King Kong is one of the most studied films as possible symbol of racism, sexism, subconscious sexuality, and similar topics. In these posts I will focus on the scientific feasibility of the geography, flora and fauna of the film; the relationship between the woman and the giant gorilla; and changes between versions (1933, 1976 and 2005).
ESPAÑOL / SPANISH
King Kong es una de las películas más estudiadas como posible símbolo de racismo, machismo, sexualidad subconsciente y temas similares. En estas publicaciones les contaré sobre la viabilidad científica de la geografía, flora y fauna de la película; la relación entre la mujer y el gorila gigante; y los cambios entre las versiones (1933, 1976 y 2005).
Image source: imdb.com
The blog will be based on an academic article:
Ann’s secret relationship with King Kong: a biological
look at Skull Island and the true nature of the Beauty
and Beast Myth
(By Julián Monge-Nájera, Laboratorio de Ecología
Urbana, Vicerrectoría de Investigación UNED, Sabanilla MO, S. José, Costa Rica;
julianmonge@gmail.com)
Reproduced with permission from:
I
was lucky enough to watch all versions of King Kong on the big screen,
not reduced to a less impressive miniature on television or a computer. As a
teenager, I saw the original (1933) version in a festival of American film
history in the Centro Cultural Costarricense-Norteamericano in San José, Costa
Rica, as well as Guillermin’s and Jackson’s versions when they were first shown in
theaters in 1976 and 2005.
I
liked all of them and I introduced my children to the story in due time (they disliked
the end, but loved the rest of the film). In this essay, as a biologist and
film fan, I will tell you my personal perspective and unify the cores of all
those analyses about King Kong’s geography, evolution, ecology and
sexology presented throughout the years in numerous blogs, websites and
book-length treatments. I conclude that despite the directors’ view -that in
adventure films drama is more important than scientific accuracy- King Kong
had scientific plausibility and even surpassed some scientific knowledge at the
time it was made. Finally, I explain why I reject Dekker’s (1992) interpretation
of animal-woman sex myths as exclusive products of the male mind, and base that
rejection on recent scientific research about this taboo topic.
Skull Island shot from King Kong, 1933
The
2017 film Skull Island, from Legendary Pictures and Tencent Pictures,
revisits King Kong's home and the company promised an interesting
approach to the island itself:
"Previous works have touched on the island, but staying and exploring this mysterious and dangerous place offers Legendary the opportunity to take audiences deeper inside this rich world"
Source: geeksofdoom.com
I
will add comments to this blog when the film becomes available, and
this will be this blog's addition to what is included in the CoRis
article.
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