Planet of The Apes Midterm PDF

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Cecilia Heineke 11/15/2017 Dr. Blanch Anthropology 111 Planet of the Apes Midterm Planet of the Apes 1968 version was amazing. It is a scientific-fiction classic that has great complex sociological themes. The movie starts with astronauts in a spaceship, but then the ship crashes in water and only three astronauts survive from the original five. They explore a planet that seems to be completely different from Earth due to the scenery and the fact that apes are the superior being and humans are slaves. At this point the time setting of the movie is in the year 3978. The astronauts end up either dying or finding the ability to communicate with the apes after proving their intelligence after the astronauts are found naked under a waterfall where the apes steal their clothes. The astronauts end up having to wear animal skin as clothes and with the lack of ability to shave their faces, they really end up looking like cavemen. They look similar to the apes with facial hair and when Taylor shaves, the apes are extremely confused why someone would do that. They are so used to the hairy face and seeing someone do something that different and unique to them they say he looks less intelligent. Proving intelligence is a huge part of this film and seems to be required to gain as respect from the apes. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie because of the setting. I thought it was so funny watching the characters smoke cigars in their spaceship because from what I understand, I do not think that will ever be allowed again. I loved the backdrop throughout the entire movie;

it was very aesthetically pleasing. The movie was so easily enjoyable because of the simple plot. It was easy to understand but it still gripped and maintained my interest. One of my favorite quotes from the movie was from when Taylor was leaving on a horse with Nova and Dr. Zaius said, “I have always known about man. From the evidence, I believe his wisdom must walk hand and hand with his idiocy. His emotions must ruin his brain. He must be a war-like creature who gives battle with everything around him, even himself… the Forbidden Zone was once a paradise, your kind made a desert of it years ago.” I have been very aware of greed in America for a long time and it honestly makes me feel even ashamed to be an American sometimes. I do not always like telling people, when I am traveling internationally, that I am from America because I feel like they may become uninterested. They could think I am a stereotypical American girl who thinks her country is superior to everyone else’s even though we rank 17th for our educational system, 2nd for ignorance, and 18th for quality of life. America is only a great country for a very certain type of person. That person happens to be cisgender white male with money. That may even be the reason why Donald Trump was able to become president and his democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, the one with the better equipped resume, was not. My favorite part of the movie was seeing how differently people acted and were treated when they were not able to speak. When Taylor did not have his voice, he acted like a modernday ape. When Taylor started to show intelligence by writing out words on a piece of paper, Zira let him out of the cage immediately and brought him into the office. It amazes me what people will do to a live being when it cannot defend itself or when the living being has no form of communication to tell the perpetrator to stop what they are doing. The reason why I am a

vegetarian is because it makes me so sad to see animals being killed. I only recently became a vegetarian after watching a video of a girl from home-town talking about how The Golden Rule applies more to more than just people to people; it applies to people to earth too. Greedy humans in the world do not feel bad for animals because we do not usually see them being killed, but I wonder how many people would eat meat if they watched the entire process of meat production. What makes me sick is the humans who own these corporations and are making so much money off the loss of wonderful and beautiful animal life. It is reasons like these why I cannot morally eat meat and still call myself a liberal. Another part of the movie that struck me was when I saw the humans being hung by their feet. I am not sure what I was expecting for the apes to do to other humans, but I thought they may be above domesticating other beings like they were domesticated. It all made sense when the leader of the hunt said that he does not understand what animal psychologist are trying to prove and Dr. Zaius responded, “that man can be domesticated.” In this movie apes came from man messing up somehow. I think the apes did this to prove their superiority and even to keep themselves and the planet safe from the inevitable stupidity of human beings. They are proving that man is not that great and that apes can do whatever men did, but this time they will not mess up the entire planet. Overall, Planet of the Apes from 1968 was an eye-opening masterpiece. From the aesthetically pleasing setting to the complex sociological themes, it was amazing. It captured audiences with large imaginations mixed with intellectuals and thrill seekers. The way the film exposed extremely controversial topics about civil rights, race, and war. It shows how harsh the

consequences can be if America does not change their ways soon. It shows how far prejudices can go and how it can destroy a system of life....