Post by klep on Apr 12, 2021 11:14:42 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 4/12: King Kong
EXPLORATION WEEK!
CW: Discussion of racist tropes
Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack's legendary King Kong is larger-than-life, an epic tale of adventure and romance told with incredible special effects. It's one of those films that whether you've seen it or not, you know it because of how deeply it has penetrated our culture.
And for good reason. Though limited by the technology of the day, King Kong's effects are still powerful and effective, even charming. There's no question of their reality - Kong is obviously a puppet - but Willis O'Brien's effects team is masterful at evoking the idea of what's going on. When the ship's crew fights a Stegosaurus, it's obviously accomplished with an optical printer but it's so well-done that you feel the truth of the story rather than the artifice of the effect.
It's a good story too. A daring director who makes films in the most dangerous of climes has a lead on a mythical island, and brings along a girl he finds to be the romantic lead. What they then find on that island is sure to amaze! The film takes its time getting to show Kong, but once it does the pace is brisk and relentless. It's a sprint from his first appearance to his tragic fall from the heights of the Empire State Building.
It does have its problems, however, as King Kong's racial politics are pretty ugly. Beyond the stereotyping of the ship's Chinese chef and the island villagers, Kong himself is a pretty thinly-veiled racist allusion to the malicious idea of black men being sexually threatening. Beyond the age-old linking of black men to monkeys, Kong's facial features are very much like those you might find on a black man in a racist political cartoon. While it doesn't feel quite as malicious and ill-intended as, say, Birth of a Nation, it is still disturbing and extremely unwelcome. There's also a level of immature grade-school level 'girls are icky' sexism that pervades the picture, and together those things would keep me from showing it to any impressionable children or even watching it many times myself.
It's unfortunate that those flaws drag it down so much, because King Kong otherwise makes for a pretty exciting and surprisingly modern picture. The release of Jaws is often marked as the beginning of the blockbuster era, but the true progenitor of modern blockbuster filmmaking may more properly be King Kong.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 4/19: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
UPGRADE WEEK!
For Upgrade Week we'll be watching the best of the many films based on Marvel's famous web-spinner with 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Join us next week as we discuss this tale of a boy learning what it takes to become a hero. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is available for rent at the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 4/13: The Limey
A pairing on old man action vehicles kicks off next week with Steven Soderbergh's The Limey. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of this film, available on Prime Video and for rent in the usual places.
EXPLORATION WEEK!
CW: Discussion of racist tropes
Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack's legendary King Kong is larger-than-life, an epic tale of adventure and romance told with incredible special effects. It's one of those films that whether you've seen it or not, you know it because of how deeply it has penetrated our culture.
And for good reason. Though limited by the technology of the day, King Kong's effects are still powerful and effective, even charming. There's no question of their reality - Kong is obviously a puppet - but Willis O'Brien's effects team is masterful at evoking the idea of what's going on. When the ship's crew fights a Stegosaurus, it's obviously accomplished with an optical printer but it's so well-done that you feel the truth of the story rather than the artifice of the effect.
It's a good story too. A daring director who makes films in the most dangerous of climes has a lead on a mythical island, and brings along a girl he finds to be the romantic lead. What they then find on that island is sure to amaze! The film takes its time getting to show Kong, but once it does the pace is brisk and relentless. It's a sprint from his first appearance to his tragic fall from the heights of the Empire State Building.
It does have its problems, however, as King Kong's racial politics are pretty ugly. Beyond the stereotyping of the ship's Chinese chef and the island villagers, Kong himself is a pretty thinly-veiled racist allusion to the malicious idea of black men being sexually threatening. Beyond the age-old linking of black men to monkeys, Kong's facial features are very much like those you might find on a black man in a racist political cartoon. While it doesn't feel quite as malicious and ill-intended as, say, Birth of a Nation, it is still disturbing and extremely unwelcome. There's also a level of immature grade-school level 'girls are icky' sexism that pervades the picture, and together those things would keep me from showing it to any impressionable children or even watching it many times myself.
It's unfortunate that those flaws drag it down so much, because King Kong otherwise makes for a pretty exciting and surprisingly modern picture. The release of Jaws is often marked as the beginning of the blockbuster era, but the true progenitor of modern blockbuster filmmaking may more properly be King Kong.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 4/19: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
UPGRADE WEEK!
For Upgrade Week we'll be watching the best of the many films based on Marvel's famous web-spinner with 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Join us next week as we discuss this tale of a boy learning what it takes to become a hero. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is available for rent at the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 4/13: The Limey
A pairing on old man action vehicles kicks off next week with Steven Soderbergh's The Limey. Join us Wednesday for our discussion of this film, available on Prime Video and for rent in the usual places.