How does this film make use of relativistic time dilation to set up its twist ending, where Taylor discovers he is on Earth in the distant future, after humanity suffered some great catastrophe (probably a world-wide nuclear war)? How much does Dr. Zaius, the ‘defender of the faith,’ know about Taylor, human history on Earth, and why does he feel it necessary to hide what he knows from Ape society? Is he afraid that Ape society will traverse the same dangerous road of technological advancement that led to the end of human civilization? Why is he concerned that humans are inherently a dangerous influence on apes? Did Apes kill one another prior to Taylor’s arrival? Does Zaius take it that the measures taken against the breeding of human beings by Ape society are justifiable because they insure that humanity will not bring on another globally catastrophic event? Why does he move to suppress evidence that Cornelius and Dr. Zira have found of an ancient human civilization? Do Zaius’s action show that the ancient Ape called ‘The Lawgiver’ knew the truth about man’s past? In what ways does the film depart from its source material, the Pierre Boulle novel of the same title? How do both explore ethics of animal experimentation and research via the use of role reversal? How do the three different species of ape (chimpanzee, orangutan and gorilla) function in the society portrayed in the film? In what ways does ape treatment of human beings reflect our treatment of non-human species?

Broadcast on:

17 May 2024