Racial representation is something that I am certainly not afraid to call people out on. From Jar Jar Binks to “Soul Plane,” there are many offenders who have more than earned a wallop. Sometimes I feel like the Geico cavemen when I turn on the television or sit down to watch a movie.  But with all the racial critique being leveled against “District 9,” I have to say that I like this movie. I would actually see it again.

I realize that although it was set in South Africa, “District 9″ didn’t address apartheid, nor were there strong Black characters (the witch doctors and warlords were not exactly NAACP “Image Award” material). Nigerians got a bad rep, the aliens got more dimensions in their portrayal than Africans but even then only through two characters, etc.

The film had a few legitimate shortcomings and Nigerians are more justified than anyone in being ticked off. But, in the my opinion, the film created compelling challenges in re-thinking what people think about the “other” on a universal level, not just in the context of race. Could it have gone further? Yes. Might the original message in the filmmaker’s vision been simplified by Hollywood? Possibly.

Yet, there were powerful analogies for South Africa (for instance the real life District 6 story) and beyond (favelas, refugee camps, ghettos, immigrant detention centers, prisons, work camps, etc.). In fact, one the most compelling comparisons to make from the film in modern South Africa is not about race but ethnicity and nationality, in the form of how Zimbabweans who have been driven to leave their homeland are being targeted and mistreated.

While I think “District 9″ race dialogue is worthwhile, this film could be putting race in the background for a reason. The fact that people are responding so passionately means there must be some impact.

It might not have been perfect but “District 9″ made me think and also generated non-stop adrenaline. For that, I am grateful. These are the reasons that I have loved science fiction since I was a tot. Then again was all the scifi that molded my formative years perfect in their representations? Star Trek broke racial and gender barriers but what’s up with the miniskirts on Uhura? How come Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian was the only visible Black character in the original “Star Wars” (albeit with an Armenian-sounding name… but I digress) and why is he basically a hustler? Why are there often so few ethnicities in the “future?”

My point is we can all keep our racial critic caps on when we watch and appreciate these and other popular media. We should always want them to be better. However, that doesn’t diminish the impact and power of these films. And if “District 9” pushes your buttons and/or you thought parts of it were profound, that is a testament to its success as art.