King Kong: On the Verge?...

Let’s keep it real: When it comes to the classic storyline of King Kong, It’s hard not to correlate the capture and display of the gargantuan gorilla with the historical/social plight and sexual stigmatization of the African-American male, the taboo relationship between Black men & White women, and the Black man’s ultimate consequential fall to the White man for it.

Now, before you accuse me of being “too sensitive” or quick to pull the “race card,” please know that I entered the flick with a very high tolerance toward the blatant symbolism and similarities--really.  I mean I had to if I were to enjoy it with my 9-year-old son. But yo: A brotha can only take so much.

I mean damn,  even Ray Charles would agree after watching nearly 3 hours of Kong big pimping and getting hated on: King Kong is Black!

Unfortunately, it’s not a far reach to see stereotypical fibers woven in such a racist plot…But then again, King Kong was originally released in 1933.  And what was the racial climate then? 

1) The beginning of Adolph Hitler's Jewish Holocaust in Germany 1933-“Blond Hair & Blue Eyes Aryan supremacy”

2) The Negro Baseball League was revived for a second life in 1933 after it’s disbandment in 1929

3) The founder of Black History Week-- the precursor to Black History Month-- Carter Goodwin Woodson published his best-known book "The Mis-education of the Negro"

4) And then there was the first Black Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Jack Johnson who was winding down his boxing career in which he whooped on every White and Black dude in his way and then flaunted his White girls--and gold grill—in public during a time when it was bold, unlawful and forbidden—especially in mainstream White society.

The list goes on…I just hope that you get the picture: African Americans were doing what they could to develop an identity in a very blatant-racist world.

Nonetheless and in spite of the racial climate of 1933, I do believe the storyline of King Kong to be a good one.  At the same time I do believe that the sublime under--and overtones—of 1933 could be removed and yet keep the story intact and perhaps make it even more of an embraceable story for today’s colorful American society. 

For instance:  The American TV classic comedy sitcom “The Honeymooners,” originally starring the legend Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph was successfully recaptured in the 2005 release "The Honeymooners" starring Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps

And it was tight!  It was actually a good movie.  Moreover I appreciate the re-production of “The Honeymooners” for keeping the essence of a true American classic while also reflecting the demographic changes in Hollywood’s array of actors.

What am I getting at?  Well, what if Tocurra was Ann Darrow.  I'm saying, "Give a Brotha a healthy reason to climb the Empire States Building just to get shot in the back and fall to his death...

And as for the cataract ridden natives of African decent that lived on the island with Kong...? They actually bugged me more than symbolism of King Kong.  To keep it brief:  They were disgusting and an overall insult to any indigenous culture.  I'm saying, how can any population live in such filth?... And all I gotta say is Damn...That's a whole other blog...

 

Comments

[satisfiedsistah]

King Kong the remix. Third try is a charm, so that's what hollow wood thinks. I've heard it's not doing well at the box office. And if that's the case let's extrapolate that to mean; black folks are not buying it. I mean seeing it? We are the ticket buyers folks we have hollow wood by the cajones an we should squeeze when they do stupid stuff like dusting off this tired old bromide of the Ape man and White girl duo. Write letters, do what you must but we can make them bend to our demands. Look into the eight ball and repeat after me; No more King Kong remakes.....

[Vin-Su]

I'm always a bit critical when people go to see "hollywood" movies and expect to see true to life representations of historical events and peoples. I mean come on bro, it's a film, what do you expect the "baddies" to look like? They are always "Big, Bad and BLACK". Shit never changes.

[Tyiesha]

I agree that King Kong depicted the the undertones of 1933. Black folks are still trying to make an identity today with the same desperation of 1933. I saw the first version of it when I was about 8. I saw the 2nd one (with Jessica Lange) when I was 11. Back then, I could not see the cariacature of the black men because I had no such thoughts in my head. Afterall, it was 1983, not 1933. I mean people werent lynching my male relatives as far as I knew. When I got older, after experiencing the cold, cruel, world a bit, I slowly came to the realization that the big black ape WAS a depiction of the black man who climbed to the top of the pops with a white girl and was consequently, shot down. If anyone is so shallow as not to see this connection, they must not be black. And maybe we should ask ourselves why. Why are all the "baddies" in "Hollywood" "Big, Bad, and Black"? Because that is how America recognizes its "Monsters" in society. See, shit never changes...