New York City as Represented in Two Films

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the way in which New York is portrayed in these two classic movies. The paper shows how in both films, New York is represented as a foreboding steel and concrete landscape, a haven for cynics who care little about naive newcomers and a center for machinery and industry which often does as much harm as good. The paper compares and contrast the storylines of the two movies - "King Kong" about a huge gorilla monster trying to escape the city but causing panic and havoc in his wake; and "The Crowd" which is about a common man, lost in New York City, seeking to find those basic qualities of success, happiness and home.

From the Paper:

"The Crowd and King Kong's use of New York, at lease on the surface, seem to be diametrically opposite. Vidor's film was a fable, grown out of and set in the most populist and socialist days of the country, when artists were eager to include the struggle of the common man in their themes. Kong, meanwhile was more of a "B movie," less well acted and hinging its success on what at the time were breakthroughs in stop-motion animation and special effects."

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