Episode 2: The Tourists vs. King Kong (1933)

(Originally published Oct. 9, 2019).

Hello, kaiju lovers!

Our “Kong Quest” begins! :P Nathan is joined by his core group of Monster Island Tourists—Nick Hayden & Timothy Deal of the Derailed Trains of Thought podcast and Joe & Joy Metter—to discuss one of the greatest movies ever made: 1933’s King Kong. What’s interesting is none of these Tourists had seen this classic film before coming to the Island, so you’ll hear their fresh reactions, opinions, and analyses to the Eighth Wonder’s first and greatest outing. Listen as each of them compete for best (or worst?) joke of the podcast (“No monkeying around!” says Nick). Along the way Jimmy From NASA gets sassy with the Tourists and has to corral a dog dubbed “Teddy Kong,” who keeps trying to make a cameo during the Toku Talk. The Toku Topic for this episode is the Great Depression since the film was made and released at the height of that period and indirectly mentions it several times.

Be sure to check out the latest episode of Nick and Tim’s podcast, Derailed Trains of Thought, where they visited Monster Island to discuss destruction as a story element with Nathan as a guest host. Their podcast is marvelous, and Nathan has appeared on multiple episodes.

© 2019 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading
-“Depression, You Say? Check Those Safety Nets” by Charles Duhigg (The New York Times)
-King Kong Wiki Articles:
-Wikipedia
-Gojipedia
-Wikizilla
-Kaijuvision Radio, Episode 2: Godzilla Origins – King Kong (1933) and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
-King Kong (1933) Review – Kong-A-Thon Episode 1 (D Man1954)
-King Kong: History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson by Ray Morton
-Kong Unbound: The Cultural Impact, Pop Mythos, and Scientific Plausibility of a Cinematic Legend (edited by Karen Haber)
-Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island by John LeMay
-“Prostitution – The Great Depression”
-Tracking King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture (2nd edition) by Cynthia Erb
Wikipedia Articles:
-Great Depression
-Gold Standard
-Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
-New Deal
-Reflation
-Roaring Twenties
-Timeline of the Great Depression
-“What Sex was Like During the Great Depression” by Melissa Sartone