Tarzan of the Apes(1910-1920)

Origin: This film was released in 1918 and was directed by Scott Sidney (IMDb). It was based off an original novel, Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Since sound technology was not too advanced, this is a silent film. The movie explores the story of an orphaned Tarzan growing up and becoming king of the jungle. It changes the novel slightly in order to make Tarzan a bit more civilized and educated. According to s tor.com article by Kage Baker, the repetition of the plot (repeated mutinies and killing of ship captains) was also cut in order to make the story more exciting. However this version is known as the film with the closest adaptation of the novel's story line.
 (Unlike Disney with this guy) 

Purpose: The purpose of this movie was primarily to entertain the audience, but also like many other movies of its time, it retold a story. Along with Tarzan of the Apes, many other films were based on previously written novels in this time period, such as Alice in Wonderland in 1915. Also, this film is the part of many "Jungle" films that were popular during the time period. they included action, adventure, romance, and violence. What more could an audience want?

Value: Although it may not seem obvious, this film tells us a lot about the time period. First, it tells a lot about racial views. Tarzan is European, making him white. The native village tribes are African, or black. They are shown as uncivilized savages who killed Kala, his "ape mother". Tarzan gets very angry with them and starts to hurt them, and the tribes people give him offerings in order to "placate the white demon of the woods" (Kage Baker). The natives (black people) were portrayed as inferior to and weaker than white people. This plays into the issues of the time period, where racism and the KKK were a huge problem. Also, according to an article titled "Tarzans Through Time" by Beth Rowen, the actor for Tarzan, Elmo Lincoln (Not Elmo from Sesame Street) killed a real lion as part of the filming. This shows that animal rights were not considered a big deal. In fact, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (peta) the animal rights movement didn't start till the late 1900's. Another issue of the time period is shown through Jane being the damsel in distress. She is portrayed as unable to help herself, which was part of the mindset of that time period.

Limitations: Although it touches on the subjects, this film doesn't tell us about many of the issues of the Progressive Era. It doesn't tell us about the fight for feminism, or the fight for equal rights for immigrants and African Americans. It also doesn't tell us about other problems of the time, like Prohibition. additionally, it doesn't tell us about other types of films and camera techniques that were common in the time period.

Sources:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009682/
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tarzan.html
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2009/09/ancient-rockets-strong-a-silent-day-1
http://www.peta.org/about-peta/milestones/