So, we were just watching the 1933 version of King Kong, which we taped from TCM the other night. (It is on pause since we received a phone call.) I remember seeing this movie when I was very young and it terrified me, sickened me, and broke my heart. The part where Kong...oh, I can't say it! I can't give it away!
But there is one scene where Kong is manhandling Fay Wray and some Very Peculiar Things happen. 1. Kong removes her little ballet skirt. He might as well snigger in a twisted, lecherous way while this occurs. 2. Kong removes her lacy top, revealing a bra that appears to be made out of banana leaf fronds. 3. Kong reaches for her and yes, appears to "twiddle her nipples," looking for all the world like a pervert molesting a comatose girl at a party. Not once, but several times. 4. Kong sniffs his fingers in a dirty, old mannish way. His eyes roll. He sniffs his fingers. Should I repeat this again? [Insert horrified scream to rival that of Fay Wray's own!]
Also, we noted that when Kong lumbers about on the island and battles pterodactyls and T-Rex's, he has no scrotum! None at all. And where there is no scrotum, there is no appendage. And there ought to be a big one, really. Kong appears to all extents and purposes to lack a male member. Now, one might think that the puritanical instincts of 1933 would forbid the appearance of a giant monkey penis, unless one considers the facts revealed in paragraph two. These people were worried about offending viewers? They allowed their monkey to strip, twiddle, and sniff the leading lady.
How this same dirty pervy monkey manages to elicit any sympathy is one of the wonders of filmmaking.
2 comments:
Admit it. Who out there doesn't find the idea of some finger-sniffing eunuch at least a little hot?
The film's racist subtext of perceived black hypersexuality isn't too subtle. I've always noticed the missing anatomical parts too, but thought the Empire State Building is supposed to be Kong's wee-wee.
Personally, I've also always wondered what happened to Kong's fecal matter. Maybe there's a subtle message about how grumpy constipation can make you feel. Can you imagine being the poor soul standing below Kong when he dropped those bunker busters? I can practically see the signage now: "Please curb your gorilla."
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