Gorillas in popular culture
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- For the main article on the animal, see Gorilla.
With other primates like Orangutans representations of the Gorilla are common in popular culture in the United States of America - with the full range of electronic media having gorillas as mascots, gorillas behaving like humans, and humans behaving like gorillas.
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[edit] Examples of representation
The following sections give an approximate sample of the many forms of representation of the gorilla in popular culture: -
[edit] Sculpture
The French sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet won a medal of honour at the Salon of 1887 for his masterly "Gorilla Carrying off a Woman". Although praised in its time, this work now evokes ridicule from some observers for its depiction of a gorilla abducting a nude woman, presumably with the intention of raping her - something totally alien to actual gorilla behaviour. Nonetheless, this act has somehow caught the public's imagination as witnessed by the repeated popularity of the King Kong theme.
[edit] Cartoons
- Magilla Gorilla is a well known Hanna-Barbera cartoon from 1960s
- An intelligent gorilla named Grodd is a recurring super-villain of The Flash in DC Comics and the animated TV series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
- In the animated Disney version of Tarzan, the hero's adopted family are gorillas (unlike the "Great Apes" of the original book), including Kala, Kerchak, Terk, and Tublat.
- In the Tarzan-parody animated TV series George of the Jungle, George's best friend is an erudite talking gorilla named Ape. In the 1997 film adaptation, Ape is voiced by John Cleese.
- Windsor, a supporting character in the animated Cartoon Network series, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, is a gorilla.
- In the anime series "Sakigake! Cromartie High School", a gorilla is one of the more powerful delinquents at Cromartie High. He (she?) also plays backup guitar for "Freddie," a fellow student who may or may not be Freddie Mercury.
- The Iron Kong in the Zoids universe is a mecha shaped like a gorilla.
- In the Beast Wars and Beast Machines TV series, the leader of the Maximals, Optimus Primal, adopted an organic-skinned "beast mode" of a gorilla; and later in the series a TransMetal gorilla, and then (Beast Machines) he became a techno-organic gorilla.
[edit] Comics
- Gorillas were frequently used as a gimmick to sell comics during the Silver Age of Comic Books: see Gorillas in comics.
- In the Planet of the Apes films, comic books, etc., normal-sized gorillas fill security/military roles.
[edit] Film
- The giant gorilla is a recurring theme in film, especially in the various incarnations of King Kong and Mighty Joe Young.
- Trading Places starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd features a scene wherein a gorilla transported on a train, meets 'Harvey' dressed in a gorilla costume Harvey is played by James Belushi.
- Bride of the Gorilla starring Raymond Burr who changes into a gorilla and torments his wife.
- Another 50's classic is Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla a comedy featuring Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, as Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis clones, meet Bela Lugosi on a remote island who can turn people into gorillas.
- Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey was a drama which documented a scientist in Africa crusading for the rights of gorillas.
- Various non-human apes dominate the world in the Planet of the Apes film series, among them gorillas, who act as the soldiers and laborers in ape society.
- Gorillas are the invading species in the Snakes on a Plane spoof, Gorillas in a school.[1]
- In the Marx Brothers movie At the Circus, Jeff Wilson, the circus owner (Kenny Baker), is robbed of $10,000 in full view of a gorilla on the train. In the last scene of the movie, the gorilla goes after the villain and retrieves the money, and counts it. "Is it all there?" Groucho asks; the ape signals Yes, it is.
[edit] Magazines and literature
- Fester Bestertester, the protagonist of Don Martin's Mad Magazine strip "National Gorilla-Suit Day" is beset by gorillas (or persons dressed as gorillas). "National Gorilla-Suit Day" is celebrated every year on January 31st.
- In the award-winning novel Ishmael, written by Daniel Quinn, a gorilla teaches the protagonist about the history of humanity and the effect "civilized" culture has had on other species.
- In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle are frequently compared to gorillas.
[edit] Music Groups
- There is a children's musical group called Barking Gorillas [2]. Its theme is a dance song called "Barking Gorillas Bounce" [3], and its logo features three gorillas dressed as a barbershop trio.
- A popular virtual band "Gorillaz" is named after the animal.
- There is a Los Angeles-based industrial and electronic musician / film composer who names himself Great Ape [4] and has composed the original score for films such as Ondi Timoner's [5] "Join Us", a documentary featured at The 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival. However, his real name, Richie Kulchar, is credited in the film.
- There is a legendary american Hardcore band called "Gorilla Biscuits".
[edit] Online games
- Gorillas are also Beasts in the popular fantasy MMO World of Warcraft some can be tamed and used by the Hunter Class in the game though they are not nearly as commonly used as other potential pets.
[edit] Schools
- Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, is the only public college in the United States to have a gorilla as mascot.
- The Phillips Academy boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, has a gorilla as an informal mascot.
- Picher-Cardin Public Schools in Picher, Oklahoma has a Gorilla as their official mascot.
[edit] Sports
- A gorilla is a mascot for a number of sports teams:
- The NBA's Phoenix Suns mascot is The Gorilla
- World Wrestling Entertainment SmackDown! Superstar Mark Henry uses the nickname "Silverback"
[edit] Television
- The gorilla suit is an eternally popular gag costume on television series.
- Among the earliest examples is the gorilla-suited Nairobi Trio, a recurring-gag element of the 1950s TV comedy series, The Ernie Kovacs Show
- On the Canadian children's cable network YTV, a recurring character on the series The Zone is Gorilla Stan, a person wearing a cheap Halloween costume.
- In the Oct. 31, 2002, Halloween episode of the NBC series Scrubs, chief of staff Dr. Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins) wears a gorilla suit, unbeknownst to the doctors.
- In the first season of NBC's L.A. Law, Harry Hamlin's character wooed the Susan Dey character while wearing a gorilla suit.
- In one episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, a gorilla appears and attacks Patrick and Sandy.
- The British comedy series The Mighty Boosh features a talking gorilla named Bollo.
- The 2007 Cadbury advertising campaign Gorilla, featuring an actor in a gorilla suit playing a drum kit.
[edit] Video games
- The namesake of the Donkey Kong video game franchise is a gorilla.
- The Crash Bash character Rilla Roo is a gorilla with the lower body of a kangaroo.
