The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
There's a theory out there in scienceland that states that by simply by looking at something you change it's behaviour. It's known as Observer Effect. For example when the moderators on this forum aren't looking, or more accurately aren't caring we (and thank christ they seem to be our neglectful babysitters too busy making out with their boyfriends to notice we're already playing with a box of matches and a can of Lynx) - the hoards of thumped -resort to posting Mary Harney in the Horn Thread, Wanking off to Bratz Dolls and implying very heavily that bar owners are having sex with children, remember that one ? That was a low even for us. Of course the opposite is true too, there was the thread in which we all wrote buzz words in Farsi because we thought we were being watched and it was interesting to see whether or not one of us would end up in camp X ray with a copy of the Koran and a wet towel wrapped around our faces. Of course no one is absolutely sure whether or not any of us did in fact get replaced with an undercover CIA mole watching this space for patterns which could lead to a major crack in the case of the USA versus the downtrodden. I've always said openly that Washingcattle isn't real and so now maybe I can sow a seed of a doubt in your minds, is he in fact a construct of the CIA, an invented dark parody of a character, based on the interests and attitudes of the Generation X ? Maybe he isn't real ? maybe "the man" has infiltrated your little scene here by finally using all that data they collected by watching your habits on Netflix and facebook ? Maybe roumers of his appearance are based on a compilation of all of your instagram pictures ? Maybe they're looking at you right now ? And if they are you will act differently ? Firstly you'll cover up your Lap tops web cam next time you decide to have a rummage amongst you private parts while watching the trailer for Cherry Bomb again.....Ahem or maybe not. Maybe It's all in your mind.
King of Kong is a simple film and as it's a documentary which of course implicitly involves the Observer Theory but I'll get to that later. The plot is basically Rocky or any other sports movie, it's Karate Kid or it's Days of Thunder or whatever piece of crap you want to use as an analogy. The difference is that
A. Its a true story and
B. The "Sport" involved isn't strictly speaking a sport, it's Donkey Kong. Or more accurately, competative Donkey Kong.
It chronicles the attempts of two grown men to beat each others high score on the classic arcade game. Where the observer theory comes into play will be apparent later.
The two men involved in this endeavour are polar opposites of each other in many ways. Firstly our "hero" and rarely does a documentary have a hero but this one certainly does - is Steve Wiebe, his story begins when he is laid of by Boeing where he was an engineer, he loves Donkey Kong and plays in his garage, eventually he finds out that there is a nationally recognised high-score and believing he can beat it he videos himself playing the game. Weibe like, probably every sane person on the planet doesn't particularly believe that playing Donkey Kong is nessicarily a sport or a venture which can change the world. As an ex athlete and frustrated musician he is ware of the folly of what he is trying to do but this of course is an undertaking born out of free time during what is often viewed as a degree of failure. Anyone who has been long term unemployed will tell you the first few weeks aren't too bad but eventually you do feel like a spare prick. His toil is purely for the simple satisfaction of being able to say "I did that". His story is the stuff of Sports movies, down on his luck family man seeks a feeling of accomplishment during an extremely rough patch.
On the other hand there are the members of a computer game score-keeping and refereeing team called Twin Galaxies headed by a man named Walter Day and the champion of Donkey Kong named Billy Mitchell. Without giving away much of the plot, or the events as such, Day and Mitchell represent the establishment, they have spent their lives trying to be taken seriously and have their achievements noticed by the world at large. Wiebe is aware that what he is doing is not world changing, Mitchell and Day on the other hand do. Mitchell is successful business man and as such are more guarded, they portray a facade of success and this disparity of attitude is where much of the films dramatic impetus and humour are derived from. The one major criticism labeled at the film is that it is hardly a paradigm of impartiality ( i grabbed that from somewhere, thank god I don't have to footnote these things) but to be fair both men get roughly equal screen time so once you've seen it click the spoiler below.
The result of these two opponents having cameras pointed at them is a joy to behold. Mitchell, the aging great of games versus the fresh faced challenger, it's rightly described as Rocky for dorks of Course were Weibe would probably laugh off such comparisons, Mitchell would be horribly offended by that accusation. The film plays out at a pitch which almost veers towards mockumentary, there are several "you couldn't have made this up" moments and in it's finale it does reach a height of empathy which is rare among films not directed by Werner Herzog. Funny, poignant, touching and engrossing see King of Kong if you've ever tried something as inane as seeing who could hold there breath the longest and then ended up in A & E. Which dear thumpeders I imagine is most of us.
On a final note
There's a theory out there in scienceland that states that by simply by looking at something you change it's behaviour. It's known as Observer Effect. For example when the moderators on this forum aren't looking, or more accurately aren't caring we (and thank christ they seem to be our neglectful babysitters too busy making out with their boyfriends to notice we're already playing with a box of matches and a can of Lynx) - the hoards of thumped -resort to posting Mary Harney in the Horn Thread, Wanking off to Bratz Dolls and implying very heavily that bar owners are having sex with children, remember that one ? That was a low even for us. Of course the opposite is true too, there was the thread in which we all wrote buzz words in Farsi because we thought we were being watched and it was interesting to see whether or not one of us would end up in camp X ray with a copy of the Koran and a wet towel wrapped around our faces. Of course no one is absolutely sure whether or not any of us did in fact get replaced with an undercover CIA mole watching this space for patterns which could lead to a major crack in the case of the USA versus the downtrodden. I've always said openly that Washingcattle isn't real and so now maybe I can sow a seed of a doubt in your minds, is he in fact a construct of the CIA, an invented dark parody of a character, based on the interests and attitudes of the Generation X ? Maybe he isn't real ? maybe "the man" has infiltrated your little scene here by finally using all that data they collected by watching your habits on Netflix and facebook ? Maybe roumers of his appearance are based on a compilation of all of your instagram pictures ? Maybe they're looking at you right now ? And if they are you will act differently ? Firstly you'll cover up your Lap tops web cam next time you decide to have a rummage amongst you private parts while watching the trailer for Cherry Bomb again.....Ahem or maybe not. Maybe It's all in your mind.
King of Kong is a simple film and as it's a documentary which of course implicitly involves the Observer Theory but I'll get to that later. The plot is basically Rocky or any other sports movie, it's Karate Kid or it's Days of Thunder or whatever piece of crap you want to use as an analogy. The difference is that
A. Its a true story and
B. The "Sport" involved isn't strictly speaking a sport, it's Donkey Kong. Or more accurately, competative Donkey Kong.
It chronicles the attempts of two grown men to beat each others high score on the classic arcade game. Where the observer theory comes into play will be apparent later.
The two men involved in this endeavour are polar opposites of each other in many ways. Firstly our "hero" and rarely does a documentary have a hero but this one certainly does - is Steve Wiebe, his story begins when he is laid of by Boeing where he was an engineer, he loves Donkey Kong and plays in his garage, eventually he finds out that there is a nationally recognised high-score and believing he can beat it he videos himself playing the game. Weibe like, probably every sane person on the planet doesn't particularly believe that playing Donkey Kong is nessicarily a sport or a venture which can change the world. As an ex athlete and frustrated musician he is ware of the folly of what he is trying to do but this of course is an undertaking born out of free time during what is often viewed as a degree of failure. Anyone who has been long term unemployed will tell you the first few weeks aren't too bad but eventually you do feel like a spare prick. His toil is purely for the simple satisfaction of being able to say "I did that". His story is the stuff of Sports movies, down on his luck family man seeks a feeling of accomplishment during an extremely rough patch.
On the other hand there are the members of a computer game score-keeping and refereeing team called Twin Galaxies headed by a man named Walter Day and the champion of Donkey Kong named Billy Mitchell. Without giving away much of the plot, or the events as such, Day and Mitchell represent the establishment, they have spent their lives trying to be taken seriously and have their achievements noticed by the world at large. Wiebe is aware that what he is doing is not world changing, Mitchell and Day on the other hand do. Mitchell is successful business man and as such are more guarded, they portray a facade of success and this disparity of attitude is where much of the films dramatic impetus and humour are derived from. The one major criticism labeled at the film is that it is hardly a paradigm of impartiality ( i grabbed that from somewhere, thank god I don't have to footnote these things) but to be fair both men get roughly equal screen time so once you've seen it click the spoiler below.
The result of these two opponents having cameras pointed at them is a joy to behold. Mitchell, the aging great of games versus the fresh faced challenger, it's rightly described as Rocky for dorks of Course were Weibe would probably laugh off such comparisons, Mitchell would be horribly offended by that accusation. The film plays out at a pitch which almost veers towards mockumentary, there are several "you couldn't have made this up" moments and in it's finale it does reach a height of empathy which is rare among films not directed by Werner Herzog. Funny, poignant, touching and engrossing see King of Kong if you've ever tried something as inane as seeing who could hold there breath the longest and then ended up in A & E. Which dear thumpeders I imagine is most of us.
On a final note
Not really a spoiler but again I wouldn't like to ruin the film for anyone by giving any superfluous information which could colour your enjoyment. I don't even watch trailers anymore if I can avoid them.
Mitchell claimed after the film was finished that he hadn't played "competitive" games in 2 years and was unaware that the he would have to defend his title during the filming of the documentary. Which is fine, if he sees this film as a hatchet job,a character assassination and probably an attempt to vilify him. Director Seth Gordon has stated that Mitchel is even worse than he made him out to be.
His behaviour throughout the film leaves him with little excuse. The interesting thing about Observer Theory in relation to this film and these two men is that one could rightly assume that had the cameras not been rolling Weibe might still have made many friends due to his down to earth nature, though probably not have broken the record as by his own admission it was extremely hard work for little reward. The question is what effect being watched had on Mitchell. Unfortunately for us human folk not used to growing up in front of the omnipresent electronic eye, and yes I am banging on about your fucking iPhone, Instagram and Facebook obsession again you bastards - is that the discomfort caused by being looked at changes you, and the camera as we're all thought does make caricatures of us, what is decent becomes saintly and what is beastly becomes a noose which unfortunately some folks end up tying for them selves with their altered behaviour. In the end I'm pretty sure Billy Mitchell is a bit of a dick, probably not as much of a dick as he seems in this. But a Dick none the less.
Mitchell claimed after the film was finished that he hadn't played "competitive" games in 2 years and was unaware that the he would have to defend his title during the filming of the documentary. Which is fine, if he sees this film as a hatchet job,a character assassination and probably an attempt to vilify him. Director Seth Gordon has stated that Mitchel is even worse than he made him out to be.
His behaviour throughout the film leaves him with little excuse. The interesting thing about Observer Theory in relation to this film and these two men is that one could rightly assume that had the cameras not been rolling Weibe might still have made many friends due to his down to earth nature, though probably not have broken the record as by his own admission it was extremely hard work for little reward. The question is what effect being watched had on Mitchell. Unfortunately for us human folk not used to growing up in front of the omnipresent electronic eye, and yes I am banging on about your fucking iPhone, Instagram and Facebook obsession again you bastards - is that the discomfort caused by being looked at changes you, and the camera as we're all thought does make caricatures of us, what is decent becomes saintly and what is beastly becomes a noose which unfortunately some folks end up tying for them selves with their altered behaviour. In the end I'm pretty sure Billy Mitchell is a bit of a dick, probably not as much of a dick as he seems in this. But a Dick none the less.