Racist hollywood does it again: King Kong

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ColdBlooded

ColdBlooded

Sicc OG
#1
Apr 25, 2002
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#1
Any movie that features white people sailing off to the Third World to capture a giant ape and carry it back to the West for exploitation is going to be seen as a metaphor for colonialism and racism.

It remains a parable of exploitation, cultural self-importance, the arrogance of the West, all issues that were obvious in the original but unexamined; they remain unexamined here, if more vivid.

How bout the natives of mythical Skull Island, where Kong is discovered. Director Jackson took people of Melanesian stock — the dark-skinned peoples who are indigenous to much of the South Pacific, including Jackson’s own country, New Zealand — and made them up to look and act like monsters, more zombie-ish than human. Indeed, one is moved to compare these human devils to the ogre-ish Orcs from Jackson’s mega-Oscar “Lord of the Rings” films. The bad guys are dark, hideous and undifferentiatedly evil.
 
Ne Obliviscaris

Ne Obliviscaris

RIP Cut-Throat and SoCo
#5
Dec 30, 2004
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#5
isnt kong sort of the 'hero' of the movie? isnt the story more about the failure of western culture in trying to exploit him? wouldnt that make king kong more a parable about the evils of slavery and colonialism rather than an endorsment of them?
 
ColdBlooded

ColdBlooded

Sicc OG
#6
Apr 25, 2002
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#6
The new Kong is, as always, a noble beast with a tender side. But, at the same time, his killing is presented as a cruel necessity. And at the end of the film, the white people — love interests Naomi Watts and Adrien Brody — are brought closer together, thanks to their brush with the big ape.
 
Ne Obliviscaris

Ne Obliviscaris

RIP Cut-Throat and SoCo
#7
Dec 30, 2004
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#7
well i havent seen the new king kong, so i cant really argue the details with you, but metaphors are often more in the eye of the interpreter than the conciever. Also, isnt the death of a hero a fairly common theme in western literature in gnereal? i dont see racism in the death of kong bringing two white people closer. if anything thats (in my mind) a commentary about the positive impact of other cultures.
 
ColdBlooded

ColdBlooded

Sicc OG
#8
Apr 25, 2002
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#8
The causative factor in his capture and his demise is his fatal attraction to a blonde. The last words of the film . . . “Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.”. “Beauty” = “the white woman.” This kind of theme is foreshadowed in the behavior of the “natives” on the island where Kong is captured.

The white woman comes along on the safari not only to provide romantic interest. She is usually a focus of tension between the white males and the “natives,” furnishing an opportunity for some of the former to display their virile heroism against the savages.

Aside from the sexual aspect implicit in the question of race, there’s the more direct, and somewhat delirious, sexual imagery in the film. The ape often functions as a most appropriate anthropoid symbol of “lower,” “animal” instincts. In this case we have a giant ape (literally a huge, hairy monster) and his unrestrained, headlong pursuit of a “blonde,” that archetypical Hollywood sex-object, ending on top of the world’s foremost phallic symbol. The sexual theme touches on the standard racist myth of the black male’s exaggerated sexual potency, and the complementary notion of his insatiable desire for white women.

The image of King Kong on a Broadway stage may correspond very closely to white America’s attitudes toward the black men in the 1930s: an object of entertainment, but also of fear. The ape is apparently securely chained, but with the ever present potential for bursting his chains and wreaking violence and destruction with all the power of his supposed “savage” primitive nature.
 
Ne Obliviscaris

Ne Obliviscaris

RIP Cut-Throat and SoCo
#9
Dec 30, 2004
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#9
^^^ill grant you that western (read: white) culture emphesizes black sexual potency, but i dont think they are alone in doing so, since were on a rap board, lets look at hip-hop culture which certainly does the same. i also agree with you that the story reflects the attitude of early 20th century whites towords blacks (was it really the 30's???) but cant this simply be cultural examination rather than an endorsement of the attitude?

by the way, its nice to have a decent discussion on here without it degenerating into someone calling someone else a fag and telling them how they are going to roll through the spot and fuck them up.
 
mustynutz

mustynutz

Sicc OG
#13
Jun 27, 2002
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#13
bowling is a racist sport too...you take one big black ball, knock down 10 pins...all with red necks

so is pool...you take a white ball and knock out all the other colors...and end the game with takin out the black....


thats why i dont eat pork, pork is the white mans meat...if you spell pork backwards...what does it say...KLUKLUXKLAN
 
T

thatguy

Sicc OG
#14
Apr 8, 2005
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#14
i swear, any movie that has a black person in it, and a monkey, some dumbass will call it racist, i honestly doubt the guy sat and decided he was gonna do this to spite all the black people indirectly, u just need somthing to bitch and complain about, so you go look for it
 
ColdBlooded

ColdBlooded

Sicc OG
#15
Apr 25, 2002
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#15
^^^ Cracka ^^^

mustynutz said:
bowling is a racist sport too...you take one big black ball, knock down 10 pins...all with red necks

so is pool...you take a white ball and knock out all the other colors...and end the game with takin out the black....


thats why i dont eat pork, pork is the white mans meat...if you spell pork backwards...what does it say...KLUKLUXKLAN
Click to expand...

Great points musty, i'm gunna have to give up ever playing pool or bowling again.

I don't eat that caucasoid man's meat because the pig is a filthy beast: part rat, part cat, and the rest is dog.

Good point about spelling pork backwards though. Just another good reason to not eat it.
 
BETO916

BETO916

Sicc OG
#16
Apr 7, 2005
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www.myspace.com
#16
thatguy said:
i swear, any movie that has a black person in it, and a monkey, some dumbass will call it racist, i honestly doubt the guy sat and decided he was gonna do this to spite all the black people indirectly, u just need somthing to bitch and complain about, so you go look for it
Click to expand...
you lose respect and credibility with every post.

great job
 
DAT NIGGA TAZZ

DAT NIGGA TAZZ

Sicc OG
#18
Jun 5, 2004
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#18
on the real though it was wierd to see just random black people in the movie... usually a movie describing that era has like one black person in it in an elevator or something. i think they tried on purpose to make it non-racist. (im not talking about the jungle folks, im talking about the people in the city; the captian of the boat,etc.)
 
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