Revisiting King Kong

My wife and I saw King Kong this evening, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The cinematography is outstanding, and Jackson's re-telling of the classic story is touching and powerful. One cannot help but leave the theatre wondering who the film's real monster is. It's well worth seeing.

"Coffee Grounds," a blog I follow, recently discussed an article written by James Pinkerton that asked, "Is King Kong Racist?" Pinkerton wrote:

Any movie that features white people sailing off to the Third World to capture a giant ape and carry it back to the West for exploitation is going to be seen as a metaphor for colonialism and racism. That was true for the original in 1933 and for the two remakes: the campy one in 1976, and the latest, directed by Peter Jackson. (In addition, a "Kong" wannabe, "Mighty Joe Young," has been made twice.) Movie reviewer David Edelstein, writing in Slate.com, notes the "implicit racism of 'King Kong' -- the implication that Kong stands for the black man brought in chains from a dark island (full of murderous primitive pagans) and with a penchant for skinny white blondes."

The article is worth reading, though I suspect Pinkerton may have seen more than is actually there. At the end of his post, the writer of "Coffee Grounds" noted:

I know, I know, the ape-black man connection, but I saw a large ape and thought that's meant to be a large ape. A little exploring with Google found very little discussion of racism and King Kong from New Zealand, suggesting perhaps that this is a peculiarly American view of the film, and maybe also that the racial politics you see in King Kong reflect the racial politics you bring to it.

I agree with the latter observation whole-heartedly. We cannot help but see a text (in this case a film) through the filters our personal (and cultural) experiences have forged for us. Though not peculiar to America, racism is an issue Americans are destined to bring with them to the film.

Passing Time

I spent another day on the couch trying to shake the cold that's got me down. By late afternoon I was going a bit crazy, so I decided to get outside and take a short run. It was cold, but the exercise felt good. Hopefully I can push some of the crud through my system. The fact that I haven't slept for the past five nights hasn't helped.

Lying on the couch for the past two days has left me with the time to do some thinking. I'll admit that being ill has clouded my judgment. Still, the fact that President Bush found leaking information regarding the illegal spying program he authorized to be a "shameful act" seemed a bit ironic. Apparently the fact that members of his own staff had leaked the name of a CIA agent wasn't quite as bad. What a joke! Despite his hypocrisy, a recent poll showed that his approval ratings are up once again. It's difficult to place any degree of confidence in the intelligence of the American public!

UPDATE: Apparently I'm not a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. According to The Boston Globe, Sen. John Kerry shares my views:

Though leaking any classified information is against the law, "there is a world of difference between what the president's engaged in and what was leaked out of the White House," Kerry told reporters after addressing ironworkers at a local labor hall.

"The leak in the White House was an effort to destroy somebody and his family and attack them for telling the truth," the senator said, referring to former ambassador Joe Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame. Her identity as a CIA analyst was exposed in July 2003 after Wilson challenged an administration justification for the Iraqi war.

"The leak that took place in this case is a leak that -- I'm not excusing it -- is to tell the truth about something that violates the rights of Americans and doesn't uphold our Constitution," Kerry said.

Reading, Writing, and Recovering

It continues to be unseasonably cold. In fact, the weathermen have called for a low of two degrees this evening, which is almost too cold to bear. I can't take the thought of three more months of winter. Heck, I can't accept the fact that winter hasn't officially begun. My wife and I stayed indoors yesterday and decorated the house for the holidays! Christmas is only a week away, and I still need to begin shopping. By my count, I'm right on pace with my performance for the past three years!

It seems that my first cold of the season has taken hold just in time for the holidays. Today's the first day in a long time that I haven't gotten outside for a run. Instead, I spent the day on the couch reading The Age of the Academies, a collection of essays edited by Ted Sizer. It's an interesting book, and presents unique perspectives on education in antebellum America. I've also been reading Atlantic Crossings by Daniel Rogers, which explores the relationship between progressive politics in Europe and the United States. My fascination with progressive education continues to deepen. During the Winter Quarter I'll be doing an independent study on the subject. I'm also going to be doing some work on the history of reader response theory, which I'm also looking forward to.

That said, I need to drink my tea and ease my sore throat. I refuse to let this cold get the best of me!

So Long 2005!

Whoo! 2005 has been quite a year! From the hurricane in New Orleans to the war in Iraq, the Bush Administration has faced its share of challenges. George must be praying for a reprieve in 2006. I came across the following video while working online yesterday. It does a good job of encapsulating some (though certainly not all) of the Bush Administration's 2005 fiascos. I suppose it's unfair to hold the producers accountable for falling short. One can only do so much in a sixty-second clip, and there's simply too much material to work with! The video is worth viewing, and provides a humorous (and welcomed) farewell to another year plagued by political scandals, mismanagement, arrogance, and misrepresentations of the truth. Click the following link to begin playing the video: Bush Video.

A Welcomed Break (Sort Of)

Another quarter has passed, and taken with it the stress and frenzy that so often seem to accompany finals week. Despite the fact that I've been through it several times now, it never seems to get any easier. There's always too much work, and too little time to do it. If nothing else, my experience as a graduate student has led me to adopt the following mantra: "You'll get it done! It always gets done!"

The holiday break has arrived, though I still have quite a bit of work to do. I finished revising the syllabus I plan to use for a course I'm teaching during the Winter Quarter, and I finally managed to order the books I'll be using. I recently met with a professor to discuss a paper we've been working on for the upcoming AERA conference. I managed to complete all of my transcripts, reports, etc., which is always a nice feeling. My final goal is to begin working on two articles I promised myself I would write over the break. Doing so, of course, is easier said than done.

In addition to everything else, I need to resume blogging, an undertaking that I've actually come to miss. I may not have a large audience, but I do enjoy the writing. It's actually quite cathartic.