Chappie

Chappie is a science fiction film written and directed by Joburg native Neil Blomkamp. (Neil also wrote and directed District 9 and Elysium.) The movie stars Sharlto Copley, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman and Dev Patel.

Neil's work - much of it filmed in Johannesburg - is a kind of social commentary using science fiction as its vehicle for expression. District 9 (2009) was a singular anti-Apartheid metaphor, and Elysium (2013) is a more general metaphor about immigration and how the First World and Third World meet.  

Chappie is set in the near future where crime is patrolled by a mechanized police force. When one police droid, Chappie, is stolen and given new programming, he becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself.

According to Blomkamp, Chappie is more comedic satire than his other work. I have not seen it yet but my Computer Animator son in California has. Alex was surprised when I told him the inside joke surrounding the name "Chappie." (I never surprise him with my fun facts, so it was pretty cool to be able to it this time!)

Chappies is a brand of bubblegum introduced in South-Africa in the late 1940s. Chappies was created by Arthur Ginsburg while working for Chapelat, a Johannesburg-based confectionery manufacturer, as a competitor for the well established Wicks bubblegum.

The innovations of Arthur Ginsburg launched the Chappies brand into a position where the name Chappies became synonymous with the word bubblegum. (Like Kleenex and "tissues" in the USA or  Google and "search" the world over.)

The first innovation was the business model. While the Wicks branded gum was sold for 1c per piece, the smaller Chappies gum was sold at 1c for two pieces. This led to Chappies gaining value as currency as shopkeepers would give change in the form of gum. I remember my Past Experiences guide Jo Buitendach telling me the same thing. She grew up on Chappies and hands them out to the little kids she encounters while touring the CBD with her clients.

The second innovation was the inclusion of "Did you know" trivia on the inside of the wrappers. (Sounds like our Bazooka bubblegum growing up in the USA.)

Chappies was sold to Cadbury's many years ago, but they still maintain a nostalgic place amongst Joburgers - clearly including Neil Blomkamp.