Monday, November 5, 2018

Deaf King Kong

3 comments:

ricpic said...

If I were deaf I would hate to be told a story (or joke) by an overenthusiastic signer. Tone it down is what I'd be thinking. In fact the few times I've surreptitiously watched the deaf "talking" to each other there have been a marked lack of histrionics.



Fay Wray is on the stage as well. When the photographers' flashbulbs go off near her Kong thinks she's in danger, he growls and strains at his chains. Then comes one of the very best lines in the film or indeed anywhere: 'Don't be alarmed, ladies and gentlemen, those chains are made of chrome steel,' says Denham. Then of course Kong breaks loose, kills some people, derails and smashes an elevated train and climbs up the Empire State Building with Fay Wray, there to be shot down by airplanes.

'Don't be alarmed, ladies and gentlemen, those chains are made of chrome steel.' Wonderful line. Marvelous how one's afraid of the thing that's going to break its chains and then so quickly one is the thing that's broken its chains and climbed the heavenward spire to be shot at.

"Oh no, it wasn't the airplanes,' says Denham standing by the fallen Kong (there must be a giant head in the warehouse too), 'it was Beauty killed the Beast.'

What a sad life. On his island Kong had plenty of other monsters to fight with, he was very good against the tyrannosaurus I thought. But he had no one to be friends with. Poor thing. At the end when he's dying from the airplanes' machine-gun bullets he reaches towards Fay Wray who's lying on a ledge where he'd put her. Weak and swaying, his grip on the spire loosening, he touches her gently, then lets go and falls.



Excerpt from Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban. Can't recommend this book highly enough.

The Dude said...

The gag in that story is the ASL sign for marriage - left hand, palm up, right hand descending to seal the marriage. Oops. Sorry about that, Fay, you were *signs beautiful*.

Chip Ahoy said...

My favorite joke is for deaf. Not for hearing. So stop reading it.

Country road.
RR track.
Train passes.
Car stops. waits.
Deaf driver pulls up behind the first car.
Train l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-n-g.
l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-n-g.
l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-n-g.
(the train of cars goes up the whole arm up to the shoulder, behind the neck, behind the head, across the other shoulder, down the other arm switches to original arm, up the arm again to the shoulder again, across the back of the neck again, behind the head again, across the other shoulder again and down the right arm again. A very long train.]
train so long the man falls asleep at the wheel.
Train passes.
Car doesn't move.
Man asleep.
Deaf man gets out of car
walks up to first car
pulls out tablet and writes
Through open window touches sleeping man, wakes him up
Hands the driver his note.
note is one English word.
"but."