In previously classes we discussed how ideas of colonialism have played a role in influencing the mythology of King Kong via the idea of white western explorers going too far off parts of the world and claiming the land and its resources for themselves. Kong: Skull Island, however, seems to offer a slightly different vision. Not only is the cast more ethnically diverse than in previous Kong movies but the film also carries the foreboding tagline "We Don't Belong Here (Links to an external site.)." Do you see this as a rejection of the previous Kong movie's colonialism or is this film still colonialist despite itself?
In an interview with SFX Magazine #284Preview the document View in a new window (page 9) Samuel L. Jackson likens his character to Captain Ahab from Moby-Dick. Thinking back on your reading of John Seelye's essay "Moby-Kong" and our in-class discussion of the thematic similarities between King Kong and Moby-Dick (which many of you found unconvincing) what do you make of this comparison now?
According to Dugatkin why was Founding Father and US President Thomas Jefferson obsessed with mammoths and other big animals?
What do you think of Comte de Buffon's theory of degeneration?
What do you make of Jefferson and Buffon's rivalry?