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Planet of the Apes Essay

med to stand out and occurring often through the movie. Maintaining the status quo, which is

keeping cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, passed down through a series of

generations, one after the other. For example, the second amendment of the

constitution, the right to bear arms this right to legally own guns has been a cultural law

since our nation was created many people protest and try appealing it, but still

maintains in effect. This status quo has survived countless of generations. In addition,

another form of maintaining the status quo is the fear of change or something new best

defined as xenophobia. One event in history that displays both maintaining the status

quo and xenophobia was heliocentric vs geocentric ideas. The discovery that the sun

was actually the center and not the earth of the solar system went against the churchs

whole ideas and was saw as unacceptable and placed under house arrest for simply

proving an idea false.

In Planet of the Apes the allegorical message of Xenophobia was displayed by

Dr. Zauis, Goes to great heights to hide archeological and biological evidence that

contradicts the status quo is prepared to torture and kill to maintain it. Although Dr.Zauis

does try to keep the status quo for his race of apes, the other scientist apes, find the

truth of human life before the current primates, therefore breaking the so-called status

quo. As the human doll in which was there before the apes screeches Mama proving

humans existed first breaking the scared scrolls.

Dr. Zauis the leader of science yet defender of the faith as seen in the movie

takes in accountant his job as defender of the faith more seriously. Dr.Zauis throughout

the movie constantly attempts to stop Taylor that he is capable to talk, think, read write,

etc. As Taylor is put in a cage with a bunch of humans, he tries spelling out in the sand

My name is Taylor as Taylor starts fittings with the other humans Dr.Zauis clearly sees
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the writing and dusts it out so no one can find out. Proving once again that Zauis is

attempting to keep the faith in order, because the sacred scrolls say man is not capable

of everything Taylor is doing breaking the status quo. A final smaller example is how

when Taylor finally meets again with Landon he is half brain dead, because Dr. Zauis

knew Taylor wasnt one of a kind and was even more proof that the scared scrolls were

false and would break the very existence of their belief and thought Zauis couldnt allow

that so he made Landon brain dead.

The allegorical messages displayed in the film not only applies to that specific

situation. In todays society, we see the same events in the movie as today. That is the

whole beauty of allegories the deep layers to show a lesson or truer meaning can fit and

mix and match in life today. A similar event that displayed xenophobia in todays society

is amending the gay marriage rights laws legally making it allowed for gays to marry.
This change broke an outrage of people protesting the law, because they believe it goes

against their faith, which traces back all the way into the past. The status quo of religion

is questioned and changed to fit todays society.

With a small budget the literary elements of allegorical messages and themes

easily makes this such an iconic film. The movie uses its creative idea and story

followed by thaw art of using allegory to make the viewer really peel the layers and put

the pieces together of the deeper meaning. It does all this while using literary elements

to display allegories that can affect and relate to society, both politically and morally for

generations to come.