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The Revenge of Tarzan

The Revenge of Tarzan

1920

Director

Harry Revier, George M. Merrick

Runtime

90 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

Tarzan and Jane are traveling to Paris to help his old friend Countess de Coude, who is being threatened by her brother, Nikolas Rokoff. Rokoff has Tarzan tossed overboard. He survives, comes ashore in North Africa, and goes to Paris to search for Jane. In Paris, Tarzan reunites with his old friend Paul D'Arnot, who informs him that Jane was taken to Africa. Tarzan returns just in time to save Jane from a lion attack, and soon defeats Rokoff and his henchmen.

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Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

1.4/10

Minimal

Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Minimal

The film lacks any documented LGBTQ+ characters or non-heteronormative identities. The story focuses entirely on the traditional romantic pairing of Tarzan and Jane.

Gender Representation

Limited

Jane serves as the central female lead and the primary motivation for Tarzan's journey. However, she often occupies the role of a damsel in distress, leaving most narrative agency to the male protagonist.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Minimal

The film reflects colonial-era perspectives, utilizing a 'white savior' trope within North African and jungle settings. Indigenous characters appear but lack the agency granted to the Western protagonist.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Limited

The narrative reinforces Western adventure morality and traditional structures of heroism. It celebrates the triumph of the individual hero within a conventional, Western-centric moral framework.

Disability Representation

Minimal

There is no evidence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities being portrayed with agency or as central figures in the story.

Strengths

  • Jane is established as a central figure and the primary driver of the protagonist's motivations.

Areas for Improvement

  • The film relies on the 'white savior' trope, prioritizing Western agency over indigenous populations.
  • Gender roles are highly conventional, positioning the female lead primarily as a character in need of rescue.
  • The narrative lacks representation for LGBTQ+ identities and characters with disabilities.

AI Analysis

The film is a product of its era, functioning as a reinforcement of early 20th-century social hierarchies rather than a subversion of them. It relies heavily on established adventure-pulp tropes, particularly regarding gender and colonial dynamics. While Jane is a central figure, the narrative structure prioritizes masculine leadership and the protection of the female lead. This reinforces conventional gender roles common to the period's cinema. Furthermore, the setting and character dynamics lean into the 'white savior' archetype. The film prioritizes Western agency over the local populations in its North African and jungle environments.

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