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The politics of identity, culture, and
trauma in Neill Blomkamp’s “Chappie”
(2015)
Beschara Karam
Department of Communication Science
University of South Africa
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Jeffrey Alexander this type of trauma “occurs
when members of a collective feel they have
been subjected to a horrendous event that
leaves inedible marks upon their group
consciousness, marking their memories
forever and changing their future identity in
fundamental and irrevocable ways” (2004:1).
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Arthur Neal: “just as the rape victim becomes
permanently changed as a result of the
trauma, the nation becomes permanently
changed as a result of trauma in the social
realm” (1998:36).
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An image of a “scout”-bot/police
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Some youths beating up Chappie
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They set Chappie on fire
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Chappie tries to crawl home, still burning
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Chappie with his “maker” Deon (Dev Patel)
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The “Moos”
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Yolandi reading to Chappie
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Yolandi-bot