Author Topic: King Kong  (Read 6623 times)

Skar

  • Moderator
  • Level 54
  • *
  • Posts: 3979
  • Fell Points: 7
    • View Profile
Re: King Kong
« Reply #45 on: November 12, 2005, 11:43:00 AM »
Shrain.  My entire point was that your very accusations/concerns of racism were racist.  All of your assumptions about the motivations of the people making the original film, the current film, and so on were based on a prejudgement you were making about their attitudes toward race, which judgements you made based on the fact that they were white.

If you approach an analysis of the film from a neutral perspective there are plenty of explanations that do not involve racism.  Yet you passed those over without a thought in order to call white folks racist.  When you start making assumptions about people based on their skin color that's called racism.

You're probably used to being called open-minded and tolerant when you assume white people are racist and judge them on that basis, since that's the normal way of things in academia and the PC press/entertainment industry, but it still doesn't fly under actual intellectual scrutiny.

And it doesn't matter at all that there actually were prevalent racist attitudes when that film was first made.  You can't make that sweeping judgement about all white people without engaging in racism.  Anymore than I could make sweeping judgements about blacks because they make up 12 % of our general population but over 30% of the prison population without being racist.
"Skar is the kind of bird who, when you try to kill him with a stone, uses it, and the other bird, to take vengeance on you in a swirling melee of death."

-Fellfrosch

Shrain

  • Level 34
  • *
  • Posts: 2030
  • Fell Points: 1
  • Gargoyles have all the fun.
    • View Profile
Re: King Kong
« Reply #46 on: November 12, 2005, 01:57:21 PM »
Quote
Shrain.  My entire point was that your very accusations/concerns of racism were racist. . . .
If you approach an analysis of the film from a neutral perspective there are plenty of explanations that do not involve racism.  Yet you passed those over without a thought in order to call white folks racist. . . .

You're probably used to being called open-minded and tolerant when you assume white people are racist and judge them on that basis, . . .

And it doesn't matter at all that there actually were prevalent racist attitudes when that film was first made. . . .


Skar.  Thanks for clarifying your objection. In other words, you're saying that I should've said nothing about racism being a possibility because merely suggesting the possibility based on the timperiod assumes that all white people back then were racist. That's a good point.

Here's what you need to know: first, I did have other reasons besides the timperiod to support my concerns that I didn't make clear earlier (see below); second, I'm not racist nor am I "sold" on the idea that the film must be racist simply because I approached the movie with a "stereotypical" skepticism about the underlying messages of ethnicity.

The only things I can say in my defense is that while 1) I realize that it's all too easy to wonder if all films created during a certain time are racist, 2) the fact remains that the POSSIBILITY of a film being racist--esp. one featuring two ethnic groups of such widely disparate cultural lifestyles--is not automatically invalid.

Intellectually, I should've done more research to see what else besides the following were grounds for concern: a) the timeperiod, b) the two strikingly different cultures, and c) the stereotypically blonde, blue-eyed Arian beauty.

HOWEVER, I think it's best to simply call a truce, agree to disagree, and give everyone else a break. You know, talk about the actors and the special effects and the quality of writing and other interesting, less volatile stuff. ;)
Lord Ruler and Lady Protractor were off on vacation, thus the angles running amok.
--Spriggan

"The movie of my life must be really low-budget."
--Harry Dresden in DEAD BEAT

cyan10101

  • Level 6
  • *
  • Posts: 196
  • Fell Points: 0
  • the spice is vital for space travel
    • View Profile
Re: King Kong
« Reply #47 on: November 12, 2005, 02:17:34 PM »
i think jack black could have played king kong himself.  It would have been hilarious to see him dressed in a bad costume trying to be king kong.  Best comedy ever.
everything was going fine, until i critically failed my intelligence check!

Shrain

  • Level 34
  • *
  • Posts: 2030
  • Fell Points: 1
  • Gargoyles have all the fun.
    • View Profile
Re: King Kong
« Reply #48 on: November 12, 2005, 02:56:29 PM »
lol. Yeah, that would've been tons of fun. With any luck, it'll be part of the extra features on the DVD: King Kong Revisited: Jack Black Monkeys Around.  ;D
Lord Ruler and Lady Protractor were off on vacation, thus the angles running amok.
--Spriggan

"The movie of my life must be really low-budget."
--Harry Dresden in DEAD BEAT

Skar

  • Moderator
  • Level 54
  • *
  • Posts: 3979
  • Fell Points: 7
    • View Profile
Re: King Kong
« Reply #49 on: November 12, 2005, 05:25:37 PM »
 Truce called and observed.  (although the word calls up more acrimony than either of us felt I think )  

I'd watch Jack Black Monkeys around.
"Skar is the kind of bird who, when you try to kill him with a stone, uses it, and the other bird, to take vengeance on you in a swirling melee of death."

-Fellfrosch

The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers

  • Administrator
  • Level 96
  • *****
  • Posts: 19211
  • Fell Points: 17
  • monkeys? yes.
    • View Profile
    • herb's world
Re: King Kong
« Reply #50 on: November 14, 2005, 09:52:32 AM »
I'm not black like Barry White, I am white like Frank Black is.

Shrain

  • Level 34
  • *
  • Posts: 2030
  • Fell Points: 1
  • Gargoyles have all the fun.
    • View Profile
Re: King Kong
« Reply #51 on: November 14, 2005, 11:14:44 AM »
Quote
Truce called and observed.  (although the word calls up more acrimony than either of us felt I think )  


Uh-huh. But, hey, what's the use of being a writer if you can't act a tad overly dramatic now and again, right? ;)
Lord Ruler and Lady Protractor were off on vacation, thus the angles running amok.
--Spriggan

"The movie of my life must be really low-budget."
--Harry Dresden in DEAD BEAT

German_Hamburger

  • Level 3
  • ***
  • Posts: 39
  • Fell Points: 0
  • I love hamburgers. Especially German ones.
    • View Profile
Re: King Kong
« Reply #52 on: January 21, 2006, 05:41:54 AM »
I've seen King Kong and to be honest I think it was a waste of time making a remake. The start is boring the middle is alright and the end is dissapointing. It's really not worth seeing. There are some excellant bits in it I have to admit but the rest is plain rubbish.
Nick
7s
K.E.G.S