It seems like the whole Gordy show subplot could have been left out and the movie wouldn't have suffered, especially considering that Steven Yuen's character dies halfway through. Considering how expensive the chimp VFX probably were, it must be important to the story somehow. What am I missing?
shareI FULLY agree. just cut the whole chimp thing... no loss.
There are a few explanations out there, and it works, but it is weak, kinda pointless, doesn't explain itself well, and well, could have just been cut. felt like time filler to me, still even after reading various explanations.
spoilers: chimp is sort of an example of something wild still losing its cool after a long time acting normal/tamed. thus, the creature the guy was feeding horses to turned on him all of a sudden (like the chimp) still being wild though he thought he tamed it. that's it.
Then there is all the subtext about class, race, police state watching with cameras blah blah blah, maybe it worked for some but seems MOST missed it, there fore, it didn't really work.
I think what the movie shows is that Jupe has come to believe he is a "chosen one" of the aliens, and the shoe standing up is his sign of a miracle. He obsesses over this to the point of enshrining it. Is this needed? Probably not. It communicates about the same thing as the horse being pushed too far, and it actually contradict's OJ's interpretation of Jupe trying to "tame" it. The scene did cause a lot of people nightmares, so there's that. It had other parallels besides the looking in the eye thing, I guess, but those were mostly irrelevant, pretentious art nerd bullshit.
shareHow is this hard to understand? Narratively, it establishes Park's background as a child actor, reveals how he's repurposed his trauma into Jupiter's Claim, and explains his obsession with Jean Jacket, which is analogized to the chimp as a creature that turns on the hubristic humans who think they can tame it. The parallel is made explicit in the simian outfits worn by Park's "boys."
On a thematic level, the whole Gordy incident ties into the film's examination of how tragedy/peril is sensationalized in the media and trivialized as spectacle for us to look upon and consume. Notice the prominence of the gaze between Gordy and Park (whose position we assume via POV shot).
How is this hard to understand? Narratively, it establishes Park's background as a child actor, reveals how he's repurposed his trauma into Jupiter's Claim, and explains his obsession with Jean Jacket, which is analogized to the chimp as a creature that turns on the hubristic humans who think they can tame it. The parallel is made explicit in the simian outfits worn by Park's "boys."
I disagree. Vital to setting the tone for us (we cannot control nature no matter how hard we try, we cannot stop animals from being animals, etc) and adds to Jupe's backstory and character development that explains his actions.
shareThe chimp referred to how trying to control a wild unpredictable animal can lead to disastrous results, which ties into what happens with the alien.
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