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Author Topic: #820: Godzilla ('54) vs. Kong ('33)  (Read 993 times)

saltine

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#820: Godzilla ('54) vs. Kong ('33)
« on: April 02, 2021, 09:44:10 PM »
With the new "Godzilla vs. Kong" bringing some much-needed spectacle to long-suffering theatre chains, Adam and Josh take the opportunity to settle the question of which classic monster movie has the most to offer audiences today, the mournful and metaphor-rich GODZILLA (1954) or the effects-driven adventure of the landmark KING KONG (1933). (Tease: it's a split decision.) Plus, results from the Final 4 round of Filmspotting Madness.




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Eric/E.T.

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Re: #820: Godzilla ('54) vs. Kong ('33)
« Reply #1 on: April 03, 2021, 02:06:12 AM »
I chatted up the concession stand worker today to see if they were seeing increased crowd sizes, and they mentioned that today was the busiest day in a long time because of Godzilla vs. Kong. Just for that, I'm grateful for the film. I'd also like to be able to get into kaiju, but don't really know the good from the bad. I might just take a flyer on this one. More stimulus aimed directly at movie theaters, chain or otherwise.
A witty saying proves nothing. - Voltaire

gonnawatchit

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Re: #820: Godzilla ('54) vs. Kong ('33)
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2021, 01:02:16 PM »
While I generally think Nathan Rabin is brilliant and funny and I'd love to hear him as a guest on the show someday (triviaspotting?), his seemingly "progressive" take on King Kong is... actually pretty regressive.  It paints Indigenous people as simple, noble, and fierce, while also strongly suggesting that there's no place for them in "modern" society (see Kong crashing through New York) and they're doomed to die out. It dates clear back to Rousseau's noble savage in "Emile" (1762) and has been a more "liberal" justification for Native American genocide (as opposed to a KKK sort of attitude), but just as damaging; it allows us to shake our heads and say, "isn't it sad that such noble beasts have to die... but that's just the way of the world." 
Am I allowed to promote myself here?  Read my own reviews at www.gonnawatchit.com or find me on letterboxd.com

Will

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Re: #820: Godzilla ('54) vs. Kong ('33)
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2021, 11:28:17 PM »
"To audiences who could still remember World War II's toll on civilians and soldiers, Godzilla's movements may have been seen as eerily similar to the movements of a burnt and traumatized soldier or civilian, wandering in a confused daze rather than consciously causing devastation. This casts a tragic, sympathetic, even victimized light on Godzilla that sets him apart from the majority of cinema giant monsters or kaiju eiga." - IMDB Trivia

Adam

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Re: #820: Godzilla ('54) vs. Kong ('33)
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2021, 11:15:26 PM »
While I generally think Nathan Rabin is brilliant and funny and I'd love to hear him as a guest on the show someday (triviaspotting?), his seemingly "progressive" take on King Kong is... actually pretty regressive.  It paints Indigenous people as simple, noble, and fierce, while also strongly suggesting that there's no place for them in "modern" society (see Kong crashing through New York) and they're doomed to die out. It dates clear back to Rousseau's noble savage in "Emile" (1762) and has been a more "liberal" justification for Native American genocide (as opposed to a KKK sort of attitude), but just as damaging; it allows us to shake our heads and say, "isn't it sad that such noble beasts have to die... but that's just the way of the world."
Nathan is a great idea for Triviaspotting. He was on the show once... Top 5 Manic Pixie Dream Girls.
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