WARNING: This Article Contains Spoilers
Imagine a world where humans are further down the food chain than they are today. A desolate planet, hunted by our simian brothers. Watch Planet of the Apes, and you no longer need to picture it in your mind. Both the 1968 and 2005 films gives different visions of this future, one from a scientific point of view, the other rather militant. However, in many ways, both films show that in certain ways – life would still seem rather familiar, just flipped upside down. In this post, I am going to cover the ways that both films have mirrored human life in the world we currently live in but by placing ourselves in the subservient role.
The Hunted
The animals of this world are hunted for many different reasons. Unfortunately, in the case of chimpanzees this is for food. It is not, however, the actual hunt that is the interesting part of the film. Yes, the remaining humans on the planet are hunted down and caged – some even shot, but it is the image portrayed by a few of the chimps as the humans are being loaded on to the transport in the original film that catches the eye. As the camera pans across the scene, we are met by a familiar scene of three hunters posing for a photo with their kills. Now, who hasn’t seen a similar image of human hunters being photographed with a dead lion, or even giraffe?
Pets
I am sure many of you reading this either have, or dreamed of having (much like myself), a domesticated dog or cat as a pet. There are people in this world however, who have more wild ideas for pets and some have even had a chimp as such. Take Justin Bieber for example, not that that lasted very long. Picture a human child, being bought as pet for a young chimpanzee girl, as portrayed in the 2005 film when a young girl – possibly no more than 3 years old – is sold to General Thade for his daughter. Now, imagine that same girl is your progeny being taken away from you against your will. Shocked? I think you might be. We are not raised to be pets of course, but nor are many of the animals that are kept in this domesticated way – especially chimps.
Animals Having Souls and Thought
This is a topic that has actually been discussed recently in UK politics. Back in 2017, the Conservatives decided, during Brexit Withdrawal talks, to dispose with the EU Animal Sentience Law – meaning that they agreed that animals did not feel emotion or pain. Thankfully, in 2019 they changed their minds and because of this it has created the discussion whether they have souls as well. This is also a large discussion in the original film, specifically in the case of Taylor. To the apes, he is an anomaly – a human who can write and more importantly talk. Being seen as animals, in this dystopia, means that humans have no rights. Is this not also the case here? Take a situation where a dog bites a human being severely but has done so because he is being kicked. There are times that the rule of self-defence does not apply to this animal and will be put down.
The Musician and His Monkey
I feel this is something that would be a lot more familiar in the Middle East and the surrounding areas than it would be in Europe. The idea of a person busking on the streets and a monkey tamely collecting money from passers-by. Along with being pets, this is not something that these animals have been raised to do. Instead, they have been taken from their natural habitat, trafficked and kept in tiny cages before being sold on to these people. We actually see this flipped on its head when we first arrive in the ape community in the 2005 version of the film. As we follow the transport bringing the humans through to be sold, there is a chimp playing the accordion while a child or possibly a little person goes up to passing apes with his hat out to collect money.
A Couple of Smaller Points
It is also interesting to mention the minor things that are referred to in both films. Firstly, along with the debate on whether the humans have souls, the conversation in the court turns into a very familiar argument of Darwinism vs Creationism – which I am sure is still a rife discussion in parts of our world today.
Secondly, when freeing Leo in the 2005 version, it is mentioned that he is to be transferred to the zoo in order to trick the guards. On the other hand, in the original – the ploy is much crueller. They claim they are taking Taylor away in order to run unsanctioned tests on his brain.
Overall
It seems that both films in their own ways are trying to remind us of one very important fact: Treat others how you wish to be treated.
