One of my favorite parts of Peter Jackon's 2005 remake is when Jack Black's Carl Denham makes the meta joke about wanting to cast Fay Wray in his film, only to discover she is working with RKO and Merian Cooper.
One thing I find odd about King Kong is how easily it can be read as an anti-colonialist film as well. Fundamentally, *everything that happens is Carl Denham's fault.* Even his famous "beauty killed the beast" line can come off like a deliberate attempt to dodge responsibility. He's the real bad guy of the film... but it's REALLY hard to tell whether the filmmakers realized/intended that.
@@8LiterallyJustTheNumber8 seeing what is shown about them in the video, the original filmmakers didn't realize most of it - if any at all. From the other things they tried to do, they were either taking advantage of these tropes to make money, or (most likely) were themselves just a product of their times.
Right in the beginning of the film there is a quote about beauty and beast. This theme of beauty and beast was repeated throughout the film. The intention was this theme. But it’s clear you can interpret the film as anti-colonist. Kong would have been safe and happy if the Denham never took kong back to NY. But this anti-colonist theme was in mind. If you look at the sequel Son of Kong, you can see how Denham regrets what he did for all the damage he caused and for killing kong. So both themes were definitely in mind in the films. The original intention though was primarily a beauty and beast story. But there is some subtext within the film that tell an anti-colonist message. In recent years this anti/colonist message just became more apparent due to the change of times and a changing audience.
Kong is one of my all time favorite movie "monsters". Because he's one of the greatest examples of a monster being more than just something scary to gawk at. He's a character of his own and a symbol. The best monsters are always more than just monsters.
I was reading an article about a decade back about the creation of the National Parks system here in the USA. Teddy Roosevelt, of course, was the man who pushed for this, but what is often forgotten is *why* he pushed for it. Roosevelt, along with others, believed that modern man was becoming "weak" and "effeminate" and if males did not put themselves in situations of pure survival in a natural environment, the entire race would eventually die out. Thus the National Parks were places where men could "test their manhood" against raw nature. One of the people who worked with Roosevelt, as a young intern, was one of the producers of this film (although I confess I forget which one). He and Roosevelt talked many times about the whole "noble savage" and "manly men going hunting" ideas, which at least in part inspired King Kong. So ... a connection between King Kong and the US National Parks System ;-)
Very interesting, and similarly to your point about Roosevelt. The Ken Burns documentary on the Roosevelts features some startling quotes from Teddy, which demonstrate how clearly his thinking was a precursor to the "Futurists," who were the inspiration behind Mussolini's fascism.
At the end of the movie ("beauty killed the beast") Denham seems completely unaware or unconcerned that he caused the deaths of dozens of New Yorkers, two pilots, and this unique majestic creature. All needlessly killed because he dragged Kong to New York to display in a theater. But recklessly doing whatever it takes to make a buck is deeply American. At least Jack Black's Denham in 2005 had the decency to look horrified.
Watch Son of Kong. Denham's being chased constantly by process servers at the start of the movie, and ends up feeling guilty once he meets the little Kong.
I'm glad to see King Kong discussed more and more! I'm working on my own King Kong remake project named Legend of Kong; King of Skull Island. A visual novel I'm writing that I hope to make a 2d animated film out of it!
@laverdadescatolica5 what are you blathering about? What in my comment, or any of the comments saying the same thing as me, that we've been replying to, gives you that impression? We're all definitely expressing the exact opposite idea.
I have never heard of the gentleman that was credited with the stop motion for Kong...it was my understanding that this was another Ray Harryhausen triumph. Thanks for setting me straight.
I believe that King Kong was part of what inspired Harryhausen to pursue a career in stop-motion animation, and that one of his first jobs was assisting O'Brien (the animator for King Kong) in the animation of Mighty Joe Young.
@@robertskitch Yup!! Harryhausen frequently credited O'Brien for that mentorship. Sometimes I really wish we still had THAT kind of artistry in our films. CGI is nice and can do some things that older animations couldn't, but I really love the classic stop-motion creatures the most.
I've watched various versions of Kong since I was a kid in the early 80's. Which ever version I watch, I ALWAYS cry for Kong. I hadn't considered the parallels you brought up though. Now it's going to be even MORE intense! Love Monstrum Dr.Z! 🖖😎🤘🇨🇦
You may have missed Mighty Joe Young from '49, a different take on Kong. I love the original Kong , the special effects are amazing along with the fabulous Faye.
In the 1960s, Japanese studio Toho licensed the character from RKO and produced two films that featured the character, King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and King Kong Escapes (1967).
Mmm as a congolese Canadian I know there's many books and movies that allude to some type of "kongo jungle" business. Almost like a obsession of Congo .Thank you for speaking on this storied!
I would agree that Kong leans on many of the problematic tropes of its genre that weren't criticised at the time, but I cannot see King Kong as a deliberate or malicious example of those tropes in action. Kong is a tragic figure who is ultimately portrayed as sympathetic, he's a wild animal but he's not cruel or predatory. He loves Anne and acts in what he feels is her defense, he's not out to hurt her. When the T.Rex attacks he fights it to protect her, when he is lost and hunted in New York, he snatches her because he assumes she is as much in danger as he himself is. His death is treated as a sad and tragic end, not a triumph of man over monster. If Gorillas were meant to be a cinematic metaphor of the wild African "savage", Kong is one you're meant to root for, but ultimately feel bad for since he cannot exist in the modern, Human world.
Kong himself doesn't seem to be a racist caricature, although there are plenty of those in the movie too. He's written as an animal who wouldn't harm anyone if left alone, but humans never leave him alone and go on to exploit him for money.
Another good episode. Love your show. But, FWIW, when you're talking about O'Brien, you show a picture of him, then a picture of RAY HARRYHAUSEN with MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, and then Marcel Delgado. Ray worked with Obie on MJY, and "inherited" the mantle of great stop motion from his mentor. But since you don't mention Ray, I assume that image is an error.
Huh, I’ve never viewed King Kong like that before, but considering its age and the time period it was made in that makes a lot of sense. For me, it was always about man trying to exploit nature and its grandness and mysteries. Even in the newer films, to me it was always about the animal and its relationships with humanity. Some good: the girl, some bad: the director.
I think the trick with King Kong, why it is such a live-wire and provokes so much debate about racism, is because it takes the racist tropes of the time and often but not always subverts them. Some of the ones regarding beauty and culture are played straight, but a lot of others are subverted. This subversion is why we still talk about King Kong and have forgotten all of the other films with similar themes from the period that played the racist tropes straight. Kong isn't just a monster as he would have been if the tropes were played completely straight, he is a victim that is lashing out against his oppressors. Kong is never the villain. The only villain is the rich jerk who caused this whole tragedy by ripping Kong from his home. Kong is so powerful because it uses and plays with racist tropes, but it never plays them straight. Kong is a tragic hero, not a villain.
excellent episode! can't wait for part 2! King Kong is my all time favorite movie. I'm glad to see you examining the racial issue of it. Ultimately I think the movie works now, still, because King Kong is so emotive. Once he shows up he's the character we all feel for the most, and that's all because of how expressive Willis O'Brien made him
Also, for what it's worth, though KONG continues a tradition of jungle-adventure-action pictures with tropes that we now recognize as racist, I think it's a serious mistake to attribute to its makers any racist intent. To stress that Kong came out of only those traditions downplays the MUCH LARGER influence of both Shoedsack and Cooper's own adventures and "true life" film making (certainly part of that imperialism), and also the influence of O'Brien's wildly successful THE LOST WORLD from a few years earlier. KING KONG combines their own lives, the adventure tropes at the time, and the Lost World (now its own genre), and I think it can be forcefully argued that none of Kong's makers never intended to dehumanize people of color with their work -- despite the native sacrificial traditions. These men (and screenwriter Ruth Rose) weren't perfect, but they were trying. You can see this more clearly in the sequel, SON OF KONG, which deals with the impact of Denham's imperialist "bring 'em back alive" attitude, and how badly it hurt him, all those connected with him, New York and New Yorkers, and even -- upon returning to Skull Island -- the natives there, who are portrayed more sympathetically as victims of Denham's hubris. Secondarily, though Charlie the cook may be a stereotype (not uncommon at the time), he's actually a sympathetic and heroic figure, too -- especially in SON OF KONG. Summing up, I think it may be going too far in ascribing racist INTENT in KONG and other films, which were merely following the fictional- and true-life- adventure template of less enlightened times. (Though certainly some films were intentionally racist.) I think it's important that we can see these "echoes" now, but I hope it won't spoil people's enjoyment of such old-fashioned films, which were made as pure entertainment. :)
I feel like alot of these essays forget people didnt know much about gorillas then and that that seeing a buff monkey was mind blowing.also the director thought gorillas looked cool
King Kong must have seemed amazing when it was released. The story is pretty compelling and the audience sides with Kong at the end. As a kid I was extremely saddened at the ending
There's a great joke on The Simpsons about what the Kong show would look like "The ape is going to stand around for about 3 hours or so then we close with the ethnic comedy stylings of Dugan and Dershowitz"
As someone mentioned, there's a photo of Ray Harryhausen while Obrien and Delgado are mentioned, but no mention of Ray so yes, an error. It should also be mentioned Mighty Joe Young is considered a part of the Obrien Kong trilogy as Obrien oversaw MJY and hired Ray to work with him on the film which kickstarted Harryhausens stop motion film career. MJY is also included with King Kong and Son of Kong in the collectors set released in the early 2000s when Peter Jacksons was releasing his theatrical remake 👍
You all seem to know when I need to see a new video, you all know when I have a bad day, when I have one there is a new video from Monstrum to help me feel better. I love these and they make me want to read and research
I dunno kinda think people are overthinking this one. Sure there was a good bit of racism at the time so you could see some parallels. But saying this is an actual metaphor is a bridge too far for me.
My wife made two notes about this video. First, she remembered seeing "The Gods Must Be Crazy" when the protagonist finds a white woman and thinks to himself, "this looks like something that crawled out from under a rock!" Forgive us if she didn't quote this line correctly -- it's been a long time since she saw the movie, and I don't recall ever seeing it. So if someone can gently correct us, we'd be much obliged. The second point is this movie inspired Ray Harryhausen to produce an astounding array of monsters and mythical creatures over the course of a fabulous career!
With a great video featuring one of the best movie monsters of all time, is it possible we will also get videos with the other greatest movie monster godzilla
I don't think I've ever seen the original King kong, I would love to watch it if given the chance. In any case, I'm looking forward to part 2 of this video. Also, can you please do a video about digimon? Thank you in advance!
Another amazing video. Would love to see you do a video about two of my favourite vampire movies, that being Blade, and 30 days of Night. I think that both movies deserve more love in the world of vampies, and I would love to see you talking about it. Keep up the amazing work Dr Emily Zarka.
Can you please do an episode on the history of bats' bad reputation as monsters in movies, with Dracula relations, and reports of vampire bats spreading disease to people. I would also love to see a video on the legacy of dinosaurs' use as monsters in movies and the impact Jurassic Park had on the entire world.
Wonderful content Dr. Zarka. You continue to always impress me with both your intelligence (and beauty). I was hoping you would bring up the Empire State Building's most famous occupant... Doc Savage. Doc also had an encounter with Kong... in fact, they saved each others' lives. Thanks again for all you do. Love your stuff.
A huge ape is amazing…but a living T REX? That’s PHENOMENAL! And a Triceratops too!!? Pterodactyl…Stegosaurus… This island was Jurassic Freakin’ Park!! In the real world, huge living dinosaurs would provoke more fascination than a giant hominid. A huge ape is still an ape. But dinosaurs haven’t been around for hundreds of thousands of years!
@@smurfyday I understand the cinematic aspect that drove the whole plot, yes. I am simply saying that independent of this film, in today’s world, all these creatures being found alive on an island would not automatically focus on the ape and make the rest of these impossible creatures simply plot devices to move the King Kong story along. It’s a classic film, truly unsurpassed.
@@alexconn7473 The APE is the last of its kind? Huh? You know another island with living Stegosaurus roaming around? We have apes up the ying yang here on planet earth. Granted, they aren’t on steroids like Kong, but an ape is an ape & Kong looks just like all the rest except bigger. Meanwhile, Kong is engaging with creatures not seen on earth for millions of years! What is the rarity here, ape or dinosaur? 🤷♂️ This plot is like finding a perfect Pygmy ape of 12” size full grown who frolics among purple unicorns. And the plot follows the Pygmy Ape’s story while ignoring the dozen purple unicorns nobody has ever seen. “But the little ape is sooo cute!” 🤔
I think KK could be read as a critique of racism and colonialism. Kong tries to protect Ann, yet his intentions are misunderstood. Denham's unscrupulousness gets the natives killed. Then he kidnaps and enslaves Kong for entertainment. When Kong breaks free and goes on a rampage, he is lynched.
Human Zoos. Speaking of, I just saw a documentary about a month ago regarding that. Though, it was about a Filipina tribeswoman who died there and took her brain to experiment on.
Going to be interesting to see the evolution of how Kong's treated. By the time we get to Toho's King Kong Escapes, taking Kong off his island is treated as something only a villain would do. By the 70's his aspect as a protective figure with Dwan is firmly established, and Jackson really drove home the lonely nature of Kong. And now the Monsterverse gave us a Kong who's beauty is a child who's also alone, and that is native to his island.
The film is mostly an ink blot that people can read what they want to in it. That’s what makes it such a strong film. Her take is mostly her take, others can read other things into it. There is no one definitive take.
It’s not an ink blot. It was created during a time when Jim Crow was the law in the southern region of the U.S. To neglect to acknowledge the subtext is insulting and an offensive denial of reality. In the 30’s African people were portrayed as uncivilized savages along with the animals of their continent. Don’t be afraid of the truth.
While the original King Kong is one of my favourite films of the 1930s, the killer gorilla depiction and stereotypical native tribe does stand out in a not-so-good way. I love the film, but these aspects do create a tremendous distance between the film's time and today. Also, the fact that there were no crossover films between Tarzan and King Kong or Mighty Joe Young back in the 30s or 40s (owed to being in different studios at different times) does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity.
I definitely get what you're saying, but... on the other hand I feel that aspect could've been a lot worse than it was, given the time. The tribespeople may have been stereotypical, but they still always felt human to me, and not entirely unsympathetic. That's certainly more than can be said for some of King Kong's contemporaries, and even later films. Hell, the Skull Islanders in the Peter Jackson version come off as almost demonic (and I hate to say that, because I really do love that movie).
There is so much more to the story of Kong. For example, O'brian wanted a sequel "king Kong versus promethius" which failed to gain traction until some producer blanked him over and got the rights to Toho. This turned into King Kong versus Godzilla. Too wanted to a lot with Kong but that all fell though (made for some...interesting not Kong films). This in turn led the modern interation of Kong vs Godzilla.
Godzilla vs the Sea Monster makes so much more sense once you learn it was originally a King Kong film idea. Especially Godzilla's crush on Kumi Mizuno.
"inexplicably captivated by Anne"?? Captain Englehorn (translating the native chief): "He said, 'Look at the golden woman'." Denham: "Yeah, blondes are scarce around here." It's right there in the dialogue!!
Could you do an episode on Selkies? They're some of my favorite creatures and I would love to see them covered by you! Just an episode on animal brides would be cool too!
King Kong is one of my favorite monster movies also watch one of these versions of the 8th wonder of the world the King Kong 1933, Peter Jackson’s King Kong 2005, King Kong vs Godzilla 1962.🦍💀🦖🦕🦖🦕🏝️🗽🎞️🎥
Peter Jackson’s King Kong was my favorite childhood movie 19 years ago. It had a great cast . Jack black , Naomi watts , Adrian Brody , Jack black . The dinosaurs were so amazing. This is why I prefer Peter Jackson’s King Kong more . It has a better story and gives more depth of Kong not being a monster just a misunderstood gorilla
I've recently read about a little known cryptid from the Midwest and Appalachia: the cornfield demons. Watching red eyes, standing in fields at night. I'd love to see what you learn and report on this. It's terrifying and interesting.
"And when those changes came, they would be pretty big ones." *Godzilla sense tingles* Hail to the true king lol In all seriousness though, Kong's allegory is truly one of the strongest in film history.
I think it's actually kind of cool that they wanted a Komodo Dragon to fight Kong at first. I think that would have been a better option than a Dinosaur. Oh, and it wasn't really clear what species of predatory dinosaur it was, given the three fingered hands and all.
That William Burden expedition with the Komodo dragons is quite fascinating that I am surprised that no one has done a movie or documentary about it. When Burden brought back these lizards, people actually thought of them as living dinosaurs! A sensation at the time, the story seems literally forgotten today, and is only remembered by some, as part of the inspiration for "King Kong".
This one movie can lay claim to birthing two different genres in the sci & fantasy world - Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion features (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason & the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans, etc.) AND the Godzilla/kaiju universe.
One thing that made the original great that the remakes that I'm aware of don't seem to even try is that the love story in the film is between Kong and the audience; the remakes seem to want to make it between Kong and Anne, despite the... ahem... clear incompatibility (especially when they keep making Kong bigger).
The location of Skull Island and its inhabitants are hard to pin down. In Godzilla vs Kong it seemed like it was located in Polynesia. But here it seemed like it was off the coast of Africa.
@@LindaC616 oh I know, I was hoping she’d be discussing them both (King Kong and Godzilla) as related to the crossover movies and how that effects the themes that were discussed in this video. But thank you for helping out those who didn’t know so they can watch Dr. Z’s previous episode!
I didn't know the cultural context when I saw the 1933 King Kong some years ago, but I rather got the idea that Kong's death was being portrayed as triumphant rather than tragic. The Peter Jackson remake did make the ending feel more tragic, and I found myself respecting the characters of Ann and her love interest in refusing to be a part of the circus that was being made of Kong.
Even in the new film "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire", the racial undertones are somewhat there. Kong finally meets others of his kinds, to find they are enslaved by a huge red ape (who many think he is supposed to be King Louie, but he looks much more human like than the other apes, he has a ginger beard and is balding as well as carries a massive whip, which to me screams "1800s slave owner"0. In the end Kong comes back and frees all the slaves, which is a happy ending that Kong deserves rather than always dying.
I'm smelling a sequel to this video, which will crossover with another giant monster that the channel tackled... wait! Will Storied have its own cinematic universe?!
MovieBob did a pretty good rundown of Igagi and it's really, really sketching roots and inspirations that were seen as racist even by 1920's standards. Dr Z briefly touches on them here but man, that was some seriously nutty stuff.
I remember watching 👀 the ❤️ 1976 King 🤴 Kong movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 with Jeff Bridges 🌉 and Jessica Lange in Lagos Nigeria 🇳🇬 😀 back in the 1980s when I was a child. And then the sequel King 🤴 Kong lives with Linda Hamilton 😍 in 🇳🇬 Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 🇬🇳 back in the 1990s.
You have to be careful with deconstruction. Once you take a thing apart to see how it works, then you no longer have the thing to look at. For the last seventy years, King Kong might be the most academically deconstructed film there is. Answering each of these criticisms is part of why the 2005 remake, despite being better in every conceivable way, didn't have the same impact as the 1933 original. Peter Jackson loved the source material to death.
The film makers themselves NEVER intended for anything to be "read" into this movie. It was just an adventure film by two men who lived very adventurous lives. Its all fantasy and not an allegory, allusion, commentary or anything of the sort.
The only King Kong movie I knew when I was extremely young was only the Peter Jackson remake and I thought it was horrifying and terrible but it’s actually good, then the old stop motion came along which I thought was a joke and woooow, it was a classic.
One of my favorite parts of Peter Jackon's 2005 remake is when Jack Black's Carl Denham makes the meta joke about wanting to cast Fay Wray in his film, only to discover she is working with RKO and Merian Cooper.
A good monster reflects back at the audience. That's what makes King Kong the American kaiju
It's a marvel to see the stop motion animation on classic movies like these. This was really life-like for the audiences who viewed that at the time!
One thing I find odd about King Kong is how easily it can be read as an anti-colonialist film as well. Fundamentally, *everything that happens is Carl Denham's fault.* Even his famous "beauty killed the beast" line can come off like a deliberate attempt to dodge responsibility. He's the real bad guy of the film... but it's REALLY hard to tell whether the filmmakers realized/intended that.
2005 probably did. Whatever the intentions we learned from it so alls good.
I tend to lean on the side of "the filmmakers aren't stupid."
@@8LiterallyJustTheNumber8 seeing what is shown about them in the video, the original filmmakers didn't realize most of it - if any at all. From the other things they tried to do, they were either taking advantage of these tropes to make money, or (most likely) were themselves just a product of their times.
Right in the beginning of the film there is a quote about beauty and beast. This theme of beauty and beast was repeated throughout the film.
The intention was this theme. But it’s clear you can interpret the film as anti-colonist. Kong would have been safe and happy if the Denham never took kong back to NY.
But this anti-colonist theme was in mind. If you look at the sequel Son of Kong, you can see how Denham regrets what he did for all the damage he caused and for killing kong.
So both themes were definitely in mind in the films. The original intention though was primarily a beauty and beast story. But there is some subtext within the film that tell an anti-colonist message.
In recent years this anti/colonist message just became more apparent due to the change of times and a changing audience.
@@leandroruiz8854 ^ Exactly this.
The interesting part is most kids really felt sorry, and sympathized with Kong. At least the kids I knew.
I can't think of anyone who didn't feel sad when Kong dies.
He's not just a mindless monster who needs to be put down.
When I was a kid, I thought the New York Giants were named after King Kong.
LOL WUT
That explanation makes sense (Not Sarcasm)
@@mildsoup8978 King Kong is a giant gorilla who rampaged through New York. New York Giants.
Honestly that kinda fits huh i never thought of that.
That tracks. 👍🏼📈📊📉
Kong is one of my all time favorite movie "monsters". Because he's one of the greatest examples of a monster being more than just something scary to gawk at. He's a character of his own and a symbol. The best monsters are always more than just monsters.
I hope this leads to follow ups on Kongs successive films. Especially Kong Skull Island which takes Kong & places his commentary into the Vietnam War.
It does! Wait for part 2-*Dr.Z*
King Kong ain't got nothing on me!@@pbsstoried
The creator of king Kong is a World War 1 soldier veteran
Part 2? Insert Akira Ifukube music here...
I was reading an article about a decade back about the creation of the National Parks system here in the USA. Teddy Roosevelt, of course, was the man who pushed for this, but what is often forgotten is *why* he pushed for it. Roosevelt, along with others, believed that modern man was becoming "weak" and "effeminate" and if males did not put themselves in situations of pure survival in a natural environment, the entire race would eventually die out. Thus the National Parks were places where men could "test their manhood" against raw nature.
One of the people who worked with Roosevelt, as a young intern, was one of the producers of this film (although I confess I forget which one). He and Roosevelt talked many times about the whole "noble savage" and "manly men going hunting" ideas, which at least in part inspired King Kong.
So ... a connection between King Kong and the US National Parks System ;-)
The National Park After Dark podcast would love this honestly lol
Very interesting, and similarly to your point about Roosevelt. The Ken Burns documentary on the Roosevelts features some startling quotes from Teddy, which demonstrate how clearly his thinking was a precursor to the "Futurists," who were the inspiration behind Mussolini's fascism.
Anyone else wanna see a Monstrum episode on Ghouls?
As long as I get a reference to Grabbed by the Ghoulies for the original Xbox lmao
HELL YES
Yeah
I wonder if the Tokyo variety will be included
Is a Vampire a Ghoul⁉️
King Homer was a faithful loving tribute to this movie
At the end of the movie ("beauty killed the beast") Denham seems completely unaware or unconcerned that he caused the deaths of dozens of New Yorkers, two pilots, and this unique majestic creature. All needlessly killed because he dragged Kong to New York to display in a theater. But recklessly doing whatever it takes to make a buck is deeply American. At least Jack Black's Denham in 2005 had the decency to look horrified.
Watch Son of Kong. Denham's being chased constantly by process servers at the start of the movie, and ends up feeling guilty once he meets the little Kong.
I'm glad to see King Kong discussed more and more! I'm working on my own King Kong remake project named Legend of Kong; King of Skull Island. A visual novel I'm writing that I hope to make a 2d animated film out of it!
Good luck. I hope to see your King Kong novel and movie in my lifetime.
Sweet - I'd love to see that! (And possibly participate if you happen to be looking for voice talent.)
Where can I find it?
@@XenoRaptor-98765 on T w i t t e r under the same name, I post concept art and character/creature designs
@@XenoRaptor-98765 on T w I t t e r under the same name. Can't say much cus youtube hates mentioning the site
‘‘Twas capitalism killed the beast.”
And brought him back in the present to fight Godzilla
And racism lol
I'm glad someone fixed it.
Capitalism, with a touch of Imperialism (which is a connected tangent of capitalism) and racism.
Yes
@laverdadescatolica5 what are you blathering about? What in my comment, or any of the comments saying the same thing as me, that we've been replying to, gives you that impression? We're all definitely expressing the exact opposite idea.
I have never heard of the gentleman that was credited with the stop motion for Kong...it was my understanding that this was another Ray Harryhausen triumph.
Thanks for setting me straight.
I believe that King Kong was part of what inspired Harryhausen to pursue a career in stop-motion animation, and that one of his first jobs was assisting O'Brien (the animator for King Kong) in the animation of Mighty Joe Young.
@@robertskitch Yup!! Harryhausen frequently credited O'Brien for that mentorship. Sometimes I really wish we still had THAT kind of artistry in our films.
CGI is nice and can do some things that older animations couldn't, but I really love the classic stop-motion creatures the most.
I've watched various versions of Kong since I was a kid in the early 80's. Which ever version I watch, I ALWAYS cry for Kong. I hadn't considered the parallels you brought up though. Now it's going to be even MORE intense! Love Monstrum Dr.Z! 🖖😎🤘🇨🇦
You may have missed Mighty Joe Young from '49, a different take on Kong. I love the original Kong , the special effects are amazing along with the fabulous Faye.
And now he's pals with Godzilla and basically a giant monkey Kratos. what a time we live in
I forgot how much I love the OG King Kong
In the 1960s, Japanese studio Toho licensed the character from RKO and produced two films that featured the character, King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and King Kong Escapes (1967).
Mmm as a congolese Canadian I know there's many books and movies that allude to some type of "kongo jungle" business. Almost like a obsession of Congo .Thank you for speaking on this storied!
It really feels like the grown version of a kid filming a video of their toys fighting each other
I would like all these chapters to be in the future seasons of Monstrum.
*Sea Serpents
*Leviathan
*The Headless Horseman ✅
*Phantom Vehicles
*Boogeyman
*Ghosts
*Possessed Dolls ✅
*Shadow People
*Undead
*Goblins
*Bigfoot ✅
*Man-Eating Plants ✅
*Creepy Clowns ✅
*Killer Robots
*Swamp Monsters
*The Mummy ✅️
*Living Scarecrows
*The Invisible Man
*Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
*Merfolk
*Demons
*Living Skeletons
*Stingy Jack (Jack of The Lantern)
*Gnomes
*Sea Monsters that attacked Submarines
*Alien Abductions ✅
*Ogres
*Ghouls
*Lich
*Cyborgs ✅
*Witches
*Kaiju
*Cthulhu ✅
*The Rake
*Revenants
*Vampires
*Dagon
*Ogopogo
*Colossal Claude
*Spectral Carriages
*Kappa ✅
*Flatwoods Monster
*The Flying Dutchman
*El Charro Negro
*La Santa Compaña
*Davy Jones's Locker & the Undead Pirates
*Mutants
*Beast People of Dr. Moreau
*The Picture of Dorian Gray
*Haunted Houses
*Jiangshi
*Ahuizotl
*Gremlins
We already had Undead, albeit titled Zombies by the channel.
@@iqbaalannaafi4944In case you didn't know, zombies are a subspecies or type of undead.
I would agree that Kong leans on many of the problematic tropes of its genre that weren't criticised at the time, but I cannot see King Kong as a deliberate or malicious example of those tropes in action.
Kong is a tragic figure who is ultimately portrayed as sympathetic, he's a wild animal but he's not cruel or predatory. He loves Anne and acts in what he feels is her defense, he's not out to hurt her. When the T.Rex attacks he fights it to protect her, when he is lost and hunted in New York, he snatches her because he assumes she is as much in danger as he himself is. His death is treated as a sad and tragic end, not a triumph of man over monster.
If Gorillas were meant to be a cinematic metaphor of the wild African "savage", Kong is one you're meant to root for, but ultimately feel bad for since he cannot exist in the modern, Human world.
Kong himself doesn't seem to be a racist caricature, although there are plenty of those in the movie too. He's written as an animal who wouldn't harm anyone if left alone, but humans never leave him alone and go on to exploit him for money.
Another good episode. Love your show. But, FWIW, when you're talking about O'Brien, you show a picture of him, then a picture of RAY HARRYHAUSEN with MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, and then Marcel Delgado. Ray worked with Obie on MJY, and "inherited" the mantle of great stop motion from his mentor. But since you don't mention Ray, I assume that image is an error.
Thank you for the clarification, I was unaware of who that was
Glad someone caught the Ray Harryhausen error.
Huh, I’ve never viewed King Kong like that before, but considering its age and the time period it was made in that makes a lot of sense. For me, it was always about man trying to exploit nature and its grandness and mysteries. Even in the newer films, to me it was always about the animal and its relationships with humanity. Some good: the girl, some bad: the director.
I used to love watching old monster flicks as a kid, especially when MST3K got its hands on them.
Thanks for your work!
channel 9 in NYC
I think the trick with King Kong, why it is such a live-wire and provokes so much debate about racism, is because it takes the racist tropes of the time and often but not always subverts them. Some of the ones regarding beauty and culture are played straight, but a lot of others are subverted. This subversion is why we still talk about King Kong and have forgotten all of the other films with similar themes from the period that played the racist tropes straight. Kong isn't just a monster as he would have been if the tropes were played completely straight, he is a victim that is lashing out against his oppressors. Kong is never the villain. The only villain is the rich jerk who caused this whole tragedy by ripping Kong from his home. Kong is so powerful because it uses and plays with racist tropes, but it never plays them straight. Kong is a tragic hero, not a villain.
excellent episode! can't wait for part 2! King Kong is my all time favorite movie. I'm glad to see you examining the racial issue of it. Ultimately I think the movie works now, still, because King Kong is so emotive. Once he shows up he's the character we all feel for the most, and that's all because of how expressive Willis O'Brien made him
Also, for what it's worth, though KONG continues a tradition of jungle-adventure-action pictures with tropes that we now recognize as racist, I think it's a serious mistake to attribute to its makers any racist intent. To stress that Kong came out of only those traditions downplays the MUCH LARGER influence of both Shoedsack and Cooper's own adventures and "true life" film making (certainly part of that imperialism), and also the influence of O'Brien's wildly successful THE LOST WORLD from a few years earlier.
KING KONG combines their own lives, the adventure tropes at the time, and the Lost World (now its own genre), and I think it can be forcefully argued that none of Kong's makers never intended to dehumanize people of color with their work -- despite the native sacrificial traditions. These men (and screenwriter Ruth Rose) weren't perfect, but they were trying.
You can see this more clearly in the sequel, SON OF KONG, which deals with the impact of Denham's imperialist "bring 'em back alive" attitude, and how badly it hurt him, all those connected with him, New York and New Yorkers, and even -- upon returning to Skull Island -- the natives there, who are portrayed more sympathetically as victims of Denham's hubris. Secondarily, though Charlie the cook may be a stereotype (not uncommon at the time), he's actually a sympathetic and heroic figure, too -- especially in SON OF KONG.
Summing up, I think it may be going too far in ascribing racist INTENT in KONG and other films, which were merely following the fictional- and true-life- adventure template of less enlightened times. (Though certainly some films were intentionally racist.) I think it's important that we can see these "echoes" now, but I hope it won't spoil people's enjoyment of such old-fashioned films, which were made as pure entertainment. :)
Really good take actually
Oh, you are right.
This channel is always trying to insert racism or sexism or some other -ism into myths and legends and movies.
I feel like alot of these essays forget people didnt know much about gorillas then and that that seeing a buff monkey was mind blowing.also the director thought gorillas looked cool
The 1932 movie The Most Dangerous Game was made by virtually the same cast and crew.
It used the same sets too.
King Kong must have seemed amazing when it was released. The story is pretty compelling and the audience sides with Kong at the end.
As a kid I was extremely saddened at the ending
There's a great joke on The Simpsons about what the Kong show would look like "The ape is going to stand around for about 3 hours or so then we close with the ethnic comedy stylings of Dugan and Dershowitz"
As someone mentioned, there's a photo of Ray Harryhausen while Obrien and Delgado are mentioned, but no mention of Ray so yes, an error.
It should also be mentioned Mighty Joe Young is considered a part of the Obrien Kong trilogy as Obrien oversaw MJY and hired Ray to work with him on the film which kickstarted Harryhausens stop motion film career.
MJY is also included with King Kong and Son of Kong in the collectors set released in the early 2000s when Peter Jacksons was releasing his theatrical remake 👍
YES FINALLY! I have been waiting for a King Kong episode on this series since it started.
You all seem to know when I need to see a new video, you all know when I have a bad day, when I have one there is a new video from Monstrum to help me feel better. I love these and they make me want to read and research
Monstrum once again doing the work. This was wonderfully presented, and I can't wait for part 2!
I dunno kinda think people are overthinking this one. Sure there was a good bit of racism at the time so you could see some parallels. But saying this is an actual metaphor is a bridge too far for me.
My wife made two notes about this video. First, she remembered seeing "The Gods Must Be Crazy" when the protagonist finds a white woman and thinks to himself, "this looks like something that crawled out from under a rock!" Forgive us if she didn't quote this line correctly -- it's been a long time since she saw the movie, and I don't recall ever seeing it. So if someone can gently correct us, we'd be much obliged.
The second point is this movie inspired Ray Harryhausen to produce an astounding array of monsters and mythical creatures over the course of a fabulous career!
With a great video featuring one of the best movie monsters of all time, is it possible we will also get videos with the other greatest movie monster godzilla
I’m hoping that what’s being alluded to at the end of the video as the “big changes” in King Kong movies as those crossovers are next chronologically.
Already have a Godzilla and Mothra episode. Check it out in the Monstrum playlist.
From a monster to be killed, to the Ancient Guardian of Humanity
As much of a Godzilla fan I am, I love how far Kong has come in the public eye
We are the real monsters, yet again.
Nah
I don't think I've ever seen the original King kong, I would love to watch it if given the chance. In any case, I'm looking forward to part 2 of this video.
Also, can you please do a video about digimon? Thank you in advance!
I remember watching King Kong on a local show, Monsters at Midnight. I've always liked Son of Kong.
Watching this before I see GVK
Another amazing video. Would love to see you do a video about two of my favourite vampire movies, that being Blade, and 30 days of Night. I think that both movies deserve more love in the world of vampies, and I would love to see you talking about it. Keep up the amazing work Dr Emily Zarka.
Can you please do an episode on the history of bats' bad reputation as monsters in movies, with Dracula relations, and reports of vampire bats spreading disease to people. I would also love to see a video on the legacy of dinosaurs' use as monsters in movies and the impact Jurassic Park had on the entire world.
Wonderful content Dr. Zarka. You continue to always impress me with both your intelligence (and beauty). I was hoping you would bring up the Empire State Building's most famous occupant... Doc Savage. Doc also had an encounter with Kong... in fact, they saved each others' lives. Thanks again for all you do. Love your stuff.
Dr. Z's bibliographies are an oasis in the desert.
I have loved King my whole life! Now I love Emily's dress too. It's awesomely cool!
I always wondered why the dinosaur s on the island wasn't not important. They just seemed very stupid for not bringing back dinosaur s.
A huge ape is amazing…but a living T REX? That’s PHENOMENAL! And a Triceratops too!!? Pterodactyl…Stegosaurus…
This island was Jurassic Freakin’ Park!!
In the real world, huge living dinosaurs would provoke more fascination than a giant hominid. A huge ape is still an ape. But dinosaurs haven’t been around for hundreds of thousands of years!
Did you not see the video for the symbolisms in the film?
@@smurfyday I understand the cinematic aspect that drove the whole plot, yes. I am simply saying that independent of this film, in today’s world, all these creatures being found alive on an island would not automatically focus on the ape and make the rest of these impossible creatures simply plot devices to move the King Kong story along. It’s a classic film, truly unsurpassed.
The fascination for the gigantic ape may increase if said ape is the supposed last of their kind probably enough so to overshadow the dinosaurs
@@alexconn7473 The APE is the last of its kind? Huh? You know another island with living Stegosaurus roaming around? We have apes up the ying yang here on planet earth. Granted, they aren’t on steroids like Kong, but an ape is an ape & Kong looks just like all the rest except bigger.
Meanwhile, Kong is engaging with creatures not seen on earth for millions of years! What is the rarity here, ape or dinosaur? 🤷♂️
This plot is like finding a perfect Pygmy ape of 12” size full grown who frolics among purple unicorns. And the plot follows the Pygmy Ape’s story while ignoring the dozen purple unicorns nobody has ever seen. “But the little ape is sooo cute!” 🤔
I think KK could be read as a critique of racism and colonialism. Kong tries to protect Ann, yet his intentions are misunderstood. Denham's unscrupulousness gets the natives killed. Then he kidnaps and enslaves Kong for entertainment. When Kong breaks free and goes on a rampage, he is lynched.
Reminds me of the story where they had a kidnapped black man in a zoo and treated him like an animal.
Human Zoos. Speaking of, I just saw a documentary about a month ago regarding that. Though, it was about a Filipina tribeswoman who died there and took her brain to experiment on.
When and where was this?
I wanna see a Monstrum on The Incredible Hulk.
King Kong may be impressive, but did you look at the size of that platform?
You know, Kong looks a little flushed, maybe he should eat more vegetables and less people
This was stuff I knew, but I learned a whole lot more from this. Great job! 💯✅
Going to be interesting to see the evolution of how Kong's treated. By the time we get to Toho's King Kong Escapes, taking Kong off his island is treated as something only a villain would do. By the 70's his aspect as a protective figure with Dwan is firmly established, and Jackson really drove home the lonely nature of Kong. And now the Monsterverse gave us a Kong who's beauty is a child who's also alone, and that is native to his island.
The film is mostly an ink blot that people can read what they want to in it. That’s what makes it such a strong film. Her take is mostly her take, others can read other things into it. There is no one definitive take.
It’s not an ink blot. It was created during a time when Jim Crow was the law in the southern region of the U.S.
To neglect to acknowledge the subtext is insulting and an offensive denial of reality. In the 30’s African people were portrayed as uncivilized savages along with the animals of their continent.
Don’t be afraid of the truth.
I can't believe that Storied only now got around to King Kong! Great video.
While the original King Kong is one of my favourite films of the 1930s, the killer gorilla depiction and stereotypical native tribe does stand out in a not-so-good way. I love the film, but these aspects do create a tremendous distance between the film's time and today.
Also, the fact that there were no crossover films between Tarzan and King Kong or Mighty Joe Young back in the 30s or 40s (owed to being in different studios at different times) does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity.
I definitely get what you're saying, but... on the other hand I feel that aspect could've been a lot worse than it was, given the time. The tribespeople may have been stereotypical, but they still always felt human to me, and not entirely unsympathetic. That's certainly more than can be said for some of King Kong's contemporaries, and even later films. Hell, the Skull Islanders in the Peter Jackson version come off as almost demonic (and I hate to say that, because I really do love that movie).
@@Vox-Multis Indeed. Too much Orc-like persona in these Skull Islanders, which really took away any sympathies we could have felt.
Saw you were disappointed in the new one, Dr. Z. Thrilled to see a new episode! :-)
Love the visuals in this
Monstrum suggestion: Who is Van Helsing?
There is so much more to the story of Kong. For example, O'brian wanted a sequel "king Kong versus promethius" which failed to gain traction until some producer blanked him over and got the rights to Toho. This turned into King Kong versus Godzilla. Too wanted to a lot with Kong but that all fell though (made for some...interesting not Kong films). This in turn led the modern interation of Kong vs Godzilla.
Godzilla vs the Sea Monster makes so much more sense once you learn it was originally a King Kong film idea. Especially Godzilla's crush on Kumi Mizuno.
Wait…is this going to be a trilogy of Kong episodes on Monstrum? Cool.
"inexplicably captivated by Anne"??
Captain Englehorn (translating the native chief): "He said, 'Look at the golden woman'."
Denham: "Yeah, blondes are scarce around here."
It's right there in the dialogue!!
What about Mighty Joe Young, also made by Marian C. Cooper, I think?
Could you do an episode on Selkies? They're some of my favorite creatures and I would love to see them covered by you! Just an episode on animal brides would be cool too!
Great video. You know, it would be fun to see some Hawaiian mythical creatures like the mo’o, just a suggestion. Can’t wait for part two.
King Kong is one of my favorite monster movies also watch one of these versions of the 8th wonder of the world the King Kong 1933, Peter Jackson’s King Kong 2005, King Kong vs Godzilla 1962.🦍💀🦖🦕🦖🦕🏝️🗽🎞️🎥
Peter Jackson’s King Kong was my favorite childhood movie 19 years ago. It had a great cast . Jack black , Naomi watts , Adrian Brody , Jack black . The dinosaurs were so amazing. This is why I prefer Peter Jackson’s King Kong more . It has a better story and gives more depth of Kong not being a monster just a misunderstood gorilla
I've recently read about a little known cryptid from the Midwest and Appalachia: the cornfield demons. Watching red eyes, standing in fields at night. I'd love to see what you learn and report on this. It's terrifying and interesting.
"And when those changes came, they would be pretty big ones."
*Godzilla sense tingles* Hail to the true king lol
In all seriousness though, Kong's allegory is truly one of the strongest in film history.
I think it's actually kind of cool that they wanted a Komodo Dragon to fight Kong at first. I think that would have been a better option than a Dinosaur. Oh, and it wasn't really clear what species of predatory dinosaur it was, given the three fingered hands and all.
That William Burden expedition with the Komodo dragons is quite fascinating that I am surprised that no one has done a movie or documentary about it. When Burden brought back these lizards, people actually thought of them as living dinosaurs! A sensation at the time, the story seems literally forgotten today, and is only remembered by some, as part of the inspiration for "King Kong".
2005 was the greatest dinosaur movie ever, love those amazing dinosaurs, better then Jurassic Park hands down
This one movie can lay claim to birthing two different genres in the sci & fantasy world - Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion features (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason & the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans, etc.) AND the Godzilla/kaiju universe.
Fantastic video! Thank you!
Nothing can stop RKO Studios now…except _microscopic germs_
So I’m guessing Part 2 got hit by copyright or something? Or has it not been released at all?
One thing that made the original great that the remakes that I'm aware of don't seem to even try is that the love story in the film is between Kong and the audience; the remakes seem to want to make it between Kong and Anne, despite the... ahem... clear incompatibility (especially when they keep making Kong bigger).
The location of Skull Island and its inhabitants are hard to pin down. In Godzilla vs Kong it seemed like it was located in Polynesia. But here it seemed like it was off the coast of Africa.
Have a video for Godzilla ?????
I think that’s what she’s alluding to at the end of the vid 😅🤞
Sandbox has a video on Godzilla, a different perspective from this channel. But very interesting
She already has done both Mothra and Godzilla
@@LindaC616 oh I know, I was hoping she’d be discussing them both (King Kong and Godzilla) as related to the crossover movies and how that effects the themes that were discussed in this video. But thank you for helping out those who didn’t know so they can watch Dr. Z’s previous episode!
@@jessicaclakley3691 yw. Have a good one!
I didn't know the cultural context when I saw the 1933 King Kong some years ago, but I rather got the idea that Kong's death was being portrayed as triumphant rather than tragic. The Peter Jackson remake did make the ending feel more tragic, and I found myself respecting the characters of Ann and her love interest in refusing to be a part of the circus that was being made of Kong.
Even in the new film "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire", the racial undertones are somewhat there. Kong finally meets others of his kinds, to find they are enslaved by a huge red ape (who many think he is supposed to be King Louie, but he looks much more human like than the other apes, he has a ginger beard and is balding as well as carries a massive whip, which to me screams "1800s slave owner"0. In the end Kong comes back and frees all the slaves, which is a happy ending that Kong deserves rather than always dying.
Just wait until my part two…-*Dr.Z*
The Danish word for king is kong, so in Denmark he is called Kong King.
I'm smelling a sequel to this video, which will crossover with another giant monster that the channel tackled... wait! Will Storied have its own cinematic universe?!
Looooved this episode!
Are you going to do sequels like you did with zombies? Explore Kong's evolution through the years?
MovieBob did a pretty good rundown of Igagi and it's really, really sketching roots and inspirations that were seen as racist even by 1920's standards. Dr Z briefly touches on them here but man, that was some seriously nutty stuff.
I remember watching 👀 the ❤️ 1976 King 🤴 Kong movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 with Jeff Bridges 🌉 and Jessica Lange in Lagos Nigeria 🇳🇬 😀 back in the 1980s when I was a child. And then the sequel King 🤴 Kong lives with Linda Hamilton 😍 in 🇳🇬 Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 🇬🇳 back in the 1990s.
You have to be careful with deconstruction. Once you take a thing apart to see how it works, then you no longer have the thing to look at. For the last seventy years, King Kong might be the most academically deconstructed film there is. Answering each of these criticisms is part of why the 2005 remake, despite being better in every conceivable way, didn't have the same impact as the 1933 original. Peter Jackson loved the source material to death.
A multipart videos about King Kong? Will this will be good.
The film makers themselves NEVER intended for anything to be "read" into this movie. It was just an adventure film by two men who lived very adventurous lives. Its all fantasy and not an allegory, allusion, commentary or anything of the sort.
I love this videos i want to see dr zarka's perspective on the orcs
Can't wait for a Godzilla episode
Still one of the greatest movies ever made
The only King Kong movie I knew when I was extremely young was only the Peter Jackson remake and I thought it was horrifying and terrible but it’s actually good, then the old stop motion came along which I thought was a joke and woooow, it was a classic.