Review of Chappie:

The idea of Artificial Intelligence leading to sentient

consciousness and evolving into a potential threat against the affairs of
humanity isnt an entirely new concept for stories to explore. One
John C. Lilly was so convinced of the threat of artificial intelligence
evolving into a self aware threat to humanity, that he petitioned his
colleagues at the Department of Defense to consider his horrific visions
of the future induced no doubt through many a session in the sensory
depravation tank. Or even perhaps many a session in the sensory
depravation tank on Ketamine, or perhaps many a session in the
sensory deprivation tank on LSD, or just many sessions on Ketamine
and or LSD. Nevertheless, Dr. Lilly took time to describe these events
in his third person autobiography titled, The Scientist.
While I have long been a fan of Mr. Lillys work including his
development of communication with dolphins for the U.S. Navy, I am
also a fan of Die Antwoords work and for that matter Max Normals
work. I think to truly appreciate the subtle nuances of Chappie; it
helps to have a healthy understanding of the history, origin and
evolution of what we now call Die Antwoord. The emphasis on art,
rats, wheelchairs and the gangsta mentality was something that was
nurtured and developed over time by what amounts to Ninjas artistic
vision and his strong instincts as a visual and recording artist. The
precursor to Die Antwoord is a straight-laced South African white boy

known as Max Normal that wears a nice shirt and tie and is a little
nerdy. The song Laf Nag documents the transition from Max Normal to
Ninja. One day while on his way home from work, Max stops to ask for
directions and finds himself taken hostage by some ghetto gangstas
that force him to give up his clothes and smoke meth and then take
him through the Cape Town Flats where begins the conversion of Max
Normal to Ninja in his underpants and ultimately the techno gangsta
art and music of Die Antwoord.
If we take this knowledge with us into the theater to view
Chappie, we might begin to understand in greater detail what the
archetypical western reviewer is confounded and perhaps revolted by.
A prime example of Die Antwoords message is perhaps, Fuck the
system.
Enter the story of Chappie. In America and indeed around the
world today we are faced with what anthropologist s refer to as the
cyclic turn of events known as balkanization. Balkanization says that
ancient civilizations evolve into organized civilizations, eventually
become overly domineering and militaristic and eventually the leaders
of organized civilization become such a burden on the subjects that
they indeed become a burden to the society they govern. Society then
revolts and turns on its leaders and the civilization falls as its subjects
attack the leaders and then scatter to adopt a more tribal society.
Eventually, these tribal enclaves then begin organizing again and the

whole process repeats itself as civilization takes another stab at

perhaps getting it right on the next go around.
Chappie opens the opportunity to consider present day overtly
militaristic society looking for new ways to maintain dominion over its
subjects as the balkanization process is perhaps at the height of decay;
societys subjects ready to tear apart the system which has become
corrupt and no longer serves the subjects it rules. Much like many a
police force in the world today. Typically licensed under the idea or
slogan of, To Protect and Serve, modern day police forces are
increasingly having focus placed upon them as parasitic organisms
which are taking freedom and resources away from the public, up to
and including the lives of the subjects they are theoretically there to
serve and protect. Given license to squash protests and riots, police
and sometimes military factions of the state attack and abuse the
constitutional and/or human rights of disorderly subjects who have
become dissatisfied with the modus operandi of the state supreme,
sometimes referred to as the ruling class.
The great promise of Chappie is the opportunity for the evolving
story to examine the thought process and evolving actions of a robot
police officer who has become rejected by the system and then as a
result, is adopted by the underground of the rebel set of gangstas, as
the robots new sentient identity struggles between the directives of
not doing bad things, but at the same time looking to preserve its own

self aware consciousness and ultimately to find a way to transcend the

dying and damaged carcass of not just itself, but of its creator and the
most favored Yolandi Visser, who Chappie knows as Mommy.
It would seem there is plenty of room for Chappies writers and
directors to evolve many concepts deep and underpinning todays
society in what feels like a pending sequel.