Different Geographies
Abstract
The mental map initiated by the literature, Planet of the Apes, is often portrayed in the film in some perspective. Mental images and geography can sometimes reflect the interpretation of the user and the mental images and geography will differ from person to person. Mental maps from the literature of Planet of the Apes are indeed very comparable and are frequently present. The mental maps of the literature very much concentrates on how Soror has it resemblance Earth. It concentrates on the similarities between the apes and humans, and how the apes came into power. This creates different mental images both for the maps and geography in numerous situations which can be seen in the film. Some of these scenarios include where the launch landed, the waterfall and scene, how the town and society structure, the science department, the congress hearing, the dig site and the escape. Some of those scenarios are directly relatable to the film, however some, such as the congresses do not produce a mental map which is seen in the film.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Mental images and maps of places and geography can be conveyed through media as literature and film. These mental images and geography can sometimes reflect the interpretation of the user and the mental images and geography will differ from person to person. The literature, Planet of the Apes, is written by Pierre Boulle. A film was later released starring Charlton Heston. The book publication of Planet of the Apes tells the story of a fictitious world run by apes.
Storyline
Literature
The literature is based in the year 2500 and follows three French explorers as they explore a distant star called Belelgeuse. The three explorers are the Professor, who is the leader of the crew, Levain, the Professors assistant, and Ulysse, a journalist through whose eyes the story is told. When the three arrive they find, revolving around the star, a planet. The explorers chose to explore the planet which was reminiscent of Earth, and they named the planet Soror.
After the explorers landed they soon discover humans living on the planet. These humans were found to have animal tendencies and act in a very primitive manner. Soon after their arrival, the explorers heard the sounds of a hunting party which consisted of gorillas and chimpanzees that appeared to possess intelligence. During the hunt Levain is shot and the Professor and Ulysse are captured. The story then follows Ulysse to a science facility. He proves to the head of the department that a female chimpanzee named Zira, unlike the other captured humans, has intelligence. The duo, together with Zira’s fiancé Cornelius, prepared a speech for Ulysse to say in front of the president and ape congress. This speech gained Ulysse his freedom as he is accepted as being intelligent. Ulysse then worked in the department with the humans. There he found them to be very similar to himself after he took a local human mate who gives birth to his son. Soon afterwards, evidence was discovered of the history of the ape civilisation, a history that was not known previously. The new evidence was found to disclose how humans became reliant on apes for daily tasks. They became so reliant however, that one day the apes just took over. This evidence was interpreted as a threat to the ape population about the dangers of humans. Ulysse is then forced to leave the planet with his new family and returned to Earth.
When Ulysse arrived back on Earth he entered approximately 700 years after he initially set off on the voyage. He soon discovered that the planet was run by apes, similar to those found on Soror.
Film
The film follows three American explorers as they crash onto an unknown planet, and their ship sinks in a lake. The lake is located in the middle of a desert. The explorers walk through the desert and eventually come across plant life and a waterfall. At the waterfall their clothes are stolen and destroyed by a group of primitive humans. From here the story follows the literature fairly closely until soon after one of the explorers, Taylor, is taken into the cages. A significant difference, however, is that compared to the literature, the apes in the film are a lot more primitive in technology.
In the cages Dr Zaius is seen to have knowledge of Taylor’s intellect and before Taylor proves that he is intelligent, Dr Zaius orders Taylor to undergo a lobotomy. Taylor overhears this and escapes. At the end of Taylors attempted escape a large crowd has grown and Taylor shouts… speaking for the first time since his capture.
After Taylor speaks in public, a tribunal is organized to determine his past. The tribunal is conducted in front of a group of orang-utan scientists, with Zira and Cornelius helping Taylor. At the conclusion of the tribunal, Dr Zaius orders Taylor to lie about his past or have a lobotomy. Zira and Cornelius subsequently intervene that night and take Taylor and his mate (from his time in captivity) into the desert to a dig site in a forbidden zone near where the Taylor’s ship sank. At the dig site Dr Zaius arrives with soldiers, however Taylor takes Dr Zaius hostage. He takes him inside a cave where Cornelius shows them proof of an intellectual human society. After this Dr Zaius admits to knowing about the human race and that the forbidden zone is where they were settled. Taylor decides to take Nova and enter the forbidden zone. After a few moments Taylor runs into the Statue of Liberty in a wrecked state. Proving that the planet is Earth and the location was where New York was located.
Mental Images
Landing
The first major scene which takes place in the literature is the “launch” which landed on Soror. The planet is described by Ulysse as being similar to Earth. Ulysse describes the sky as green, approaching yellow. This gives the impression that the sky is very similar to a sunset sky on Earth. The seas are then described so that the reader starts to get the impression that the geography could very easily be from somewhere on Earth. A town is then described, the first proof the planet is inhabited, and the town is described so that the reader gets the impression it is an ordinary town with roads, trees and vehicles. The launch then passes over pastures and crops giving the impression that the location is a country location. After crossing a forest the launch lands in a clearing. This first description of the landscape of Soror again gives the reader imagery that the geography and landscape could very easily be that of Earth, as the descriptions are of situations which are typical occurrences on Earth.
When the launch is finally landed, the author continues on the theme of how close the planet was to Earth and is even described it as the “twin planet of our Earth”. The clearing is described to the reader as a pristine environment with tall forests surrounding the clearing, the sky full of bird life including vultures, “some big black bird” and a parakeet type bird. The grass is green and lush; however the forest is seemingly quiet giving the mental imagery of a peaceful and relaxing environment.
Waterfall and the Hunt
When the three explorers locate a waterfall they find a human footprint in the wet sand surrounding the lake. The Professor concludes that the footprint is of a woman who only recently left. This would seemingly lead the reader to believe that the environment around the lake is densely vegetated as the woman has easily disappeared. When they first spot the women, Nova, she is described as being on a rocky ledge where the water fell. This then gives the reader the further impression the surrounding geography is undulating as well as heavily vegetated and subsequently not a very friendly terrain.
The film depicts this location very closely to the literature. The waterfall is surrounded by a rocky landscape and thick undergrowth. This subsequently backs up the imagery produced by the literature that the surrounding terrain was not very hospitable.
The Town and Society
After the hunt for the humans, including the Professor and Ulysse, by the gorillas and chimpanzees the readers get their first insight as to how the social system might work. The gorillas have the chimpanzees as servants on the hunt and the “she-apes” would wait at a cottage for their “masters”. This leads the reader to the thought process that the social system is one that would be comparable to upper class Britain in the mid-century where the husband was master and his wife waits on him. This was with technology similar to that at the present time (1960’s) on Earth. When the captured humans are taken into the town, the town is again described as if it was a town from Earth. When the vehicle taking the human captives passes through the town, the town is described as having a grocer opening his store, motor cars driving and tradesman doing their work, all however are apes. This gives the reader a better geographical understanding of how the town functions as the author links the non-real Soror town with what could be a town on Earth.
In another scene when Ulysse is allowed out of the science facility, it is the first time that the reader finds out about the civilisation from within. Ulysse is taken around town by Zira in her motor vehicle. The town is the capital of the region in which they are situated. This again confirms the strong link to the similarities of Soror and Earth. There were some differences however, the apes crossed roads on metal frames using all four hands. This then just gives the indication that the civilisation is able to adapt to its own needs and fit in with its surroundings.
The film does not follow this concept very closely. The film is based around the apes being more primitive than their literature counterparts. The film, unlike the book, does not delve into the social structure of the ape society.
Science Department and the Cages
When Ulysse is brought to the cages in the science department, the room is described as having a large number of cages in which the humans were kept in two rows along a long passage. The cages, it is assumed, are of varying sizes as it is noted children have a larger cage and are lined with straw. This gives the reader a mental image of a slightly modified prison type room, cages aligning either wall, dark, as no mention of windows or light, and a smell of stale air. This film stays true to this imagery with the cages being comparable to something you might see in a zoo twenty years ago. During the novel the reader discovers that the science department is a large multi-storey building with many corridors and offices. Areas of research, testing and experimenting on humans are described in the story. The brains described in the research are clearly very similar to those we find in apes. The building is described in a way that closely resembles the layout of a hospital. This is not in turn, represented in the film.
Congress
In the literature Ulysse is taken to congress which is described as a gigantic amphitheatre located in a large building with a cupola on top. Ulysse in the literature seems to be taken aback by the enormity of the building. The readers therefore get a sense that the building is a grand building and could be comparable to the Pantheon in Paris. This would make sense, because the author, Pierre Boulle, was from France. The amphitheatre is described as having several thousand apes located in it on multiple tiers. In the front rows are seated the congress, followed by the learned scientists and then the general public. The mental images which come from this are that of a vast building centred on a platform where the pontiffs coordinate. In the film the congress has been portrayed as a public scientific tribunal. The tribunal is in front of only a handful of apes including an orang-utan scientist, Zira, Cornelius and Taylor. This gives the image that Taylor is instead been identified as a scientific experiment rather than an intellect, similar to the literature.
Dig Site
After Ulysse is released and accepted into the community as an equal, he is taken on a field trip to an old ruin in the middle of a desert. The ruin is of a whole city which resembles the town in which Ulysse takes residence. To get to the ruin Ulysse has to take an aircraft leading the audience to assume that the site is located some distance away from the town. The team spend months at the site, giving the impression to the reader that the site is very old and not in the best condition, although the site itself is never described in much detail. The film portrays the dig site as a cave in the side of a cliff. This is not what mental images from the literature produced. The literature made the dig site to be vast and spread out, not just a single cave.
Escape to Earth
When Ulysse, Nova and his new son leave the planet they go back to Earth. As Ulysse flys closer to Earth he notes and even recognises most of the continents and sets his coordinates for Paris. This gives the mental image that even though thousands of years on Earth would have passed, the geography of Earth is still the same. As the craft draws closer to Paris Ulysse notices the Eiffel Tower and the airport are still functioning. This gives the reader the mental image of a stall in the advancement of technology whilst Ulysse was away which is ultimately explained in the ending of the story line.
Conclusion
The mental map initiated by the literature is often portrayed in the film to some extent. The mental map of the social and community geography are an example though when it has not been depicted as clearly. The literature very much concentrates on how Soror has a resemblance to Earth and the not-real comparisons to Earth; this is often how the geography of the planet is portrayed. The literature also is concentrated on the similarities between the apes and humans, and how the apes came into power. The film however is based on Earth at a different period of time. The overall mental images which are created by the literature depict an advanced society based on structure, structures well documented in the film.
References
Pierre Boulle (1964), Planet of the Apes, New York, The New American Library
Planet of the Apes, 1968, [Video] Franklin J Schaffner, USA: APJAC Productions
The Complete Review. (2008). Planet of the Apes. Available: http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/popfr/boullep1.htm. Last accessed 8/5/2011.
