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victoriadallonfan · 1 day

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Not to claim Godzilla x Kong was a deep film, but credit where it’s due, it has by far the most respectful portrayal of indigenous people in all of the Kong films.

This is not a high bar and I’m NOT saying it’s the pinnacle of progressive film work, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

Spoilers below, of course.

For those of you who haven’t seen any of the older Kong films outside of the Monsterverse, the general plot beat is that a wealthy businessman/philanthropist/greedy asshole goes to Skull Island to find something new to make a lot of money (film for the OG/Peter Jackson and Oil for the 70’s film), and comes across a tribe of “barbarian” natives who kidnap the beautiful white woman whom they sacrifice to Kong, whom they worship.

It’s such a cliche that even Peter Jackson does it in his 2005 film (and it’s possibly even more racist than the older ones):

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As you can see, there is a very familiar pattern

The Iwi tribe of the Monsterverse is handled very differently

In Kong: Skull Island, it actually does try to play into previous viewers perceptions; we meet the Iwi as the protags stumble upon their village ruins and are surrounded by. Tension is tight, and it looks like it’ll be a repeat of the previous films… until the character of Hank Marlow arrives and diffuses the tension entirely, revealing that the Iwi have been generous and caring hosts to him.

And yes, while they do worship Kong, it’s not out of fear, but rather that Kong protects them from the hazards of Skull Island. The Iwi are the ones who help the crew get a working ship and aid them in escaping the island.

This is followed up in Godzilla vs Kong, where we tragically learn that a massive tropical storm (I think implied to be due to King Ghidorah hurricanes) sank the entire island and left Jia as the sole survivor of her tribe, saved due to Kong protecting her from the rising floods.

Kong and Jia are then seen as a near inseparable duo, further twisting the “beauty and beast” dynamic of the previous films, making it more about how they are both alone except for each other. Kong even learns sign language from Jia in one of the best movie reveals of the series:

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It’s even Jia who is able to give Kong the morale boost to save Godzilla from Mechagodzilla.

And then we get into Godzilla x Kong. Kong and Jia, while having a new home, still feel isolated because of their cultures (or lack thereof) and make excuses to see each other as much as possible. Which is turned on its head as Kong finds other Apes and the Iwi tribe have returned (or at least) an offshoot of them, as the protectors of humanity who calls Godzilla to their aid.

I was a bit wary of making them telepathic, but I liked that they used it more like a separate language than a superpower, with Jia serving as that bridge as she finds her culture, her adoptive mother accepts that Jia may want this life more than one back home (where she felt out of place), and Jia becoming ANOTHER bridge as she helps resurrect Mothra who goes onto make Godzilla and Kong form an alliance!

Ultimately, Jia parts ways with the Iwi on good terms to live with her adoptive mother, happy to know there are people of her culture she can visit and Kong lives on with his people.

But I especially appreciate a moment in the film that pretty much lampshades the older Kong movies.

One of the characters is filming himself and others as they venture into Hollow Earth, desperate to get his fame and fortune in making people realize he was a hero and not a conspiracy theorist (he was a spy for Apex Labs, the ones who built mechagodzilla in the first place). Another character is an animal doctor and naturalist, who points out that, historically, native populations don’t tend to do well when exposed to the modern world.

Add on to the fact that the Iwi are telepathic and know how to use crystals to alter gravity in Hollow Earth, they would absolutely be the target of government operations and experimentation. Aka, a far more grand version of what happens in the older Kong films.

The film ends with the footage not being used and the Iwi living in peace, having Mothra once more to protect them.

Like I said, it’s not groundbreaking stuff, but I appreciate how different it is.

#godzilla #kong #king kong #monsterverse #godzilla vs kong #godzilla x kong: the new empire #kong skull island #kong: skull island #Iwi tribe #Jia #Youtube

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bondedcloud · 5 months

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Godzilla X Kong : The New Empire (2024) Trailer

Godzilla looks hot in pink. He’s Barbenheimer 😭

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hiddleston-daily · 3 months

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Tom Hiddleston is James Conrad

in Kong: Skull Island (2017)

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ronnib00 · 24 days

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I saw the trailer and this was all I could think about

🚨‼️SPOILER IMAGE BELOW‼️🚨

#godzilla #godzilla king of the monsters #godzilla vs kong #godzilla x kong: the new empire #legendary godzilla #godzilla art #monarch legacy of monsters #monsterverse #mothra #king kong #kong skull island #gojira

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indyfalcon · 10 months

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You all should watch Skull Island because I’ve never experienced a more healing production in my life. No crunch, no unnecessary overtime, and work that I’m extremely proud of. Burnout sometimes is unavoidable once you crawl across that finish line but it was never because I was being pushed too hard or too far

I learned so much and was given SO MANY creative liberties. There’s wasn’t a better set of directors to work for.

#skull island #kong skull island

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startheskelaton · 13 days

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Baby Kong

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blueshirezz-2 · 24 days

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"This dude falling in love with a white blonde haired woman lmao hahahaha!"

#Skar king #Godzilla #godzilla x kong the new empire #godzilla x kong #kong skull island #king kong skull island #kong

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mke2nd · 1 month

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On their way to beat up a old man and the ugly purse

#art #illustration #digital art #godzilla #kong #king kong #godzilla x kong: the new empire #kong skull island #legendary godzilla #kaiju #kaiju art #fanart #meme

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flyingturtlepei · 6 months

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Monsterverse Media as of 2023

#godzilla #King Kong #kong skull island #godzilla king of the monsters #godzilla vs kong #skull island #monarch legacy of monsters

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crusaderguy · 4 months

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Most normal Christmas in the Crusaderguy Kaiju Universe.

#memes #godzilla #kong #rodan #anguirus #king ghidorah #gigan #megalon #kaiju #christmas #godzilla 2014 #kong skull island #godzilla king of the monsters #godzilla vs kong #godzilla x kong the new empire #monsterverse #godzilla singular point #godzilla vs megalon #godzilla vs gigan rex

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ivebeentotheforest · 4 months

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#my gifs #godzilla x kong: the new empire #godzilla king of the monsters #godzilla vs kong #godzilla #kong #kong skull island #king kong #son of kong #cgi #hollow earth #monsterverse #monarch #action movies

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 2 months

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Deleted/altered Monsterverse scenes in Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett

Kong: Skull Island

There's a longer opening sequence, with Marlowe discovering Gunpei's camp instead of them both crashing at around the same time.

Conrad stows away on the expedition instead of being hired as a tracker

Weaver and Conrad meet at a Philadelphia train station (no clue what the context was).

Kong swings around a helicopter while the gunner is still firing and the bullets hit another helicopter, which I think is the closest he's ever come to using a gun.

Packard's group watches Kong fight the Mire Squid instead of Chapman.

Very different take on the Iwi village, with smaller lost ships/planes incorporated into the architecture.

The big one: Conrad flashes back to an encounter with King Ghidorah in Vietnam. The three-headed monster's silhouette is basically just the Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah version, but he has at least five prehensile tails he uses to snatch up soldiers.

Conrad and Weaver are tied to a tree during the napalm plot against Kong. Another character sets them free and they go wild on a few soldiers, with Weaver hitting one on the head with a rock. The Skull Devil emerges in a separate scene.

Kong uses a plane wing as a weapon in the final fight.

The Skull Devil has a grappling tail similar to that of Otachi in Pacific Rim.

The Iwi fight Conrad's group (I think) as the Gray Fox is lowered down a waterfall with a pulley system and something ambushes Kong in the background. This one was especially hard to make any sense of without dialogue.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Jonah spies on Emma and Madison as they drive to Mothra's temple.

The video montage in the Senate hearing is done via hologram. A mushroom cloud is displayed while Serizawa argues with a senator.

Mark bows to a wolf that approaches him in a nice bit of foreshadowing.

Mothra arrives in Boston alongside Godzilla instead of turning up later.

Godzilla vs. Kong

In an alternate opening, the Iwi retell the history between Godzilla and Kong's species using highly-elaborate puppets. There's a horned character loaded with weapons who briefly traps Godzilla in a cage and transforms into a Rodan-like figure. An ancient mecha?

Text mentions that "the Pensacola/Florida Godzilla attack scene was going to be much longer, involving a mall stampede.

A massive explosion takes place on Skull Island (I believe coming from the Vile Vortex there).

Jia is first shown signing with Kong just before the fleet engages Godzilla.

In true kaiju kid fashion, Jia messes with the controls of the ship to set Kong loose.

Nathan discovers his brother's crash site in the Hollow Earth and gets into a fight with several guards. This scene was definitely filmed.

Bernie was at one point a woman (drawn with ultra-short hair, although in general the human characters in these storyboards bear little resemblance to their screen counterparts).

Kong finds a skeleton of another member of his species sitting on the throne. He breaks off the skull, stares at it, and throws it aside.

Group troops engage Godzilla and Kong during their Hong Kong fight; neither even notices.

Mechagodzilla coils into a semi-sphere to deflect Godzilla's atomic breath.

Echoing his fight with Kong, Godzilla tries to outrun Mechagodzilla's Proton Scream through the streets of Hong Kong.

#godzilla king of the monsters 2019 #kong skull island #godzilla vs. kong #godzilla #king kong #skullcrawler #mothra #king ghidorah #mechagodzilla #kaiju #behind the scenes

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nekkyousagiart · 9 days

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