King K. Rool is a carnivorous crocodile, and during the game he actually states that he hates banana's, so why then is he so bent on stealing them from Donkey Kong? He then goes on explaining how King K. Rool only wants the bananas to remove Donkey Kong so that he can "occupy" his home and how this goes along with the theme of the U.S. at this time of occupying Latin American countries for their own gain. K. Rool is known for this appearance shown below, which he then compares to a political cartoon that depicts Teddy Roosevelt as a King also shown below. This connection would explain the way that K. Rool (as Roosevelt) wants to use the banana's to take over Latin America. He also goes on to explain that the final battle with K. Rool takes place on a pirate ship. which both relates to the arsenal of ships under the United Fruit Companies command, and the immoral message behind those ships, as if they were pirates, stealing from the people.
The creator then moves on to discuss the subject of railways and transportation within the game world. The game world has multiple levels in which Donkey Kong must traverse destroyed rail ways left there by K. Rool and his army. He states that this implies the connection between the UFC's monopoly on transportation and the control that was exerted upon the rail roads of Central America. We learned in class that the UFC chose not to build a railroad for Guatemala because it would diversify transportation away from the UFC's control. Along many of these railway levels, the player experiences smaller crocodiles wearing full U.S. army clothing blocking the way for Donkey Kong to continue on his mission. Meanwhile, no other character in the game wheres much in terms of clothing, but yet these crocodiles are wearing full army gear. Once again, we see the control placed by UFC and the U.S. upon Latin American railways represented in a video game.
Finally, he talks about the overall layout of the game itself, where there are 6 worlds, and the final battle on the pirate ship. 4 of these levels take place in nature, the names are: Kongo Jungle, Monkey Mines, Vine Valley, Gorilla Glacier, Chimp Caverns, and Kremcrok Industries Incorporated. The final name clearly stands out, a level within the world is called Polluted Pond, and the picture shows a building spewing pollution into the air. It is very clear that the only level directly associated with the invaders is portrayed very very negatively. And the country that would have been associated with Industry like this for the time period is the U.S. The clear message being sent here, and he says this as well, is that the U.S. and it's overpowering industry has come in and tried to destroy something natural in Latin America. The U.S. interest also included oil, which is a very main part of the final world as well.
The creator sums up the entire video excellently: "We have a war over bananas, lead by an imperialistic president, featuring an industrialized enemy, with an armed fleet that owns and destroys railroads, who uses a well equipped army, to secure fruit an oil for the good of Kremland(U.S.A.)".
pretty strong message for a video game in my opinion, and an accurate one in my eyes, what do you guys think?
I used to play a few of the Donkey Kong games on GameCube with my cousin. Well, he wouldn't let me play but I would watch, and I remember that it was fun.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading your blog, I was wondering why the game developers would want to portray the United States, or King K. Rool, in a negative light. I found that the game was produced by Rare, a British company, and Great Britain resented the U.S. involvement in Latin America. The U.S. also wanted the bananas for financial gain, not because its people would have starved without them. The fact that some of the crocodiles were wearing U.S. uniforms is really interesting as well. That, combined with the industrialization represented in the game, convinces me that the game was based on the Banana Wars.
I think the theme is subtle enough not to be noticed by a U.S. company that would be selling the game, and there are probably many games that have hidden messages in them that are popular today.