Space Odditie: King Kong

                                  (fig. 1)

Coming into this film having a vague idea of what to expect (racism and sexism) and only seeing the modern day adaptations it's hard to actually know whether it's going to be received positively or negatively. In Merian C. Copper and Ernest B Schoedsack's King Kong (1933) the themes of racism and sexism are very prominent, but do not overshadow the stop-motion animation and special effects which at the time were something to behold.


                                         (fig. 2)                                                                                                                   
Nowadays the film's racism and sexism is much more obvious as society has focused more on the equality of people, regardless of race or sex. None the less, the representation of the islanders shows the depiction of black people at the time. Once Carl Denham and his crew arrive at the island they see the islanders, who are represented in a stereotypical way; they are seen dancing around a fire wearing loincloths, wearing coconut bras and committing human sacrifices to a god they believe will punish them if they don't. This is further supported by Jordan Zakarin (2017) who looks at how Kong has gone from being a "racist monster" to "woke hero": "Those villagers are the worst kind of stereotype [...]  It is, by today’s standards, ridiculously racist".  



               (fig.3)

As well as the racism within the film, it's also very sexist. One of the main purposes of Ann Darrow as a character was to be represented as a sexual object. An example of sexism in the film can be seen when the villagers of the island want to trade six of their women for Ann. This can link back to the racism in the film implying that a single white woman holds more value than six black women. However, the focus of mentioning that scene was to draw attention to the fact that the men believed that they had the right to trade women off like they were a possession. Furthermore, throughout the whole film Ann is portrayed as a weak and defenseless character, spending most of her time screaming and having to be rescued by men. This is further supported by Gumtow et al, " She doesn't seem to have any power or any purpose other than to be a sexual object." Although these two themes that come up in the film are disrespectful and demeaning, it does not ruin the whole experience of the film. Considering the time period, these themes are almost expected. As a result the audience may look over them and choose to focus on the other elements of the film including the fight scenes, closing moments of the film and the revolutionary special effects.   




                 
Lastly, the special effects and stop-motion animation were revolutionary for future films such as 'Jurassic Park' and 'Alien'. In comparison to today's standards of special effects and animation King Kong would definitely fall flat, but at the same time it's in a league of its own. This can be further explained by Dabell's (2004)point "the special effects obviously look rather primitive to 21st Century eyes - but anyone with a shred of common sense will still be astounded by what they see." Although, the special effects aren't as high quality, the film gets the viewer thinking about how it was possible to make this beast and the island it lives on. 

Overall, it may not be the best film and uncomfortable at times, but it is definitely is key to other successful films as well as still being able to amaze people with its special effects and animation for the time it was made.  


Bibliography:

zakarin: https://www.inverse.com/article/28860-king-kong-skull-island-politics-racism
Gumtow:http://kingkongkingdom.weebly.com/
dabell: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024216/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

Illustration: 
figure 1: http://www.classic-monsters.com/shop/product/king-kong-1933-ultimate-guide/
figure 2:  http://www.alleycatscratch.com/movie/kong/1933/Natives.htm
figure 3: http://snarkymoviereviews.com/king-kong-1933/