Poe Mania in Media - Animal Movies

Not to be overlooked is Poe’s influence on the movie industry. A few of Poe’s short stories, “House of Usher,” “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “Tell-Tale Heart” have made their mark on mainstream Hollywood productions over the last decade.

In the hands of a good producer, the particularly Gothic tinge to Poe’s dark, demented plots are easily transposed on screen.

A quick query of Poe on IMDB.com - widely recognized as the online encyclopedia for movies – returns a long list of Poe influenced movies produced as recently as this year, 2009, with the earliest productions dating back as far as a 1932 screenplay of “Murders in Rue Morgue.”

In keepings with the animalistic exploration of final my essays, I wanted to narrow in on a singular similarity between Hollywood movies that center the main plot on animals, or horrific beasts, and Poe’s short stories. Poe may not have directly influenced the writer or producer, but his contributions to this style of writing most certainly laid the original foundations for writers, producers, and artists to build upon.

"King Kong" and "Murders in the Rue Morgue"

Beyond the apparent similarities of the abnormally giant guerilla in King Kong and the large, mighty orangutan in “Rue Morgue,” similarity can be found in the usual gentle temperament of beasts and seeming innocence of them when not provoked. Just as Dupin educates the reader on the deadly, frenzied, ultimately deadly, change in behavior when the orangutan is faced with screaming, King Kong too becomes frenzied and focused merely on stopping the piercing screams of his victims.

“The screams and struggles of the old lady had the effect of changing the probably pacific purposes of the Ourang-Outang into those of wrath” (Poe, 430)

King Kong Trailer (1933)

References

Poe, Edgar A. Poe: Poetry, Tales & Selected Essays - Library of America College Edition. Library of America, 1 Oct. 1996.

Poe Mania in Media - Other media

So the challenge is to discuss Poe’s influence in at least two other media…

We’ve studied many different aspects of Edgar Allen Poe in this class. Dissecting his personal life from birth to death, gaining a greater understanding of his work, educating ourselves on his influences such as phrenology and mesmerism, we have learned much about this American literary great.

But what do we know of his influence today? How has his meager influence, existence even, of the 19th century transcended to the magnitude it is today?

Our children study his works today. But, Poe’s influence goes well beyond Vincent Price audio performances of “The Raven,” or movie renditions of “House of Usher.”

When I Googled on ‘Edgar Allen Poe, influence,’ something in the first page of the results caught my eye… Edgar Allen Poe STAMPS!

Stamps? …how interesting.

It seems that Poe’s influence as a brilliant American author transcends well beyond audio recordings and Hollywood B flicks. So, for your information, and a little fun, I’d like to digress on the pointed topic for a moment, step outside the box, and demonstrate Poe’s relevance in the more obscure modes of ‘other’ media.


U.S. Postal Service -
has commemorative stamps of Poe. His handsome likeness will grace the fronts of letters traveling through our vast United States Postal Service - possibly to the four corners of the world where a provincial leader, tribesman or Eskimo will surely recognize the distinguished smug, American, mug.






The Information Age –
“Edgar Allen Poe's Ladies on your computer screen,” The Edgar Allen Poe's Ladies Screensaver will certainly brighten your day, and put money into the pockets of the developers; all while installing a nice undetectable spyware that sucks the resources right out of your system. Even the women in Poe’s life can’t escape his Doppelgänger existence - revel in his fame, become infamous from frustration.



The “Midnight Mysteries: Edgar Allen Poe Conspiracy PC Game” by Mumbo Jumbo should keep you entertained for a few minutes while the spyware sufficiently zaps your entire life’s catalog of JPGs. Notice the raven and Lenore, and the inference to Poe’s fondness of Sherlock Holmes detective novelties.


Décor -
Marilyn Manson apparently painted this huge abstract painting of Poe to hang in his mansion. (StyleHive.com)






A stark contrast from his days struggling as a starving writer in the 19th century, Poe’s influence can be found in many different, of course odd, facets of media, education, literature, and communications of today. While Poe found it difficult to earn even $50 for his short stories and poems then, all kinds of people, in all different regions of the world, are profiting from life and brilliant works of Edgar Allen Poe.

Perhaps better than benefiting yourself in life is benefiting many more in death?

References

StyleHive.com. "Original Mix Media Painting of Edgar Allen Poe By Artist and Rocker Marilyn Manson 2004." Retrieved 22 Jun. 2009. Stylehive.com.

Loeser, Marilyn. "Post office issues Edgar Allen Poe commemorative stamp." GateHouse News Service: 23 Jan 2009. Retrieved 22 Jun. 2009.

Final - Wild Kingdom of Poe

The following series of essays examine Poe's use of animals in several of his short stories and attempts to reason their purpose.... enjoy!

Final - Analysis of The Black Cat

In the Edgar Allen Poe tale “Black Cat,” the murders of a black cat and the wife of the narrator are avenged in a most ironic, seemingly paranormal twist of fate. Taken from a first person perspective, presumably from prison, the unnamed narrator details the morbid events of his decline. Overcome by perverseness and drink, he is coerced to murder his beloved cat and wife. The murderer is exposed to the police by a second black cat, bearing a striking resemblance to the first, in a tantalizing tale of ironic justice.

The story begins with the narrator’s account of a normal childhood, marriage, and an affinity both he and his wife share for animals. They surround themselves with a variety of pets including a dog, monkey, rabbits, birds, a gold-fish, and one cat. The cat, named Pluto, is stark black, the fact of which strikes a notion of superstition in the narrator; black cats are generally regarded, in his day, to be witches in disguise. Witch or no, the narrator and black form an affectionate relationship with one another.

At the onset of the story, the narrator is a simple, good natured animal lover. Over the course of years, however, his manner turns sinister and perverted. He becomes increasingly temperamental, easily agitated, and physically abusive towards the animals; the exception, of course, being the black cat. If only for a time, the affection the man has for the cat reprieves it from the maltreatment endured by the other animals.

In a drunken rage one evening, the man turns his aggression on the cat, gouging out one of his eyes. The cat recovers but is eventually murdered by way of hanging at the hands of the narrator – consumed by the “spirit of perverseness.” The narrator’s house caught fire a short time following the heinous murder, prompting a downward spiral into despair and destitute for the narrator and his wife. (599)

The murderer was drawn to a peculiarity in the charred ruins of the dilapidated house - an impression of a cat with a noose around its neck ablazoned onto the surface of a surviving bedroom wall. Presumed to have been cut down by an onlooker, further investigation by the narrator found the dead cat missing from the tree where he was hanged.

One night, a big black cat appeared sitting on top a “boar’s head” (63 gallons 1) container of rum in front of the narrator. The cat followed him home, signaling the start of a brutal relationship filled with bitterness and disgust. Two oddities on the new cat, a white patch of fur resembling the outline of a cat and noose and a missing eye reminded the narrator of the atrocities he inflicted on his late hanged feline friend. This incites a rage and contempt towards the cat that grows into an “absolute dread of the beast.” (600)
In a rage, the narrator takes an ax to the contemptuous cat, but is stopped by his wife mid-act. He turned his frenzy onto his wife burying the ax in her brain, killing her instantly. He disposes her body in a false chimney in the cellar, walling up the evidence with brick and mortar.

For several days following the incident, the narrator passed the time without remorse for his crime. On the fourth day, police, inquiring on the disappearance of this wife, called on the man to show them around the property. He leads them to the cellar whereby, confident in his craftsmanship, he challenges the men to examine the superior construction of the building. In the corner of the room they hear a small, muffled cry coming from behind the wall. The police break apart the wall to discover the body of his murdered wife with the black cat alive on top of her head, meowing loudly, alerting them of the narrator’s crimes.

This tale demonstrates a common theme in Poe’s writing using animals, either in physical form or imagery, as crucial elements to the plot – a smart, versatile method for playing on the psyche and emotions of readers. Of the two felines in this story, the first represents both the birth of a loving relationship and the decline of the narrator’s good nature. The affectionate bond with the first cat creates an initial likeability and association with the narrator. As can be found in most often with Poe’s stories involving animals, the purpose for the second cat is to elicit a connection with the paranormal through its mysterious appearance, features, and incessant affection for the murderer; the appearance which signifies the paradoxical demise of the protagonist.

- Justice for the victimized comes in the form of the victim itself. -

Footnotes

1 - According to “Traditional Weights and Measurements for the Wine and Spirit Trade” on SafeShop.co.nz, a “Boar’s Head” is equivalent to 63 U.S. Gallons. https://www.safeshop.co.nz/meenans/pdf/traditional-weights-measures.pdf

References

Poe, Edgar A. Poe: Poetry, Tales & Selected Essays - Library of America College Edition. Library of America, 1 Oct. 1996.

Final - Analysis of Hop Frog

In the old-time tale, “Hop-Frog” by Edgar Allen Poe, a person acquainted with the royal court narrates a murderous account of a crippled professional joker, or jest, who devises a cunning plan to avenge the men that mock him and the dwarf-woman he loves. Poe employs the appearance of an animal, an orangutan, as the theme for the jest’s plan and ultimate peril of the men he kills.

Hop-Frog obtained the nickname due to the crippling disfigurement in his legs that forced him to hobble in great pain when he attempted to walk or, otherwise, use his arms to get around. What the jest lacked in lower extremities, he made up for in his massive upper body strength. A professional jest by trade, his job is to make quick-witted jokes or perform comical acts for the king’s amusement upon command. Hop-Frog was considered a “triplicate treasure,” meaning he was a dwarf, a cripple, and a fool all in one. This made him considerably more important to the king than a mere jest. The king, a large, fat man, was, in fact, also quite the jokester himself. Hop-Frog’s humiliation was, most often, the target of his mean-spirited charades. It was through this connection, however, that the king valued the jest’s company and counsel. (900)

One afternoon, the king calls on Hop-Frog and a young female dwarf counterpart, Trippeta, to organize a last minute masquerade and fashion costumes for his seven ministers and himself in time for the occasion. Hop-Frog and Trippeta share a common affection for one another. They are quite gifted at planning for and executing elaborate events, and possess a skill for designing creative costumes.

Making sport of his detestation for drink, the king demanded Hop-Frog finish a goblet of wine before continuing with plans. Hop-Frog reluctantly obliges. The king demands he drink another both in sport and to make him more merry. But, when Hop-Frog pauses, the king becomes irate throwing the wine in Trippeta’s face. Hop-Frog grinds his teeth in anger. He gains composure and drinks the wine to appease the king. He even joins the king and his seven ministers in a hardy laugh to conceal his anger.

Hop-Frog ponders for a moment on ideas for their costumes. He at once entices the fat men with a grand vision of entering the masquerade dressed as “ourang-outang”- their outfits having to be fashioned with tar and flax to be entirely believable. (904)

The time for their entrance arrives. The eight invented orangutans enter the battened-down masquerade room soundly chained together for excitement. After a ring-master like performance by Hop-Frog, the king and his ministers are attached to the huge chandelier pulley chain and hoisted up straight up into the air.

Illustration by Photobucket.com

Topped only by an open window in the roof of the room, they dangle there ignorantly, thrashing and laughing excitedly with the crowd, unaware of the fiery death that awaits them in their exceptionally combustible adornments.

Hop-Frog climbs up the dangling chains effortlessly with his powerful arms. Now above the men for one last act, he grinds his teeth, sets the eight trapped men ablaze, and escapes out the open hatch, presumably to his old country with his mistress, Trippeta.

. . .

Hop-Frog convinces his victims to dress as “ourang-outangs” for very specific reasons beyond the obvious incendiary nature of its components. Orangutans were a fairly new discovery during the 19th century; much was still unknown about the animal and, unlike its cute chimpanzee cousin, people considered orangutans to be huge, menacing beasts of great brute strength, lacking entirely of intelligence.

Through Hop-Frog, Poe projects the same sentiment of transcendence that is reflected in other works such as “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” With the king and seven ministers donned in convincing orangutan costumes, Hop-Frog effectively hampers any feeling of remorse onlookers may have for the king and his men and re-associates them to a primordial fear of the beasts – similar to flight or fight. With this accomplishment, he is able to burn the helpless victims and escape unscathed.

The mention of an animal in “Hop-Frog” draws a parallel to Poe’s story, “The Black Cat.” As the narrator’s downward spiral is prefaced by mention of the first black cat, the mere mention of the orangutan costumes signal the inevitable demise of the king and his seven ministers.

References

Poe, Edgar A. Poe: Poetry, Tales & Selected Essays - Library of America College Edition. Library of America, 1 Oct. 1996.

Final - Analysis of Rue's Morgue

Published in 1841, the last decade of Edgar Allen Poe’s life, “The Murders of the Rue Morgue” is a popular literary short story telling the tale of a gruesome, yet mysterious murder of two women. The murders take place in their home, the House of Rue, situated in a section of Paris referred to as Quarter St. Roch. The conditions of the victims, testimony, and scene of the crime leave officials perplexed about both motive and culprit. A bright, eccentric young Frenchman, Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin, unravels the mystery surrounding the murders while shedding light on a much unexpected, unorthodox assailant.

Engraving by Eugene Michel Abot

In this incredible who-done-it tale of ghastly murders, Poe, again, seeks the assistance of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates to incite terror in the psyche of readers.

The description of the murders, “[…] succession of terrific shrieks,” “[..]two or more rough voices, in angry contention, were distinguished from the upper part of the house,” “the corpse of the daughter, head downward […] having been forced up the narrow aperture a considerable distance,” “[…] corpse of the old lady with her throat so entirely cut that, upon attempt to raise her, the head fell off” rouses critical anger in the reader – as well as the Parisian police investigating the murder – that precludes one from considering anyone, or anything beyond a cold-blooded, human psychopath. It is this preconceived notion that focuses the “acumen” of the Parisian police on predetermined, fruitless battery of tests, analysis, and line of questioning. Unable to consider evidence outside of normal reasoning, the officials fall miserably short of piecing together the facts: shrill, unintelligible second voice in the house, a pole leading to the trellised shutters directly beside a broken window, non-human hair collected from one of the victim. It is ultimately these facts examined in broad context that concludes an ape, more accurately an escaped Orangutan, as the culprit.

Once the reader discovers the murderer is actually an orangutan the plot makes perfect sense, knowing that it could only be the brute strength of an ape to cause such destruction and massive bodily mutilation. Poe knew, however, that given freedom to analyze relatively few facts the human mind instinctively supposes something routine or paranormal.

Differing from the roles Poe’s animals play in “Hop Frog” and “The Black Cat,” the orangutan in this short story is an ordinary large ape that has escaped from captivity and innocently found its way into a lot of trouble. Poe simply plays on the reader’s intuition by molding a murderous plot of mystery around the ape’s seemingly superhuman strength and agility.

References

Poe, Edgar A. Poe: Poetry, Tales & Selected Essays - Library of America College Edition. Library of America, 1 Oct. 1996.

Commenting and critiquing the works of Edgar Allen Poe, for University of Richmond literature class, Poe: 200 Years of Horror and Humor.