KING KONG - the eternal struggle between man and nature.

(Side Note - this was my absolute favourite film when I was 3 and rewatching it for class I cannot understand why..)

Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s 1933 adventure/fantasy/horror film King Kong, a metaphoric re-telling of the archetypal Beauty and the Beast fable, is a classic representation of the modernist era of the early 19^th century. Exploring the classic relationship between man and nature, desire and sexuality and greed within its Great Depression context, King Kong operated to reflect society and the economy while illustrating these some of these key modernist ideals. Most interestingly I found the examination of the antagonistic and self destructive relationship between man and nature, and our attempts to control our environment, represented by Kong himself, key topic for discussion. Man’s attempt to control nature, symbolised in the first sequence of the film on Skull Island, is juxtaposed against the second sequence of the film in which the destructive force of nature – King Kong – attempts to control his modern and highly advanced technological setting.

Kong exists without any significant qualities of modern man, his predominant characteristics of aggression, sexual desire and selfishness representing the basics of human emotion that modern man has evolved to control and repress. Kong places a mirror upon society to force it to reflect upon the qualities that we each possess but suppress for our ‘modernity’. In this way we can also see Kong as a symbol of nature and its wild and destructive forces as he acts out only natural instincts and destroys without reason the creation of man, much like nature itself. Carl Denham, the greedy and inspired director who pushes the characters to this island of horror represents the capitalist man of the 1930’s struggling with their Great Depression context and desperate for economic survival. His attempts to control Kong for his own economic and social gains symbolise an eternal battle between the two forces.

In the ‘capture of Kong’ sequence on the island, we can see the two forces of nature and men come together through Kong and Carl Denham, exemplifying the destructive relationship between the two. Man attempts to control nature as Denham explains he could make a greater profit through capturing Kong for exhibition by knocking him out with gas. Kong is driven by his want of Anne Darrow and confronts this ambush, exemplified by Denham “We’ve got something he wants” highlighting the drive of sexuality in humans, as well as the relentless destruction of nature. The grotesque imagery of this scene, highly confronting to its original audience demonstrates the eternal battle of man attempting to master its environment for economic and social gain and its often violent outcome. Man itself is highly destructive towards nature in our technological and industrial advances and its attempts to control its external forces are illustrated in this sequence.

This is further exemplified by Denham’s exclaiming “We'll give him more than chains. He's always been king of his world, but we'll teach him fear... we’re millionaires’ boys” with Kong’s fallen body in the forefront of the shot and the remaining men standing over it. The exclamation of “we’re millionaires’ boys” emphasises Denham’s greed and desire for power as a reflection of his capitalist society. The description of Kong as king of this world who needs to be taught fear symbolises man’s desire to control and master the elements and our natural environment, as well as our desire to control our subconscious repressed characteristics that Kong displays throughout the film. Also the positioning of Kong in the forefront of the shot with the men towering over him highlights man’s control over nature as well as their position of power. Man in this instance wins the battle against nature.

The iconic climbing of the Empire State building by King Kong further explores the relationship between man and nature. The modern capital of the world in 1933, New York symbolised freedom and economic stability for millions globally, but fell under the hands of the Great Depression. King Kong’s placement in this setting is the true pinnacle of the collision of the developed world and primitive society and their eventual self destruction. His attempts to climb the recently build Empire State building, a beacon of modern industrialisation, technology and architecture emphasise the conflict between man and nature, and their attempts to control one another; Kong climbs the famous building in attempt to control his modern environment. The close up angles of the pilots attempting to take down Kong, juxtaposed with long shots of Kong’s desperate flailing further emphasise this conflict, with ultimately the machine guns – a symbol of modern warfare and destruction – destroying him. Denham memorably explains that it was “beauty killed the beast” which we could understand to mean mans sexual desires and their control over the conscious as it is his carnal desire that ultimately destroys Kong.

Discussion topic - to what extent does the Film King Kong portray the self destructive relationship between man and nature through the conflict between King Kong and man/New York City?

By Alexandra Ritchie