popular thinking

KING KONG, MISUNDERSTOOD MONSTER WE LOVE

So bad, they’re good: King Kong leads an all-star lineup of the monsters we love (Boston Herald)
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “To be great is to be misunderstood.”
Emerson probably never had a gigantic ape in mind when he wrote those words, but King Kong is back. The American moviegoing public is almost as excited as director Peter Jackson is to welcome the big lug to the big screen on Wednesday.
King Kong remains a classic love story - the ultimate tale of beauty meets beast, beast falls in love with beauty, saves her from dinosaurs, takes her captive, moves to New York City, cannot find enough living space, fights off biplanes and meets untimely end.
But Kong was neither the first nor the last misunderstood monster to find a soft spot in our hearts.
Behold . . .

Martha Stewart
From perfection to prison to redemption - sounds like the Anakin Skywalker story, come to think of it. You mocked her when she went to the slammer, you mocked her when she lost the prison decoration contest, you mocked her when her “Apprentice” didn’t fit in. But you wouldn’t know what to do without her.

Frankenstein
It’s alive! It’s ALIVE! IT’S ALIVE!!!
Mary Shelley wrote this cautionary tale in 1818 to remind us that we dare not mess with the dead, much less try to create life from an assortment of corpses. We cannot blame the creature for looking like a monster, or like Boris Karloff or Robert De Niro, for that matter. Just because the mad scientist rejected his creation doesn’t mean we have to - especially if he’s “Young Frankenstein.” Sorry, that’s Frankensteen. (See also: Edward Scissorhands.)

The Incredible Hulk
Bruce Banner was just a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wouldn’t you get a little angry if a gamma bomb turned you radioactive? Hulk smash. Hulk make thunderclap. Hulk just wants a hug. Hug Hulk.

Darth Vader
After 27 years, we find out Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side because the emperor misled him into thinking he could save his wife’s life. To be fair, though, if you had grown up listening to everyone say you’re the Chosen One, wouldn’t that go to your head? And it’s not like he was a deadbeat dad. He didn’t even know he had kids - some Force this one has. So cut him some slack.

Gollum
Smeagol didn’t know that the one ring he wanted was the One Ring, that his “precious” would force his banishment for hundreds of years, prolonging his life but also deforming him into a hideous, hissing creature with multiple personality disorder. On the bright side, as Gollum, he does eventually lead Frodo and Sam to the promised land and winds up taking one for the team.

The Cookie Monster
C is for cookie, and cookie is for me. That’s no monster. Otherwise we’d all be monsters, wouldn’t we?

The Green Monster
Thousands of power-hitting righties have fallen victim to the alluring left-field wall of Fenway Park. Intimidating? At first glance, perhaps. But you know you’d jump at the chance to watch a Red Sox game from atop it, or even from inside it.

Donald Trump
Sure, the guy puts his name on everything - even products he wouldn’t dare touch. Sure, the guy has every-which-way-but-up hair. Sure, the guy still thinks his TV show and everything it touches is the biggest, best thing ever. But he has a hot wife and a lineup of exes that outshines Desperate Housewives.

Simon Cowell
The judge we love to hate to love on Fox’s American Idol, and yet, he’s the only worthwhile and honest thing about Fox’s top-rated karaoke contest. The man knows how to weed out the untalented masses. At this point, we’re more shocked by the wannabe singers who don’t understand what Simon is telling them.

Bai Ling
How did she get here? Where did she come from? Why is she trying to sing? Are those supposed to be clothes? How can we make her go away? These questions and more . . . after the break.