MovieChat Forums > Mogambo (1953) Discussion > It's hard to believe anyone can say that...

It's hard to believe anyone can say that with a clear conscience.



The speech that Vic gave about how the older gorillas would try to stop them from taking an infant with them was horrible. He acknowledge that they were protective of their young, but still wanted to bring an infant back to the zoo; and not, as it would seem, for the purpose of study or scientific research (which, in itself would not be fully justifiable), but because he makes a profit off of capturing the animals. "They'll try to protect us from stealing their child, but it's important that we bring one back because I've got to make a profit."

It's to think that there are people who thought like that and those who still do.

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"Attempted murder? Now honestly, what is that? Do they give a Nobel Prize for attempted chemistry?"

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And yet when Victor shoots that gorilla when it was about to charge and kill the scientist he lashes at the scientist's stupidity, "Killing a Gorilla is the last thing I wanted to do." It's not as simple as that.



"Ça va by me, madame...Ça va by me!" - The Red Shoes

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57 years later that scene had been shamelessly copied by Cameron ("they were not supposed to die, you stupid stupid human...")

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"Killing a Gorilla is the last thing I wanted to do."


Just like he didn't want to shoot the black leopard, but catch it to make money.

It was a different time with different values.

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He didn't seem beat up about the leopard.

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Modern narcissists are so unbearable that they refuse to acknowledge that yesterday was a time of different ways, morals, mores, views and practices. Modern narcissists do not understand that all of these things are ever-evolving and that one day future narcissists will insist on effetely pronouncing us great moral villains and fiends. After all, we burn fossils fuels. We insist that marriage is defined as being only between TWO people, we cut down trees for fuel, housing and worst of all- BOOKS. (OMG we HAD computers!) and we actually eat meat from murdered animals and fish. We don't allow post-birth abortion, we tolerate religious figures who open preach against people engaging in something known as sins without imprisoning them, we question the righteousness of the governing authorities (again without imprisoning the verbal terrorists that do it) and we only provide TWO meals a day to children in our schools. What kinds of terrible people are we?! So you see, as times change- so do customs and views.

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I don't see what narcissism has to do with it. There's a lot of things in this movie that are cringe-worthy because it came out in 1953 (is there a single actual character in the whole tribe?) and it can be hard for perfectly non-narcissistic people to understand different cultures. And the past is a different culture. It's so obvious to people today that abducting baby animals to sell for money is ethically wrong that it's just sometimes hard to get into the mindset that some people found it right even though we know about the 19th and 20th century mindset when faced with "exotic" foreign locations.

I mean, obviously it's being acknowledged here that the past was a different time with different views and values and whatnot. The question posed wasn't "Why is this film pretending that this isn't wrong" but "how can people have thought that way back then" and that's a fair question. Saying "Well, don't worry about it, it's just the past and don't you know that's DIFFERENT" is missing the point. We can acknowledge people thought differently than we do today and still try and figure out how they thought about it and why.

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Well, two thoughts come to mind:

1. I wouldn't be so sure that he did have a clear conscience.

2. Fictional characters frequently do things we don't like.



*****
It is over.

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Ever see 'Gorillas In The Mist'? This exact scenario (an adult gorilla trying desperately to keep avaricious and uncaring humans from taking its baby) is played out for the camera. One of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen in a film about animals. Not to mention it was based on actual events.

Takes two to tumble it takes two to tango
Speak up don't mumble when you're in the combo

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It's ironic that leftists argue for cultural relativism, yet ignore the concept when talking about what our own predecessors believed in the past.

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