10 Sci-Fi Movies You Didn't Know Were Based On Real Life Events
Who would've guessed The Blob and Godzilla were inspired by true stories?
There are a lot of dramas, thrillers, period pieces, and war epics inspired by historic events or real people. But when it comes to science-fiction, one naturally assumes there isn't a trace of truth in it.
I mean, when the word 'fiction' is literally in the name, it's hard to see sci-fi as anything except pure entertainment. When you're watching a movie where characters battle killer robots in outer space or encounter giant monsters from another dimension, the words 'based on a true story' rarely spring to mind.
But just because a movie is fictional doesn't mean it is devoid of truth. Every story has a gram of reality, even if that story deals with the otherworldly or the supernatural.
However, there are some sci-fi flicks that have far more than a gram of reality. Despite the fact Battle: Los Angeles, District 9, and The Mothman Prophecies revolve around aliens and ghosts, they were inspired by real life events.
After you learn the history behind these films, you may be a bit more wary using the term 'science fiction' in the future.
10. District 9
Even though many sci-fi films are based on supernatural events, the inspiration for District 9 is a lot closer to home.
In Neil Blomkamp's directorial debut, an alien spaceship enters Earth's atmosphere and hovers above Johannesburg in South Africa. When the government discovers the vessel contains over a million malnourished aliens, they are placed in a shanty town called District 9. Although this encounter is seen as one of the most significant moments in history, humanity grows tired of the aliens after several years, perceiving them as a nuisance.
Despite the fact District 9 has visitors from another world, it's obvious that the story is an analogy to the segregation and xenophobia which South Africa experienced during the apartheid regime. Even the film's title is an unsubtle nod to District 6 - an area in Capetown populated by 60,000 people who were forcibly removed from their homes in the 1970s by the apartheid government.
Blomkamp has continued to make films revolving around segregation like Elysium and Chappie but District 9 is still his most powerful work by far.