by Mandy J Watson

Posted: 1 October 2009 << Previous Page

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Many web sites were launched as part of the online viral-marketing effort to promote District 9. In this showcase we will look at those sites (collectively referred to as "The District 9 Movie Experience"), and more, to see how they related to, and complemented, the real-world marketing campaign. (Plus, for fans, find out about some amazing items and downloads you may have missed on each site.)

Requirements: Flash
Recommendations: None

MNU Spreads Lies is an anti-MNU propaganda site purportedly by Christopher Johnson. To give the site more weight the posts go back to September 2007 although the site was only registered by Sony Pictures International on 3 April 2008 (but even that gives you an idea of how long ago they were planning the campaign). The posts give you an interesting perspective of Christopher Johnson's character and experiences as a non-human in Johannesburg and insight into his past, which included a period in which he worked at MNU as a parts loader in the munitions factory until he was fired for committing sabotage on the factory assembly line. You also learn a lot more about MNU and its activities as he touches on everything from intellectual property to MNU's industrial, military, and financial interests in other companies.

The posts become more militant and antagonistic as time progresses but there's a bit of a weird disconnect from the "real" world as the posts don't quite match the personality we see on screen. It's also strange in that he posts an immense amount of anti-MNU sentiment and revealing details about himself but doesn't use a pseudonym or attempt to conceal his identity or criminal intentions and actions.


After he is fired he begins attending meetings with what turns out to be a militant group called Pro Forma, which is intent on wreaking havoc in support of the cause, even if it means the death of human and non-human civilians, which gives him pause for thought in the quest for equal rights. He also obtains a new job at a significantly reduced salary, and learns of a Japanese company, Tanukashi [ view the marketing pamphlet (1.8 MB PDF) ], which believes in "equality for all" and is "committed to ethical rights for all citizens of planet earth". He wonders if this company could be the antithesis of MNU and the entity to bring about MNU's downfall or if it's just more of the same.

The site features posts in the non-human language that can be translated to English, as well as a few multimedia features and downloads, including propaganda downloads for you to put on your web site, a petition you can sign to show your support for equal rights, a link to a zip file (16 KB PDF) containing a TrueType Font file of the non-human font, which you can install on your computer to produce text in the non-human font, and a number of videos:

• Stop The Lies: Support Equal Rights For Non-Humans (1.87 MB Flash Video)
• Stop The Exploitation: Support Equal Rights For Non-Humans (2.41 MB Flash Video)
• The Non-Human Reproductive System (8.01 MB Flash Video)

(There is also a link to a low-res version of the movie trailer.)

MNU Spreads Lies is one of the most detailed of the District 9 web sites and will be of interest to anyone wanting to know more of the backstory and how anti-MNU and pro-equality sentiment evolved in the movie universe.

Web: http://www.mnuspreadslies.com/

On The Internet

Official Site: District 9