Discuss in detail how the characters of Carl Denham (Jack Black), Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) and King Kong (Andy Serkis) differ from the other versions we've previously encountered. What are some of these differences? Erb also notes that Jackson and his creative team displayed a great deal of "enthusiasm" in their re-imagining of Skull Island, even going as far as to create a mockumentary - "Skull Island: A Natural History" - about the island for the film's DVD and also a tie-in book:
"The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island." What does Erb say about this? What do you make of it? If you've seen this film how did you find this version of Skull Island in comparison to the one from KING KONG (1933) and KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017)? When did director Peter Jackson originally start working on his remake of King Kong? Why did Universal Studios cancel it? What eventually gave Jackson the clout needed to get his version of King Kong made? According to Erb, what emotion does KING KONG (2005) pivot on? What are some examples of this within the film? How is this evident in the character of Kong himself in this film? Erb writes that KING KONG (2005) works "as an allegory of the 9/11 attacks and the war on terror." What is her evidence for this? How does KING KONG (2005) "confuse the terms 'Depression' as event and 'depression' as collective mood" according to Erb? KING KONG (2005) furthers the tradition previously seen in KING KONG (1933) and KING KONG (1976) of drawing analogies between Skull Island and New York City. However Erb notes that Jackson's offers a few new twists on this idea. What are some examples of this? Erb argues that while KING KONG (1933) is best interpreted via the theories of Sigmund Freud (with Freud's emphasis on sex) that KING KONG (2005) is best interpreted via the theories of philosopher Walter Benjamin, especially Benjamin celebrated 1936 essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility." What is the central argument of this essay by Benjamin and how does it relate to KING KONG (2005) and the characters of Ann and Denham in particular? Erb also contends that Jackson's Kong is a character obsessed and defined by "the death drive." What does this mean? How does it relate to Kong and Ann's relationship as imagined in this movie? How is their relationship different from that seen in previous Kong movies? Erb also writes that the racism present in KING KONG (1933) has been "displaced" in KING KONG (2005). How does this relate to Joshua Bellin's observations about the Jackson's depiction of the natives in this film?