Longtime readers may recall that I've mentioned this before. But let's catalog the evidence. These brown-skinned savages are half-naked of course. They wear the usual ragged loincloths and skins. They have the usual bone ornaments and piercings. Their teeth are jagged, resembling an animal's. Their hair is straggly, indicating they have no sense of hygiene or decorum.
If their ancestors built the great ruins where they live, these people are now degenerates. The architecture features skulls and mummy-like bodies, which indicates they're death worshipers. Their tribal drums and chants signal how malevolent they are. And of course they practice human sacrifice.
What to do about it
King Kong is arguably the most racist film of 2005. Combined with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Apocalypto, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it shows our continuing demonization of tribal people.
For kicks, try searching the Net for pictures of these natives. I doubt you'll find any. Why is that? Weren't the filmmakers proud of their makeup and costuming jobs? Could it be that no one wanted to release images that are clearly racist?
You could argue that the filmmakers were merely copying the original movie, or that the natives were integral to the plot. Maybe so, but the filmmakers should've done something to update the film's repugnance toward "primitive" natives. It wouldn't have been that hard.
How about making them slaves of an despotic ruler who forces them to sacrifice people? Or saying they use a narcotic or have a disease or genetic condition that turns them into beast-men? There's really no excuse for this kind of portrayal in the 21st century.
For more on the subject, see Trend: Non-Westerners as Savages and The Best Indian Movies.
Below: Savage, subhuman natives in 1933:
And in 2005:
I haven't seen the 2005 King Kong flick. But I always thought that the "Natives" in these films are usually Black. The mentioning of "bones" being attached to their noses, mouth or other body parts was usually Negroid in nature, not necessarily Indians. Regardless, I always wondered why "Natives" would participate in these racist film designed to mock them? They're either desperate for money or they're as dumb as the next imbecile redneck.
ReplyDeleteGENO--
Rob wasn't saying that they were supposed to be Indians (hence, the lower-case "n" on the word "native".)
ReplyDeleteI think it's pretty clear Skull Island is located somewhere in the Indonesia archipelago or the South Seas. The inhabitants may be the same racial type as the natives of New Guinea.
ReplyDeleteGiven the changing views on race, I'm not sure what the current classification of New Guinea natives is. Different websites classify them as Melanesians or Australoids.
As for the actors who played the islanders, they seemed to be a combination of South Asian and Negro types. About the only common denominator was their dark skin.
Since most of King Kong was filmed in New Zealand, I imagine they were Maori or South Sea islanders. I doubt they were well-versed in Hollywood stereotyping issues.
These days, filmmakers use bones, piercings, tattoos, and other scary markings to signify savages in general. This applies to the Indians in the movies I listed and the black natives in the TV show Crusoe.
A Facebook exchange on this posting:
ReplyDeleteEric Jojola: I think the 1933 original may have been "more sensitive" in its depiction of indigenous peoples than the later film....
Rob Schmidt: I haven't seen the original King Kong in a long time. But I can believe it wasn't as bad. The natives in the 2005 version were about as horrific as natives can get without showing explicit blood and guts (see Apocalypto).
What a crock of absolute shite. Nice "blog" you've got here, Cindarella.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read about the Andamanese? How about groups in the Amazon, whose cultures still live the same as they did in the 15th century? Is the historical fact that the Nahuatl pantheon religion required regular human sacrifice, also somehow racist? This is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIdiot reviewer is idiot. F'ing libtards crying racism over anything they can find.
ReplyDeleteIt surprises me that the commenters use the word negri as if it's common place. The depiction of the natives was clearly racist. I think the black and Asian crew members had to be killed on the island to avoid a discussion about race. I felt very uncomfortable with the depiction of the natives. By the way, the are native to that Island. You can be naive to any part of the world. Anyways having skulls does not mean they are a tribe worships death. Many real life tribes keep skulls to remember people that are important to them like tribe leaders. In that way it's like keeping cremated remains in your house, which is also word, but I wouldn't call you a death worshipper.
ReplyDeleteOh shut the fuck up. My fucking god, people like you make me sick. You know what your problem is? You are a spoiled bitch with no real problems. So you invent them. Because it is in our nature to do so. Everything is racist isn’t it? It’d be easier for you to tell us what is not racist. Much shorter list. Besides, actual tribes people don’t even give a fuck! They played the parts! But you’re saint wanna be (probably white or black) ass minority ass kissing self somehow does? Get fucked in the mouth bitch!
ReplyDelete