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Planet of the Apes Essay

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Planet of the Apes
When Planet of the Apes opened in theaters, few people knew what to expect. To most, the idea of a movie with the premise of a planet full of intelligent apes went against everything they had been taught. The initial attraction was the superb cast, spearheaded by Charlton Heston who portrays Taylor, an astronaut who crashes onto the planet. Heston was joined by many popular actors and actress such as, Roddy McDowell as Cornelius, Maurice Evans as Dr. Zaius and Kim Hunter as Zira. Though the cast may have been the initial draw, the content is what has made the movie Planet of the Apes a classic that will continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.
The movie Planet of the Apes deals with a great number of issues that …show more content…

To us, having one individual controlling both seems not only preposterous, but also dangerous. The American mind immediately concludes that a system such as this will lead to stagnation in science, and close-mindedness in religion.
In Planet of the Apes this stagnation does occur. When a young upstart scientist named Cornelius tries to attack the religiously based view of life in his society he is brought up on charges of heresy. Cornelius merely attempted to state that he had found evidence that apes had evolved from man. Defender of the faith Dr. Zaius then quickly ended the hearings and threatened Cornelius with charges of hearsay. This is a direct link to our own past. Charles Darwin challenged religions view on the origins of life in the 1800’s, and frighteningly similar things occurred to him.
This is what Planet of the Apes attempts to do, and accomplishes so thoroughly. It mirrors things that have happened in our own world, yet portrays them in a way that makes humanity’s own shortcomings more palatable. Yet, there are two ways of interpreting the lessons the film teaches. On one level, Planet of the Apes blatantly warns individuals not to repeat the past. While on another level, the director could be interpreted to be stating subtly that we did not learn from our past and are therefore doomed to repeat it. These interpretations wholly depend on the individual seeing the film.
Planet

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