5/1/08

Futurechimp Theater: Carnivorous Plants

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lest we forget it was the massive carnivorous plants in the 1961 post King Kong chimp-atcular film "Konga" that contained the growth serum that transformed the baby primate into the London bashing Big Ben sized ape.
...as a side note (to this side note) how chilling is that brief statement "God did it" during Mr. Pink Linoleum Suit's lecture on the Utricularia? Maybe it was the 'head of a pin' line that inspired him to go all biblical-- but this was 1955, so I guess we can cut him some slack... he still had six years to wait until the premiere of Konga.

Lance Ehlers said...

Despite the datedness (or perhaps because of it) this little film is still a load of fun. Thank you for giving us the venus fly trap, "Gawd."

stexe said...

Personally, the idea of a plant that slowly liquifies insects while they struggle in unspeakable pain is proof of a gentle, loving God. That and the tapeworm living in my gut. The Moody Bible Institute made dozens of similar "science" films (available here, all of them following the same pattern: the first three quarters are intended to blow your mind with proven scientific evidence, then the inevitable conclusion is reached: it's all because of a supernatural prime mover sitting atop a cloud. But I'm shooting fish in a barrel here. I really do enjoy these movies, irony aside.
I also must recommend Moody's "City of Bees". Besides being pretty interesting and informative regarding bee colonies, it contains a jaw-dropping statement towards the end about mankind's worship of God "warped and twisted beyond recognition" in 'primitive' cultures.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1034359218351707050&ei=bRQaSNHLFYfWqwP9kITfBg

Am I wrong, or is "konga" about a normal-sized chimp that becomes a giant-sized gorilla?

Anonymous said...

yes, not only does the serum from the carnivorous plants alter the size of Konga, but apparently alters the poor guy's scientific classification from 'hominidae-pan troglodytes' to 'hominidae-gorilla, gorilla.' But to the even more discerning eye the transformation is arguably from 'hominidae-pan troglodytes' to 'hominidae-dude in a cheap-ass gorilla costume.'