Donkey Kong Country: The Bible Theory
If you have a strong interest in video games, you have likely heard of the Donkey Kong Country series of platformer games. While they are well-known today, nothing compares to their popularity back when they first released, especially with the (at the time) revolutionary graphics that were first made with 3D computer software before being compressed into SNES sprites.
If you're a big fan of the series, you are most likely aware this series once had its very own cartoon, simply named Donkey Kong Country. Like the games, the graphics were quite revolutionary at the time, being one of the earliest television shows to use 3D motion capture for the entirety of each episode.
This animation is quite dated today, and the show is generally considered a guilty pleasure at best and awful at worst. I used to belong to the former category, but I have seen the light – the show is much deeper than people give it credit for. The show is deeply rooted in Biblical imagery, messaging and symbolism, meant to spread the word of our lord and savior Jesus Christ. Don't believe me? Let me explain.
One of the strongest pieces of evidence is actually in the show's very first episode, Bad Hair Day. In this episode, King K. Rool searches for a way to rob Donkey Kong of his famous strength. He finds out his strength comes from his hair, then builds a Candy Kong robot lookalike to cut DK's hair. It actually works and the rest of the episode has the Kongs desperately searching for a way to restore DK's hair- and his strength. Sound familiar? Yes, this episode's plot – at least, the reason DK loses his strength- is eerily similar to the story of Samson and Delilah from the Bible, where the Hebrew hero also loses strength because his lover betrays him by cutting his hair.
Now, the plot of one episode doesn't mean that much in the long run, but the other episodes also contain subtle pro-Christian messaging. Obviously, the Kremlings are the main villains of the show. While the Kongs are largely content to live simple lives, King K. Rool and his henchmen Krusha and Klump are constantly scheming to take the Crystal Coconut to rule over Kongo Bongo Island, despite the Kong clan being the rightful rulers. This is an obvious parallel to Satan or Lucifer, the rogue angel who attempted to occupy God's throne and was banished from Heaven into Hell as punishment. The Kremlings' situation doesn't seem as bad by comparison, until you realize their cold, industrial and lifeless surroundings compared to the Kongs' vibrant, sunny and plant-rich environment is meant to be a more subtle comparison between Hell and Heaven.
The Seven Deadly Sins are also quite prevalent in many episodes, and even the characters themselves. They are frequently tempted by sinful thoughts.
Bluster Kong is obviously meant to symbolize greed, having inherited his mother's barrel factory and being set for life due to his mother's eventual inheritance.
Candy Kong is in a love triangle between DK and Bluster. This, combined with her voluptuous appearance and somewhat revealing clothing, obviously makes her symbolize the sin of lust.
Wrath is present in Cranky Kong. Whenever anything goes wrong, he is quick to berate and punish Donkey Kong and has little to no patience for him or his wishes. He never attempts to teach DK through other means other than verbal abuse and punishment.
Dixie Kong is barely in the series, never does anything truly meaningful and is therefore a candidate for the sin of sloth.
Envy is admittedly tricky, but Diddy Kong appears to be the best candidate. While he's generally a cheerful little buddy, in the episode 'Kong For A Day', it is shown he is somewhat envious of DK's position as future ruler. He also becomes a tyrant in "It's A Wonderful Life".
While several characters are prideful to the point of boasting about their achievements in episodes, King K. Rool is prideful to an excessive degree, believing himself and his Kremlings to be superior to the Kongs. He also treats Krusha and Klump poorly and never lets an opportunity to insult their intelligence slip.
Throughout the series, the Kremlings use Klaptraps as a weapon, who devour everything in sight – gluttony at its finest.
DK himself actually commits multiple sins – he is prideful of being the future ruler, tends to laze around until he is absolutely certain the Crystal Coconut is in danger and has stated he would like to shower his girlfriend in coconut cream pies – a lustful act if I've ever heard one. He is also a glutton and can be influenced by greed to a certain degree.
The deep symbolism to Biblical stories continues in more specific episodes and segments. The emotional ballad "I'm Nobody's Hero", for example, has chilling and tragic parallels to the story of Jesus – like Jesus, DK is sabotaged by another and is labelled a dangerous criminal. Through song, he laments his fate while surrounded by nothing but snow, symbolizing the cold embrace of death Jesus had to face and bear the weight of everyone's sins. And of course, the Kongs also celebrate their own version of Christmas in 'Kongo Bongo Festival Of Lights'.
Finally, there is the all-encompassing plot device, the Crystal Coconut. I firmly believe it is meant to symbolize the Apple of Knowledge that tempted Eve and resulted in humanity's banishment from the Garden of Eden. After all, the Crystal Coconut is frequently used by everyone to answer whatever questions they may have, though they can never know all the Coconut's knowledge at once – if they did that, they would likely become like K. Rool: prideful, cruel and constantly in search of more power. They would also likely abandon their natural paradise, like Adam and Eve were forced to do.
To sum it all up: The Donkey Kong Country Cartoon is a deeply symbolic reflection of Biblical values, and a must-see for all who believe the Word of God. If you're still not convinced – remember the words the great and benevolent Leo Luster once said, paraphrasing Moses:
"Like, man, let my people go-go!"
Written by J3ffDaKilla69
Content is available under CC BY-SA
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