The Tarzan Centennial

Image from Classic Film Aficionados

On January 27th, 1918 a quiet salt of the earth kinda guy made his heroic debut on Broadway. As this was his silent film debut it would be another fourteen years before his signature shout would echo around the world and back.

Tarzan made his first silver screen appearance 100 years ago this week. IMDB has some interesting trivia about the film’s production including stuff to horrify PETA members and thrill cinema buffs. For a deeper dive into the film check out Classic Film Aficionados post about the anniversary of the movie including some great posters and headshots of the actors.

Tarzan was created in 1912 by Edgar Rice Burroughs, a failed military man, who licensed his pulp magazine hero to glory. He was savvy enough to ignore the naysayers and widely distributed the rights to his character in a variety of mediums including picture books, comics, film, and merchandising. The character was an international star as well appearing in translations across Europe like this Spanish version:

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The J.K. Rawlins of his day, Burroughs was a shrewd author who capitalized on the popularity of his character to build wealth and fame. An astounding 18 feature films have been based on the character including last year's Legend of Tarzan.

Clearly, Tarzan still appeals to old white hetero men since they can’t stop financing movies tat rehash the white savior archetype. Call me crazy, but I don't really feel like Tarzan translates well to the woke millennials and #TimesUp crowd of today. Last year’s supposed blockbuster played well with the adult lady crowd and people into bare chested hombres, but the character remains a bit flat to me personally. Maybe someone could refashion the character for the sensibilities of today’s audiences? Perhaps a re-envisioning of the tale as a sci-fi story with a female AI character fighting amongst savage humans instead of apes?

Even though Tarzan gave us the orphaned silver-spooned boy who grows up to fight evil trope that would lead to The Shadow and Batman, he is really just a C-List hero with an A-list legacy. And most of that far reaching acclaim is due to the infamous ululating sound of the Tarzan Yell:

The pop cultural imprint of this strange and primal sound is found in a range of surprising places. It can be read as both homage and satire.

In indy cult classic films like Harold & Maude:

In a galaxy far far away with Chewbacca in Return of the Jedi:

And of course, Carol Burnett who mined it for comic gold back in the day:

*** PS: Feel free to add other examples in the comments below.***

But who really created the iconic yell that would in some ways outshine the character? Well apparently, for all you nosy-bodies there is a controversy we're supposed to care about concerning who actually came up with the iconic voice effect. I don't give a shit. Do you?

What I do care about is making sure that every kid in the world gets to cannonball into a pool while wailing the Tarzan yell at least once in their life. That is something to strive for.

So here’s to you Tarzan the centenarian, may you swing past your hackneyed origins to fulfill a destiny of ululating joy and valor.

***Notes****

• classicfilmaficionados (2014, January 27). Tarzan of the Apes, Happy Anniversary! Premiered Sunday, January 27th, 1918 at the Broadway Theater in New York City, located at 41st Street and Broadway. Retrieved from: https://classicfilmaficionados.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/tarzan-of-the-apes-happy-anniversary-premiered-sunday-january-27th-1918-at-the-broadway-theater-in-new-york-city-located-at-41st-street-and-broadway/ (Accessed 1/29/18)

• Hillman, Bill. (1996). "THE VICTORY CRY OF TARZAN OF THE APES ,"ERBZine Retrieved from: http://www.erbzine.com/mag14/1482.html (Accessed 1/29/18) This link has the geekiest detail ever needed about the history of the Tarzan yell.

• Nilsson, Jeff. (2015, August 27). "How Tarzan’s Author Did It All Wrong, and Got It Right,"The Saturday Evening Post Retrieved from: http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2015/08/27/history/post-perspective/how-tarzans-author-did-it-all-wrong-and-got-it-right.html (Accessed 1/29/18)

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