango might be fixing
the problem more easily.
Next, movies also depict that difference aliens have different aim to come to our
planet. In District 9, spaceships inexplicably stopped over in the sky at Johannesburg and
aliens are trapping in their spaceship. They need others to help them and they just hope to live
peacefully with human and back to their planet. They are not injuring any human by using
their high technology weapons. They just protect themselves from human bullying. However
in Battleship, the alien come to Earth for taking our technology on purpose. The aliens’
communications ship crashes with a satellite, scattering debris across the planet and crashing
in Hong Kong, these aliens cause mass destruction and death. The aliens are shooting on

3. something may harm to them, no matter what kind of things; weapons, bridge and ships.
They are not heeding the life for human being which killed them without any sympathy.
Hard to fathom a person’s mind; human also have the good and the bad. Human being
is too cruel to treat the alien in District 9. Wikus is under the fluid's influence, his injured left
arm begins to deteriorate and become alien tissue. Although he has not totally become an
alien, the other Multi-National United (MNU) teams are using those mean method to research,
investigate and use his hand to try the high technology weapon that are belonging to alien. It
is not just that, merciless human investigate those weapon by using Wikus, no matter his life
is at stake. The humans kill the baby of alien by firing their shelter. In Battleship, the human
mostly are killing by aliens. The humans have no choice to attract aliens by protecting
themselves from accuse of aliens. Aliens destroy military equipment and island infrastructure,
killing a large number of civilians, so the navy attack back for surviving. Humans are helping
each other however in dangerous. Fighters from the RIMPAC fleet save the crew by
eliminating the alien threat.
According to present situation, one’s mind might be change. In District 9, Wikus and
his girlfriend live peacefully at the beginning. Wikus is separating with his girlfriend by his
girlfriend’s father when the former found the cylinder and its contents squirts into his face
and his hand become alien hand. His girlfriend’s father makes up unreal story to cheat her
daughter to left Wikus. In Battleship, Paul Jones girlfriend’s father is look down to Paul
Jones because he is hot-headed, always play and late to practise. Paul Jones becomes more
responsibility when his brother died during the alien invasion. He must handle all the
problems to become commander and leads his team to attack aliens. At the end of the film,
her father accepted him because he changed his bad manner and his proper decision was
saved the world.
As a conclusion, I have contrasted both films- District 9 and Battleship for the theme,
aim, human nature and exchange of human’s mind. Owing to most of the alien films show the
dark side of alien, thus it made me hate the aliens so much. After watching other movies with
different outlook on aliens, I realized that some aliens are quite pitiful and different movies
can have different views on a subject. I learned leadership and teamwork are very important,
these help to overcome those challenges easily and quickly. I had understood this type of film
is not fully accepted by mainstream science. However, I personally love those. It is just
having an extraterrestrial origin and particularly intelligent life.

4. Reference
1. 9, D., Blomkamp, N., Blomkamp, N., Tatchell, T., Copley, S., James, D. and Cope, J.
(2015). District 9 (2009). [online] IMDb. Available at:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/?ref_=nv_sr_1 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].
2. Berg, P., Hoeber, J., Hoeber, E., Skarsgård, A., Decker, B. and Neeson, L. (2015).
Battleship (2012). [online] IMDb. Available at:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440129/?ref_=nv_sr_3 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].
3. Rottentomatoes.com, (2015). District 9. [online] Available at:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_9 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].
4. YouTube, (2015). District 9 2009 Full Movie. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg7URICTBR0 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].
5. YouTube, (2015). Battleship 2012 Action / Adventure Full Movies. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndYDKukcU78 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].