PROJECT X MOVIE (1987) ANALYSIS

Animals are raised in many parts of the world in traditional ways, while in others they are raised industrially, used as laboratory test subjects, and otherwise made integral to global exchange systems. Louis Borges classified animals into three categories: those with whom we watch television, those with whom we eat, and those with whom we are afraid. The creation myth is defined as "the argument that humans (but not animals) are created in the image of God, which is frequently used in the West to justify animal cruelty." This inferiority was spiritual in nature. God created animals for human use or cognitive inferiority, the belief that animals lack rationality, abstract thought, symbolic communication, self-awareness, or the ability to make or respond to moral claims. Humans justify their cruel mistreatment of animals because we believe they are superior. Adam is tasked with naming the animals; the act of naming distinguishes humans from animals. A chimpanzee named Virgil is followed in Project X as he travels from the security of his home with psychologist Teri Macdonald to an Air Force base where he takes part in a covert experiment known as Project X that trains chimps to fly. American Sign Language (ASL) is revealed to have been taught to Virgil by Teri, which brings to mind Francine Patterson's unsuccessful attempt to teach Koko the gorilla ASL in 1972. The two become close friends after Jimmy Garrett, a new worker at the base learns how to communicate with Virgil through signing. Jimmy finds out later that the chimpanzees are fatally exposed to radiation as part of Project X's research into how long human pilots could survive a nuclear exchange. When Jimmy realizes that the chimps will perish, he asks Teri for help in rescuing Virgil. Although Virgil has forewarned the chimpanzees of their fate, the military manages to thwart their initial escape attempt. The chimpanzees eventually take control of a military aircraft and escape capture by making an emergency landing in the Everglades. Project X is a prime example of science fiction because it depicts a fantastical world in which chimpanzees can fly thanks to cutting-edge technology. To arouse fear that animals may be smarter than we think, hinting that they may one day surpass mankind and make us obsolete, the movie shows chimps using technology just as proficiently as humans do. Project X uses chimpanzees to urge viewers to oppose animal exploitation, which subverts generic conventions because most science fiction movies use artificial intelligence to undermine humanity's claim to rule the planet. Science fiction movies are frequently concerned about how we use technology, as demonstrated by Project X's warning that using technology to exploit animals for human benefit will have unintended consequences. This occurs when the chimpanzees hijack a military aircraft and flee the base, an event made possible by the flight simulator that made the chimpanzees proficient pilots. The audience of science fiction is cut off from the reality that exists outside of the cinema. By showing how chimpanzees outwit the military, Project X disabuses us of the belief that humans are smarter than animals. The military's helpless struggle to put an end to the chimps' rampage is made clear when the camera cuts from the chimpanzees building a tower to enable their escape to the control room. This scene exemplifies Project X's determination to alienate us from our reality by reversing the species hierarchy that elevates humans above animals. It shows how intelligent animals can challenge human authority. An Edenic landscape with the peaceful coexistence of wild animals serves as the backdrop for the opening scene of the movie. Sadly, the tranquil flute music of the scene is abruptly stopped by a gunshot, signaling the presence of a poacher who threatens to disturb the peace. To make the case that animals should be freed from human interference, this opening shot depicts animals in their natural habitat while imagining a world before the Fall in which animals are uncorrupted by humanity. The poacher, whose rifle threatens to destroy the animal community, symbolizes the threat that human interference poses to animals. To symbolize man's determination to destroy nature through deforestation and poaching, the bang of this man-made weapon stops singing birds, who subsequently go silent. Elephants and giraffes, among other wild animals, can be seen playing in the background of the opening scene of the movie. Chimpanzees are present among these animals, establishing the movie's theme. In a scene that mirrors the idyllic setting at the beginning of the movie, Project X ends with Virgil and his friends enjoying their freedom in the Everglades. The choice to end the movie with scenes of animals in their natural habitat shows that Virgil's journey has brought him back to nature, where he belongs. This decision gives the audience the impression that animals are safer when there are no humans around to interfere. Since Teri treats Virgil like a human child and encourages him to engage in childish activities like playing with toys that distance him from his species, his time with Teri has put his biological identity in danger. Long-exposure photography is used to show Virgil dressed. Virgil's attire demonstrates his capacity to cross the line separating humans and animals as a human-animal hybrid because humans are the only species that can wear clothing. The idea of species hybridity in Virgil suggests that the line separating humans from other animals is not as solid as we would like to believe. Since Teri treats Virgil like a human child and encourages him to engage in childish activities like playing with toys that distance him from his species, his time with Teri has put his biological identity in danger. Long-exposure photography is used to show Virgil dressed. Virgil's attire demonstrates his capacity to cross the line separating humans and animals as a human-animal hybrid because humans are the only species that can wear clothing. The idea of species hybridity in Virgil suggests that the line separating humans from other animals is not as solid as we would like to believe. To demonstrate that even those who treat animals with compassion can put them in danger, Teri's ownership of Virgil parodies the practice of pet ownership. Through the whimpering noises he makes to get Teri's attention, Virgil is given the appearance of a pet. These noises compare Virgil to a pet dog to show how reliant he is on his owner's indulgence in his needs and how vulnerable he would be if ever left alone. This criticizes people who keep wild animals as domestic pets because it prevents the animals from being independent in the wild. The image on the left shows Virgil pouting like a spoilt child, demonstrating how Teri has spoiled him. In the image to the right, the circus chimp is shown gazing off into the distance while puffing smoke, giving the impression that he is older than Virgil. In essence, it demonstrates how his jaded nature has tainted his innocence due to his life in the circus. Virgil must unfortunately learn to function independently after Teri is forced to give up on him when her funding is cut. A close-up of Virgil holding a toy crocodile indicates his reliance on a toy to comfort him without Teri, exposing his vulnerability. The juxtaposition of the two chimps draws a contrast between Virgil's innocence and the circus chimp's depravity. The camera moves from Virgil and his toy to "an old circus chimp" smoking a cigar that worker Robertson gave him. As Robertson intended when he supplied the cigar, the close-up of the animal smoking creates a humorous image that amuses the surrounding workers. Fundamentally, this demonstrates how the chimpanzee's exploitation in the circus turned him into a spectacle for humans. By indoctrinating them with human behaviors, human intervention has alienated both chimpanzees from their species, as shown by the props of the cigar and toy. Both of these unnatural behaviors for wild animals—dependence Virgil's on a toy as a result of Teri's caregiving and the circus chimpanzee's development of a smoking habit—are the result of the circus's corruption. There is no doubt that interfering with an animal's life is harmful and exploitative. In essence, we believe we have a right to manage animals since we, as humans, have access to the spoken word whereas animals do not. We utilize our capacity to name animals as a claim to control them because it provides us the opportunity to name creatures that cannot identify themselves and because doing so makes us ultimately accountable for shaping their identities. The fact that each chimpanzee in Project X has a name assigned to it by the staff members suggests that they have created the chimps' identities. The chimps are now seen by the staff as their property, which pushes them to assume control over them. However, the staff abuses this power, claiming that it gives them the right to put the chimpanzees' health at risk by subjecting them to radiation in an experiment that advances the survival of humanity. This exemplifies how animal experimentation puts animals at risk since it benefits just our species at the expense of others. Jimmy furiously asks his supervisor, "Who made you a master of the apes?" Jimmy demands to know what gives these employees the authority to meddle in the chimpanzees' wellbeing. "Lord" refers to God's omnipotence and reminds us of his choice to give Adam authority over the animals by permitting him to give them names. God is ultimately the source of our claim of dominion over animals, which explains why this notion of human superiority over other species is so firmly engrained in our society. Coming back to the names of the chimps, one is called Goofy, which is anthropomorphic since it alludes to folly, a quality that is not typically found in animals. Ironically, people avoid giving names to animals they have been sentenced to death, such as in a slaughterhouse, because doing so can lead them to develop a bond with the animal. By this reasoning, HAM, the chimpanzee sent into space in 1961, should have been known just as No. 65 before his mission owing to the likelihood of a public backlash if he perished with an anthropomorphic name. The dispassionate manner in which Bluebeard's passing is recognized by tossing his name sticker reflects the decision to hide HAM's identity to prevent controversy. The fact that we disregard the individuality of animals utilized in scientific study is evident in both cases. The camera uses a static image of the trash can where Bluebeard's name is dumped to let the spectator think about how the chimpanzees' identities are lost since they are only important to human understanding. They are promptly forgotten once they pass away since they are no longer useful. It becomes evident that we place greater value on a pet than on a group of study animals who have no significance to us outside of their scientific role when we compare this to the length of time that some individuals lament the loss of a pet. Moments after Bluebeard passed away, this staffer was cleaning up his cage in preparation for the next tenant, which serves as another evidence of how callously we overlook the deaths of study animals. We are given a glimpse of Bluebeard's corpse thanks to the camera's low angle and jerky movement, which reveal that we are seeing the deceased chimpanzee from Virgil's point of view. When we zoom in on Virgil's despondent countenance, we can see how the military's disregard for animal lives has left him traumatized, which helps us understand his suffering. When the program is complete and the chimpanzees are ready to be subjected to radiation, the camera cuts from Bluebeard to the red collar, as seen from Virgil's perspective. As Virgil discovers that the project's conclusion involves the deaths of the chimpanzees, he draws a logical connection between Bluebeard's death and the collar. This shot transition symbolizes the capacity of animals for reasoning. The fact that Virgil has a supernatural sense of his impending death indicates that Project X has tainted his innocence. Virgil first observes Bluebeard's dead body. How little regard the Project X workers have for animals, even in death, is demonstrated by the dead man's hand dangling carelessly off the side of the stretcher. Then, when the focus shifts to this crimson collar, it becomes clear that Virgil had already made the association between it and Bluebeard's demise. By portraying Virgil as charming and fragile, Project X hopes to elicit our sympathy. When we hear that he and the other chimps are being raised to be butchered, this is meant to incite an angry response in us. The movie's core message is one of the animal rights, urging us to vehemently oppose any sort of animal killing, including the very real slaughter of animals for food, just as we oppose the demise of anthropomorphized animals in a dramatized Hollywood production. Because primates are the species that are most similar to humans and because we are more inclined to empathize with them than any other animal, the movie employs chimpanzees to illustrate its point. Therefore, it is much more possible that the movie will alter our perspectives about animal killing because of our close relationship with the chimpanzees. Second, Project X shows that, despite our best efforts, we occasionally abuse animals unintentionally. This goes to show that human exploitation of animals is not always harsh and planned. The way Teri treated Virgil like a pet in this way is an example of how humans may, in a sense, murder animals with kindness. Virgil is unable to cope on his own after Teri leaves him at the military installation because of Teri's unceasing devotion to him and her indulgence in all of his needs, despite her best intentions. Virgil's bond to Jimmy, the first person he encounters at the base, whose arms he quickly jumps into, serves as another example of his weakness. Project X demonstrates that not all people are equally concerned about animal welfare, which raises the possibility that Virgil's safety might be in danger due to his tendency to be extremely trusting. Project X makes it clear that its goal is to expose human abuse of animals, including the use of wild animals as pets or as freaks in circuses or deadly military research. In conclusion, Project X demonstrates how human dominance over animals puts animal welfare in peril through pet ownership, the circus industry, which dehumanizes chimpanzees, and military experiments that result in chimpanzee slaughter.