Movie Time: District 9

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and, on that note, let's have some bloody, gory, alien slaughtering, mmkay?

I watched District 9 last night. Now, the first thing that struck me about this movie (besides the creepy-crawly look of the aliens) was the documentary feel of it. Combine that with the location (Johannesburg, South Africa) and I knew exactly what the message of this movie was going to be about. (My boyfriend, who has not taken a course in African Lit, did not.)

But first, the summary. Basically, an alien ship hovers above Johannesburg, South Africa. Humans go in after months of inactivity and find an alien race. It's obvious that these aliens must be a caste of workers, for they lack leadership skills of any kind. Soon, they become more of a nuisance than a novelty and the humans want them moved from their slum-like dwellings in District 9, to a new, far away District 10.

Wikus, an Multi-National United employee, is charged with evicting the aliens, but is really there to confiscate alien weaponry. During the process, he discovers a cylindrical object which, after he tampers with it, squirts him in the face with a black liquid. Wikus becomes very ill and then finds that his arm has mutated to resemble a prawns. MNU then forces him to test alien weaponry, which has thus far been unresponsive to humans. With his new, combined DNA he is able to operate the weaponry. After several successful trials, MNU decides that his DNA is extremely valuable and decides to donate his body to the cause. (I thought it was hilarious that his father-in-law is one of the head honchos at MNU and makes that decision.) Wikus escapes and hides in District 9.

There he encounters Christopher Johnson, the alien responsible for creating the cylinder. Wikus learns that the only hope he has of reverting to his human form is to retrieve the cylinder (which contains an alien fuel) from MNU. Johnson reluctantly agrees to help Wikus and promises to help him get back to his human self.

You'd think it would be predictable from that point on, wouldn't you? Alien and human form a friendship that defies the social norm, but Wikus isn't as admirable a hero as that. He's in it for himself to the point where he abandons Christopher to MNU soldiers and steals Christopher's ship. Which, you must admit, is a heck of a lot more realistic considering the attitude toward Prawns.

My boyfriend wanted to shut this movie off about halfway through. Admittedly, it is slow. There are parts that are downright crude or nonsensical, but I still wanted to watch. Because if you know anything of South Africa's racial problems, then this had a deeper meaning than just grotesque aliens and bloody battles. And Wikus, the supposed hero, demonstrates this with a blase attitude, which speaks more than any true documentary could.

Would I recommend watching this? Yes. But, in order to enjoy it, you're going to have to look beyond the limb-severing and lewd commentary (unless that's what you're into), because the message to this movies lies beneath the sci-fi action and battles, and should be transported to real life.

Memorable Quotation:

Automated MNU Instructional Voice: [in MNU Humvee] When dealing with aliens, try to be polite, but firm. And always remember that a smile is cheaper than a bullet. 

Remodeling

I've had a rotten attitude lately. I have tried (likely unsuccessfully) to hide it. But I've never been a good pretender, so I've let the mean, the nasty and the jealous take over my writing life. Result: major unhappiness and crappy writing.

So, I'm remodeling myself and this blog. I'm going to take a more positive approach on my writing and the writing of others, and smile through this downturn. I'm going to be optimistic. Woo!

I'm not even going to wait for the new year. I shall begin now. And, on that note, happy remodeling, everyone. :)

Interference!

Not been able to write or edit much lately. Due to, well, life. I know. It's a pesky little thing, isn't it?

Fury is coming along slowly--and in a completely different direction. The ending has changed, and since I've given it free reign to be a romance novel, all those elements want to come to the forefront. But this novel is like a carefully made lasagna. Layers after layers of yummy goodness (har.har.) that begs every brain cell possible. This is not a story I can write without actually THINKING. Which is probably why it irritates me so much. I don't really like to think a lot.

Last night I went to bed musing on a different first chapter for Dragon Queen. Something with a little more oomph. No worries, it shouldn't change the story much if at all.

I've also been eyeballing Last of the Elves. It's about time I kept my promise to a dearly departed friend and write the damn book and dedicate it to her.

But, in the meantime, there is life. When it stops being so clingy (har.har.), I'll get back into my writing groove.

Eating Worms

I've always struggled with an extremely low self-esteem. It can be attributed to a number of things, but I try not to dwell on it. Still, I have a very big voice in my head that's constantly muttering "You can't do that," "No one likes you," "Everyone hates your story," "Go eat worms," blah blah blah.

When the voice starts screaming at me, I often have to take a break. Usually from reality. So, I'll immerse myself in a novel (someone else's, not mine) or play mindless computer games, trying to drown out that voice with someone else's.

Right now, the voice is screaming. It tends to do that a lot when I'm working on FURY. I don't know if it's trying to warn me that it's a worthless novel and to move on, or if it's just me being stupid. What I hate is that the writer can't shut out the voice to look at it objectively. Part of me will always think it's a story worth telling, while another part of me will always think it's a load of crap. And you know what the saddest part is? I don't have this kind of struggle with Dragon Queen. It's possible that is because Dragon Queen was written more for fun. I enjoyed the process and the story. Jade was so easy to write--perhaps because she was the lighter side of my writing ability (or disability). Fury and Caden are difficult. At times, I even dislike them. Which is strange--because a writer should never dislike her characters, right? (With maybe the exception of the villains.)

Sigh. Oh well. I shall forge ahead.

New Ideas

Ideas are germinating. Begging for attention. Actually, demanding might be a better word. However, I have no zeal to pursue them. I am in the writer dumps. And I'm overly emotional and sensitive. I shall refrain from going into too much detail, as I'm sure some people will start backing away slowly, but let it suffice that I am at that point where I think everything I'm working on is crap.

You're a writer? Then, yes, you've been there, done that.

Sigh. I must trudge on! Rawr.

A little bit of an update

I'm exhausted today. Winter decided to sweep in and give us temperatures in the teens, which causes my legs to ache. So, I'm in pain. Combining those two makes for a very cruddy mood.

Dragon Queen is done, but it is already petulantly demanding my attention for revisions. (No, damn it! Go play by yourself for a while!)

Fury has reached an uncomfortable point for me, and so I'm struggling with it. Since I've rearranged the ending, the reunion with her father is coming up sooner (and differently). Shadow is not a nice person, but he's redeemable . . .but since I recently got back in contact with MY father, that experience is trying to manifest on the story WHICH IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! You hear me? ::mutters::

This weekend will be completely manuscript free, however. I'm heading up to Missouri to visit my aunt and uncle. I haven't seen them since my uncle was in a motorcycle wreck and broke his neck. Now he is paralyzed from the neck down, but he has regained some mobility in his legs and arms. (Thank God). The doctors say he might be able to walk again one day. So, if you haven't guessed, I'm getting all emotional about it.

It also means that Jake will be left alone with Gyspy (my chihuahua). Which is fine, but since he claims he's going hunting most of the weekend, that means she'll be ALONE for the majority of the time. And penned up. So when I get home she will probably go into convulsions of excitement and destroy whatever pair of shoes I'm wearing at the time. LOL.

::sigh:: I'm just too tired to even think about it anymore.

Squee!

I'm done! I have just finished The Dragon Queen. I. AM. DONE. (with the first draft) And only one day after my goal. Can I get a "Woohoo!"?

Now, I get to set it aside and focus on Fury. Yay! HAPPY DANCE!