In the 2005 film adaption “King Kong,” directed by Peter Jackson, was inspired by the 1930s classic film by the same name, focusing on the arriving of an American film crew on Skull Island. The Americans are captured by the native tribes on the island and the star of the film is set to be sacrificed in some kind of ceremony. This is when we see King Kong for the first time. King Kong is a fictitious character that is recognizable worldwide. He is a 25 foot tall primate, most closely resembling a gorilla, whose massive size, strength and powerful roar is shocking to the Americans and something to be feared by the natives. He would ultimately be captured and brought to the United States as a great discovery and placed on public display. When he escapes onto the streets of New York City he spreads panic and terrifies the people. King Kong has been and continues to be one of the definitive films involving a giant animal as the villain or protagonist in a given story, similar to what was seen in Jaws, for example.
King Kong stands, approximately, 25 feet tall when standing upright. His fur is thick, dark and black. For all tense and purposes, again, he most resembles a very large gorilla. Like the average gorillas King Kong can stand on his hind legs, but generally moves in as a quadruped; walking on their knuckles. Alina Bradford, in a 2014 article for Live Science Magazine explains that average gorillas are 4 feet to 6 feet tall and weigh from 150 pounds to as much as four or five hundred pounds, much if which depends on whether they are lowland or mountain gorilla. King Kong is nearly 6 times that size. Therefore he no doubt requires larger areas to live and larger access to needed food and water to maintain his general health. The undiscovered jungles of Skull Island do not just contain King Kong alone, but populations of large reptiles and plant life. The entire environment has been untouched by human beings. King Kong’s massive size is not unique it is simply a natural product of his environment.
While his size makes him formidable and he is quite capable of harming others and doing a great deal of potential destruction. With his immense size comes immense strength, far greater strength than any animal outside the realm of fiction. Despite his size King Kong was very gentle and was not the “monster” that he might have seemed to be. In the film this is reflected in the scene where he and the human woman, Ann Darrow are playing on the ice-skating rink. It became clear that King Kong is not just a simple, dumb animal, but an intelligent and caring creature.
His disposition may be gentle, but it was his appearance that he was judged on. First by the natives that worshipped him out of fear and the Americans who saw him as a dangerous side show animal gone wild. The iconic image of King Kong high above the city dodging planes and ammunition fire on top of the Empire State Building, protecting Ann Darrow in his arms, is where King Kong would meet his ultimate fate. When his wounds and injuries became severe he loses his grip on the building and plummets to his death far below. People misinterpreted King Kong based upon his size and strength and not for his character or nature.
King Kong is a story that feeds of humanities fear of animals when the animals are now large and strong enough to be a threat to people. The larger the animal the more dangerous it becomes. Primates, like gorillas and especially the fictitious King Kong, are disturbing to people, because they are so human-like and can be more intelligent that many are comfortable with. From an ethical or moral viewpoint, King Kong is a cautionary tale about judging a “book by its cover.” King Kong’s death is ultimately considered a tragic end, because he was not a criminal mastermind or evil villain, but a misunderstood animal whose life was ended because people attempted to cage and confine him in a world that was not his own. Essentially saying, animals of any kind, like King Kong, belong in the wild not necessarily on display for the public.
WORK CITED
Bradford, Alina. “Gorilla Facts.” Live Science Magazine. (2014): 1. Web. <
http://www.livescience.com/27337-gorilla-facts.html>.
King Kong. Dir.Jackson, Peter. Universal Pictures; WingNut Films. (2005): Film.
