Without a doubt, District 9 has been a popular blog since its release: and for well deserved reasons. I can go on with a review of the film (such as how it tackles present-day views on refugees or how it was based on a short film Alive in Jo'berg) but the medium that I was most taken back by was its website.
Before a feature film reaches its premiere date, a website of the same name is released to act as promotion - typically only showing the trailer. District 9's stands out from the crowd.
Your first step is to enter in what species you are. Each species carries with it a different experience through the website.
Now you come to a bird's eye view of the city of Johannesburg and you begin to understand how realistic the designers have tried to make this. From behavioral recommendations on how to react to the 'prawns' to riots occurring throughout the city between the species; the smallest of details have been scrutinized over that gives the core idea a more realistic and believable premise - there's even careers vacancies for MNU.
The MNU Community Watch was the detail that I was most struck by. By choosing different locations on the map, you either access an audio or video response from members of the public commenting on their non-human experiences. Different topics are brought up by these people and you begin to relating to their answers resembling your own.
The longer you spend finding out about District 9, the more news feeds pop up in your inbox. More information about the key central characters begin to emerge.
It's the best film-related website I have ever come across. After enjoying the infinite details on the website, I walked into the cinema and sat down happily entertaining the idea that this was happening. It began as a documentary, with 'talking heads' of different people of significance such as sociologists and MNU employees. I would prefer to watch something for 2 hours that has a great degree of possibility or logicality - even though this concept of aliens is out of this world, the reaction of the sinister global conglomerate to these refugees and the reactions of the on-screen general public made it more compelling viewing.
I'm quite the film-buff so I took great pleasure in seeing both the movie and its supporting website.
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