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Aidan Ruggles

First Year Writing

1st November 2021

Third Draft

A New King

There are few scenes in cinema history less famous than King Kong atop the Empire

State building, swatting at planes. On March 2, 1933, director Selznick C. Cooper and Ernest B.

Schoedsack shook the world with the release of King Kong. At the time, Variety magazine noted

that the film was more technologically advanced than anything that had come before it (Bige).

The film also received high praise for the level of acting in an article written by The Hollywood

Reporter (Staff). There have been many other adaptations of Kong since its release in 1933, but

few have captivated audiences like the 2005 rendition by the same title. The film was directed by

Peter Jackson, who is known for his work on Lord of the Rings. Much like the original, an article

by Entertainment Weekly heavily praised the computer animation and technological prowess

present in the film (Schwarzbaum). In further acclaim, Variety described the set as exceptional

but did have complaints about the 3+ hour run time (McCarthy). Despite all its praise, the

original film is laden with issues surrounding gender norms and race. The 2005 adaptation

sought to fix some of those issues.

The original King Kong (1933) represents multiple gender stereotypes regarding both

femininity and masculinity. These tropes are made clear by the dialogue, framing/staging, and

costume used in the film. Bruce Cabot’s Jack Driscoll is the culmination of everything one

expects in a male hero character. Throughout the film, his efforts to seem tough and strong make
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him seem rugged and at times crass. When Driscoll and Ann are having a discussion ship, he

states that, “Women can’t help being a bother” (Selznick). Jack’s actions also lend themselves to

the representation of women in the film. His general intolerance and feeling of superiority lead to

the projection of negative female stereotypes. When they first land on the island, he keeps

expressing over and over that this is no place for a woman, even though Ann repeatedly suggests

that she’s having the time of her life. Additionally, Ann’s costume represents the sexualization of

women in film. Her outfit in many of the scenes is torn and quite revealing. This could be

interpreted as a symbol of independence, as it was common at the time for women to appear

“civilized” and “proper.”

Jackson’s King Kong from 2005 attempts to remedy many of the issues surrounding

gender that were present in the original movie. The most success was found in revamping the

image of masculinity. Instead of representing insensitivity and brutishness, Adrien Brody takes a

more modern approach to playing Jack Driscoll. Jack is now a young and aspiring playwright,

even going as far as to begin writing a play for Ann. When asked why he would do this he says,

“It’s not about words” (Jackson). This shows how Jackson gave Driscoll a new image of

tenderness and romanticism. Additionally, the stereotypes of women needing to be left safely

behind while men do the dangerous work are largely left behind. In a scene where Ann is acting

in a scene for Denham’s picture, her co-actor goes off-script saying that women are “a nuisance.”

Driscoll expresses his distain for this, seeming to suggest he would never have written a line like

that. In the original version, when the group first encounters the natives on the island, Jack

incessantly suggests that they need to turn back for Ann’s safety. In the new Kong, it is Ann that

suggests they should return. Everyone but Denham rationally agrees. Overall, King Kong (2005)
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does an excellent eliminating many of the negative tropes and gender norms so prevalent in the

original.

The portrayal of people of color greatly differed between King Kong 1933 and its 2005

remake. The original King Kong is filled with underlying racism and perpetuates racial

stereotypes. To witness this in its simplest form, King Kong himself can be seen as a

representation of a black man. This is most visible through the stereotypes that black males are

overly sexual and brutishly aggressive. When Denham is telling reporters how the group

managed to capture the ape, he states that “He couldn't stay away from beauty” (Selznick). He

perpetuates this idea that Kong couldn’t help but chase after the very attractive white woman.

Later, a white woman in the theater is told that Kong is a gorilla, to which she replies “Gee, ain't

we got enough of them in New York?” Now seeing that the only other real gorillas in the city are

in Central Park Zoo, it is hard to view her opinion as anything other than pure racism. Racism is

also seen in depiction of the black island natives. They are portrayed in a very western light; they

are savages willing to sacrifice human beings to Kong. They can also be seen dressed as gorillas

dancing around said sacrifice. The natives show little to no hostility towards the newcomers,

which makes them seem important and powerful.

King Kong (2005) certainly made efforts to amend the issues that surrounded the original

film surrounding race. The first notable way being the image of the island natives. At first, they

may seem potentially more racist given their overly aggressive nature and primitive clothing.

Upon closer examination, however, this is not true. The first scene in which the group encounters

a native depicts a young girl standing alone. Denham approaches her and attempts to give her

chocolate, but she resists and attacks him (Jackson). This could be interpreted as a implicit

retaliation to colonialism. Many shots of the movie depict long deserted ruins all around the
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island, but the natives are limited to a very small piece of it. This has drastically limited their

resources and indicates that their savage nature is circumstantial rather than a perpetuation of a

false stereotype. Jackson also managed to improve upon the depiction of Kong himself. Yes, he

still carries Ann off to his mountain top, but they form this very human-like bond. Rather than

have all the white characters fear Kong, Ann feels remorse for him. When escaping the island

and Kong is being attacked, she pleads “Leave him alone!” This connection between the two

characters really allows for the story to be told without all of the negative racial connotations that

were so present in the original.

When looking back on the original versions of many of the films and shows that are

popular today, it is very common that the older one is full of both racial and gender stereotypes.

If we as a population can recognize that relationship, I think it will create an environment that

cultivates further progress in the industry. In other words, it is important to look back at our

mistakes to prevent us from making them again. This is especially relevant in the King Kong

franchise, as the original version will always be a cult classic. Due to this fact, it is important that

people like Peter Jackson are coming up with remakes that show so much improvement. There

will always be new renditions of Kong being made, and I hope they all can build upon Jackson's

progress within the franchise.

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Works Cited

Bige. “Film Reviews: KING KONG.” Variety, 7 Mar. 1933.

Jackson, Peter, director. King Kong. Universal Pictures, 2005.

McCarthy, Todd. “King Kong.” Variety, Variety, 7 Dec. 2005,

https://variety.com/2005/film/awards/king-kong-5-1200519800/.

Schwarzbaum, Lisa. Updated March 17, 2020, at 02:57 AM EDT. “King Kong.” EW.com,

https://ew.com/article/2005/12/08/king-kong-3/.

Selznick, David O., et al. King Kong. Radio Pictures, Inc, 1933.

Staff, THR. “'King Kong': Thr's 1933 Review.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood

Reporter, 2 Mar. 2018, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/king-

kong-review-1933-movie-1070365/.