Journey to an Icon

$16 JOURNEY TO AN ICON written by Tracy Stephenson Shaffer for “The Life and Times of King Kong” (Carl Denham, Jack Driscoll, and Captain Englehorn enter.) ENGLEHORN Denham, I want to get you away from the crew for a moment to find out just what it is you think you’re up to. You’ve got a lot loaded onto this venture already. Just what are you trying to do? DENHAM Englehorn, I’m dreaming big. B-I-G! I’ve got my sights set on an ICON, maybe one of the biggest icons of all time. We’re setting out to find and capture Kong, a cinematic legend if there ever was one. I believe we can get there. Now, it won’t be a typical journey. There’s danger involved. Adventure! Surprises! Who knows what we might run into along the way. But it’s worth it if we can get that monkey. DRISCOLL Kong’s not a monkey, sir. Though both are primates. DENHAM Oh, what does it matter? ENGLEHORN Well, Denham. The order of primates is characterized by animals with forward-facing eyes highly flexible arms, legs and fingers. This body structure evolved as an adaptation for life in the trees. Primates have flexible limbs and grasping hands so they can move from branch to branch to branch. The forward-facing eyes are also an adaptation for life in this environment. They give primates excellent depth perception, allowing them to accurately judge the distance between trees. DRISCOLL The 235 modern primate species are divided up into two suborders -- the prosimians and the anthropoids. The prosimians, made up of lemurs and similar animals, are the more primitive group. They exhibit lower intelligence and they more closely resemble other mammal groups (they typically have whiskers and extended snouts, for example). The prosimians split off from the evolutionary line leading to humans relatively early. ENGLEHORN Anthropoids, commonly called the "higher primates," comprise the rest of the species in the primate order; gorillas, chimps, and such. Anthropoids vary considerably in size, geographical range and behavior, but they all have flat faces, small ears and relatively large, complex brains. DRISCOLL They’re more like us, sir. Kong’s an anthropoid, sir. DENHAM See, we’re already heading in the same direction and you don’t even know it! DRISCOLL Denham, you’re crazy. ENGLEHORN We’re not just talking about any old primate, Denham. You’re talking about going after Kong. KING KONG! Kong’s an ICON! Icons are messy business Denham. Heaven knows why you would want to try to track down an icon. They can be monstrous, unstoppable, taking over everything in their path! And they won’t stay still. And this one – well, he’s bigger than most. I don’t think he can be captured. In fact, I’m certain he can’t. As far as I know, he can escape anything that might confine him. He’s bigger than even . . . himself. AND HE WON’T FIT IN THIS VESSEL! THERE’S NO WAY! At best, we’ll ultimately bring back a Kong that’s partial, fragmented. He might not even look like himself. He’ll be wounded Denham. It’s violent – this journey you want us to go on. 17 DRISCOLL Denham, this destined to fail. They’ve tried it multiple times. Kong’s so old now, so wise, almost 75 years old. He knows every trick in the book. He’ll escape us – you mark my words. DENHAM Trust me. You won’t regret it. If we can show Kong to an audience . . . well, we’ve just got to try. I’ve got a map of sorts … (The rest of the performers have climbed the scaffold and create visual tableaus representing the scenarios described in the next section.) DENHAM Here, we might start looking for Kong by exploring the area of cinema. Kong came of age in the studio era, a classic black and white picture – during the early 30’s,– the golden age of horror. He’s first and foremost a terrifying creature, R.K.O.’s perfect match for Universal’s bankable monsters-Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman. King Kong belongs in that list.\ ENGLEHORN When I think of Kong, I think of cinema, but not so much horror, but special effects. Every Kong feature relies on heavy effects to make the creature come to life . . . stop motion animation, green screen, CGI, rear and miniature projection, prosthetic make-up effects, models... … the list goes on. Let’s go in that direction. Since cinema itself is an art form built on and obsessed with fantastical effects, I think of Kong as an amazing special effect himself is the cinematic icon extraordinaire. DRISCOLL It’s not the form in which we find Kong that marks his iconicity, but the themes that emerge in the tale. King Kong is all about the savage ideology of colonization. In every film, Kong is exploited by Westerners or those with a western perspective. He’s taken from his home and exploited for economic gain, and capitalism sees to his doom. ENGLEHORN Oh, but you’re missing the messages of race that weaves through that narrative. Talk about a black and white picture! Taken from his homeland against his will, exploited for monetary gain. Aren’t we talking about slavery? Shouldn’t we track him that way? DENHAM Well, we could go in that direction, but I think we’d get off course after awhile. If we talk about race, we can’t forget that Kong includes not just a conversation about white and black, but the Japanese play a major role in thinking about Kong; those films complicate race beyond simple binaries, and we can’t forget the “amorphous” Pacific Islanders that are represented in the films over and over again. ENGLEHORN Oh, I think it’s Gender that will light the way to Kong. Kong and the girl are clearly linked: both orphans, both other, –They form a bond that becomes the entire plot. Even the films themselves begin to toy with gender,– a clue that it’s the key to this entire journey. DENHAM You’re a bright fella Englehorn! ENGLEHORN I’m a woman, Denham! DENHAM But Kong is more than gender. He’s a modern day Christ figure. Sure, he’s a god to the natives, but he’s even more than that. He’s misunderstood, crucified by those who are afraid of the mystery he represents, sacrificing himself for love of an other. (The performers now quietly leave the scaffold.) DRISCOLL Don’t you think you’re reaching a bit Denham? We’re way off course now. Some map! I told you we’d get lost. I told you this journey was doomed . . . it’s getting foggier and foggier. I can’t see clearly, and I’m afraid of the disaster that might be ahead. DENHAM Oh, Driscoll, we’ve not even begun. There’s a Kong to be found, but we’ve got to be smart, take risks, look in places we’ve never looked before. Like you said, he’s been around the block. – He may be hiding in places we don’t expect. I need your commitment to this venture.  DRISCOLL I’m reluctant sir. People could get hurt. ENGLEHORN Get hurt?!? Men, we could be consumed by this! Once we start, there may be no way out. DENHAM Too late to turn around now. Don’t you know that the fog is a sign that we’re onto something! Hold on loosely fellas. –We’re in for a crazy ride.$