One-Page Reflection for Planet of the Apes Presentation

I contributed to the group the scenes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I pointed out that the story in this particular book/film of the series is related to our talk of eugenics and Planet of the Apes because here is an instance in a fictional world that discriminates against a person based solely on what they are born with. Certain wizards and witches want to kill off the ones who were born from normal people and there is an air of superiority over the pureblood wizards and witches over them. It’s a genetic cleansing. The same thing happens in Planet of the Apes when they realize that Ulysse (Taylor in the original film) is an intelligent being—but he is a human, not an ape. They are unwilling to accept this fact and disregard his intelligence as nothing more than excellent imitation. How ironic, though, because in the novel, we learn that apes are excellent imitators, as well.

I also tried to figure out an answer for why Planet of the Apes is dystopic; and that is for the very same reason stated above. (I wasn’t able to share this in the presentation, because of time constraints.) It’s unfair to discriminate against someone who is intellectually and physically qualified to do a task. When we start trying to figure out who is the best, smartest, or strongest then it leaves no room for variety. For example, take Ethan Hawke’s character in Gattaca. He wants to go to space, but biological tests determined when he was an infant relay him to working janitor shifts and cleaning “spaces.” We will not have variety, because if we are all six foot, blonde, and blue-eyed, there would be nothing special to differentiate one individual from another. We would all be cookie cutter.

WebCT post: 10/02: Planet of the Apes

I enjoyed Planet of the Apes. It might be because I have an overactive imagination, but when I read a story that I enjoy, I like to immerse myself fully into that world. It’s how I get a feel for the story, the setting, the surroundings, the characters, the action, and the plot. I saw the ape society described in the novel and it was actually frightening to me. I didn’t want to see a world where humans are low-class heathens, whose intelligence is undermined. I didn’t want a world where someone was discriminated against because of blood, genetics, or species, as we saw in the Heston film, Gattaca, and even the snippet from Harry Potter. :P I think, had the apes lived harmoniously with the humans and accepted them as intellectual equals, then I wouldn’t be so hung up about it. Then again, we wouldn’t have much of a story, would we? Even so, the fact that I was so immersed and so horrified at the close-mindedness of the apes, I think that’s a good thing because it shows just how affecting the novel is.

It may play into my own insecurities because I somehow don’t want to believe that humanity is fragile—but we are. Here is an allegory for what we can become if we crumble and fall apart as a society. There could be an uprising during vulnerable times. Maybe not by apes, per se, but by anything: dictatorships, anarchy, what have you.