Kong is us
A while into the King Kong movie I stopped viewing the 2005 remake as anything allegorical in terms of the "War on Terror" going on today. Instead, as Kong bashed the skulls in of his reptilian enemies on Skull Island, I realized this was Darwinism. The survival of the fittest in action-packed scenes. Kong takes the hits and keeps swinging. His competitive advantages on display when there is a jump to make or when he disables the powerful jaws of his enemies with strong pressure and retaliatory punches. The great ape kicked much tail. That is what humans think of themselves, is it not? Better than the other species, kicking their tails. Kong was shown as more powerful than the most menacing foes on his island.
The movie also humanizes Kong. He laughs. He seems meloncholy very often. He is irritated. (How would you feel if a bunch of little people shot tiny bullets at you?) Ultimately, Kong expresses guttoral emotion. Kong has love. Kong demonstrates intelligence, from leveraging his strengths against his foes to seeming to communicate to his captive woman.
All those emotions, but all the violence inflicted too. Kong goes to work in the jungle battering down enemies, catching scars, and risking his life. Not for nothing either, but for his woman. Kong has a home with a nice view. Kong is a model for taking the worst the world has to offer, using strength to overcome all, risking all, for the sake of beauty. This means to me, all the economics of his world are validated by the security given his woman and the fleeting beauty they share.
If Kong is us, this movie tells me to take all the slanders and insults of the workplace and the public arena, accept it and resist it where needed by my own strength and force of will, for the sake of a nice home and protected woman. There is a vibe akin to barbarism therein. But applied to me today, I felt empathy for Kong's situation in relation to my own. I saw myself going to work and taking all the blows and damage, flexing my talents, for the sake of taking home pay to shelter my lady. If robbed of it I should take my all and risk life or limb to overcome exploitation and restore love. No matter the state of the world, romantic love is the goal to achieve. All things exist as means to that end, at least in the eyes of Kong...
That all said, this was a great movie and I thought it was very good on the big screen. The action scenes are not flawless, but they are very engaging. I would recommend it for most folks. Though not small children. Someone had a toddler in the theatre for this movie that clocks in at almost 3.5 hours with previews and features prominently monsters and slaughter as a matter of course. The kid screamed and the parents act surprised. Anyhow, people should check out Kong as a great movie, regardless my analysis herein.
The movie also humanizes Kong. He laughs. He seems meloncholy very often. He is irritated. (How would you feel if a bunch of little people shot tiny bullets at you?) Ultimately, Kong expresses guttoral emotion. Kong has love. Kong demonstrates intelligence, from leveraging his strengths against his foes to seeming to communicate to his captive woman.
All those emotions, but all the violence inflicted too. Kong goes to work in the jungle battering down enemies, catching scars, and risking his life. Not for nothing either, but for his woman. Kong has a home with a nice view. Kong is a model for taking the worst the world has to offer, using strength to overcome all, risking all, for the sake of beauty. This means to me, all the economics of his world are validated by the security given his woman and the fleeting beauty they share.
If Kong is us, this movie tells me to take all the slanders and insults of the workplace and the public arena, accept it and resist it where needed by my own strength and force of will, for the sake of a nice home and protected woman. There is a vibe akin to barbarism therein. But applied to me today, I felt empathy for Kong's situation in relation to my own. I saw myself going to work and taking all the blows and damage, flexing my talents, for the sake of taking home pay to shelter my lady. If robbed of it I should take my all and risk life or limb to overcome exploitation and restore love. No matter the state of the world, romantic love is the goal to achieve. All things exist as means to that end, at least in the eyes of Kong...
That all said, this was a great movie and I thought it was very good on the big screen. The action scenes are not flawless, but they are very engaging. I would recommend it for most folks. Though not small children. Someone had a toddler in the theatre for this movie that clocks in at almost 3.5 hours with previews and features prominently monsters and slaughter as a matter of course. The kid screamed and the parents act surprised. Anyhow, people should check out Kong as a great movie, regardless my analysis herein.
respond or e-mail this post:
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home