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| Fig. 1. King Kong Poster (1933) |
Early on in the film, when the main characters arrive on skull island, the audience is introduced to the natives of the island.
“King Kong is a fantastical depiction of those far-off lands, with a meta story that featured a movie crew that stumbles upon primitive, almost animalistic local villagers. Those villagers are the worst kind of stereotype: They dance around in loincloths and coconut bras, commit human sacrifice, try to trade six of their women for the production’s blonde woman (Fay Wray), and worship a gigantic beast that kills them. It is, by today’s standards, ridiculously racist, though Michlig notes it was more reflective of common attitudes in the 1930s than any political statement.”
(Zakarin, 2017)
Here Jordan Zakarin (writer for Inverse.com) explains the appearance of the natives in King Kong. He explains how they are shown to be primitive and animalistic; they are shown trying to trade some of their own women for Fay Wray's character, Ann Darrow; they were are shown to be wearing attire that is inappropriate and ridiculous;
"It is rare to see a coconut brassiere in a non-comedy"
(Ebert, 2002)
And they are shown to have a primal religion devoted to Kong were they engage in human sacrifice. These characters are incredibly racist by today's standards as this kind of behaviour is seen a sub human and could be seen as a political statement on native people, however Zakarin also mentions that John Michlig (Author of the book: Eighth Wonder: The Amazing True Story of Carl Denham and The Beast-God of Skull Island (2005)) argues that the appearance and behaviour of the natives was more reflective of what most people thought to be true, rather than an explicit political statement.
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| Fig 2. Island Natives (1933) |
In Peter Jackson's 2005 remake the natives are still primitive and animalistic.
“In the 2005 version, the natives on Skull Island have been marooned away from civilization for hundreds of years and have gone accordingly insane; they’re more like rabid ghosts haunting the exotic jungle than functional humans — violent and fanatical in worship of their gorilla god.”
(Zakarin, 2017)
As Zakarin explains, the native in the remake are even more aggresive and it shows that these characters have gone insane. It is possible that some may view as just as racist, if not more so.
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| Fig 3. Darrow and Driscoll escaping from Island Natives (2005) |
This entire depiction of the natives was finally flipped in Jordan Vogt-Roberts' Kong: Skull Island (2017), where the natives are shown to be a somewhat peaceful and intelligent tribe.
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| Fig 4. Island Natives (2017) |
The representation of the natives isn't the only problematic representation in the film, the representation of women in King Kong can be seen as sexist to many people.
“Fay Wray became the “Queen of the Scream” with this film, and while she’s gorgeous with a killer set of pipes (that should have been exhausted by the hour mark), her constant screaming becomes a barrage on the ears. Furthermore, she’s relegated to being the damsel, practically paralyzed with fear from the moment she’s kidnapped by Kong, till the end. I grasp that this is a sign of the times but it becomes ridiculous; look at her inability to get off a bed to avoid Kong’s hand in the climax for proof of her helplessness."
(Lopez, 2013)
Fay Wray, regarded as the "Queen of Scream" because of how often she screams in film, is seen as barley anything more than the damsel in distress throughout the film. She faints at the slightest sign of danger and she barley even moves in scenes where she could escape easily. She is almost completely useless and can easily bee seen as a sexist caricature of how women were treated in the 1930s.
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| Fig 5. Ann Darrow being held by Kong (1933) |
Wray's character, Ann Darrow, along with presumably multiple tribes women were sacrificed to Kong in attempts to appease him. This came with a lot of what can be interpreted as rape imagery.
"She’s the girl who must be saved by all the menfolk, or she’s the victim about to “raped” by the creature. There’s a litany of rape imagery when Ann is “sacrificed” to Kong; the phallic bolt sliding to open the gate, Ann tied with her arms spread, and the first appearance of Kong’s face, in close-up, emphasizes his lust as he beats his chest and grins. The infamous sequence of Kong taking off Ann’s clothes is also a fumbling assault gesture; and while Kong grows to love Ann, his relationship becomes obsessive as he goes to great lengths to secure her for himself."
(Lopez, 2013)
After her sacrifice, Kong claims Darrow as his. While he does go out of his way to protect her from other prehistoric creatures, Kong also does things like rips her clothes off and sniffs her. Watching what could be considered a rape scene can be uncomfortable for many people; in fact this specific scene was even uncomfortable back in 1933, resulting in it being cut. The scene was later re-added, however.
The film also shows men being incredibly sexist towards Darrow, specifically her love interest, John Driscoll.
"Of course, the rest of the men are no better, particularly the “love interest,” John Driscoll (Bruce Cabot). Driscoll gets sore that Ann is coming on-board the ship, chalking it up to a general abhorrence for women on boats; “Women can’t help being a bother.” When he declares his love for Ann it’s romance soaked in clumsiness: “I guess I love you. Anne: But Jack, you hate women!” And thus, a romance is born! Driscoll is apologetic, but that doesn’t mask his blatant chauvinism.”
(Lopez, 2013)
Driscoll is very obviously sexist with his “Women can’t help being a bother.” comment. Also his romantic relationship with Darrow is so bare bones, it doesn't even look like an actual relationship to modern audiences.
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| Fig 6. Ann Darrow and John Driscoll (1933) |
In the 2005 remake, Ann Darrow was made into a stronger character and Kong is a lot less creepy and problematic.
In this clip, Ann, instead of just screaming and fainting, tries to entertain Kong. However, as he keeps pushing her over, she snaps and shouts at him. This shows that this version of Ann Darrow is much more independent and can at least stand up for herself. It also shows Kong to be a lot less perverted and a lot more playful, like a real gorilla.
Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's King Kong (1933) is very much a relic of its time. The characters they created were not seen as problematic back in 1933, but they are now. Throughout its numerous adaptations, King Kong's natives, leading lady and title character have been significantly changed. From savage tribesmen to peaceful villagers in the 2017 reboot; from helpless damsel in distress to independent woman that can defend herself. The characters from King Kong have at least evolved over the years to be more fleshed out and politically correct.
Bibliography
Ebert, R. (2002) Great Movie King Kong (1933) [Film Review] At: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-king-kong-1933 (Accessed on 18 October 2018)
Lopez, K (2013) King Kong 1933 [Film Review] At: https://journeysinclassicfilm.com/2013/06/06/king-kong-1933/ (Accessed on 18 October 2018)
Zakarin, J. (2017) King Kong's Long Journey From Racist Monster to Woke Hero [Online] At: https://www.inverse.com/article/28860-king-kong-skull-island-politics-racism (Accessed on 18 October 2018)
List of Illustrations
Figure 1. King Kong Poster (1933) [Poster] At: http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/posters/kingkong.jpg (Accessed on 21.10.18)
Figure 2. Island Natives (1933) [Photograph] At: https://www.cineplex.com/People/noble-johnson/Photos (Acessed on 23.10.18)
Figure 3. Darrow and Driscoll escaping from Island Natives (2005) From: King Kong, Directed by: Peter Jackson. [Film Still] New Zealand/United States: Universal Pictures. At: http://www.tokyolivespodcast.com/gmn/2016/6/24/the-many-skull-islands-of-kong-part-2 (Accessed on: 23.10.18)
Figure 4. Island Natives (2017) From: Kong: Skull Island, Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts. [Film Still] United States: Legendary Entertainment. At: http://phubb.blogspot.com/2017/08/kong-skull-island-2017_3.html (Accessed on 23.10.18)
Figure 5. Ann Darrow being held by Kong (1933) From: King Kong, Directed by: Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. [Film Still] United States: Radio Pictures. At: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/king-kong-1933.122693/page-2 (Accessed on 23.10.18)
Figure 6. Ann Darrow and John Driscoll (1933) From: King Kong, Directed by: Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. [Film Still] United States: Radio Pictures. At: http://classicmovierev.com/bruce-cabot-bio (Accessed on 23.10.18)
Video List
King Kong (2005) Directed by: Jackson, P. [Film Clip] New Zealand/United States: Universal Pictures. At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ghrraB8mTU (Accessed on 23.10.18)
Interesting review Terry :)
ReplyDeleteA quick comment on the 'unpacking' of the quote...just be careful that you are not just saying exactly the same thing again; you need to be expanding on the ideas in the quote. Also, your in-text reference should go directly after the quote, not on a seperate line.
Just make sure that you proof read before posting - you have a couple of 'barley's in there when you wanted 'barely' :)