The King of Kong: A fistful of quarters

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about The King of Kong: A fistful of quarters' classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of The King of Kong: A fistful of quarters completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 25 February 2008.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie The King of Kong: A fistful of quarters contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

This  documentary follows the lives of two avid arcade gamers (Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe) determined to stay on the top of the points list for the popular Donkey Kong game.  Each man has his own philosophy and method of game play, both within the game itself and the wider society in which they live.  Viewers are taken through the various twists and turns of this battle for supremacy, and are given behind-the-scenes glimpses into the impact that it has on the lives of the players and their families.

Themes

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Video game addiction; neglect of family; cheating

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

None of concern

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

There are some scenes in this movie that could disturb children under eight, including the following:

• While Steve is playing Donkey Kong he makes his children quietly amuse themselves in the background and not distract him. He ignores a child’s pleas for assistance and attention.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

Children in this age group are unlikely to be disturbed by anything in this film.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

Children in this age group are unlikely to be disturbed by anything in this film.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

• Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jnr
• Pac Man and Mrs Pac Man
• Defender
• Doom 3
• Centipede
• Star Wars
• Ricky’s Hot Sauce
• Nintendo
• Atari
• Coke
• Starbucks Coffee
• Volkswagen
• Twin Galaxies
• Budweiser
• Harley Davidson

Sexual references

There are some very mild sexual references in this movie, including:

• “I wanted the pretty girls to come and say to me ‘hi, I see you’re really good at Centipede’.”  (To be used as a pick-up line).
• The word “poomtang” was used meaning a female’s private parts.
• “There’s not very many DDGG’s here; Drop Dead Gorgeous Girls.”
  

Nudity and sexual activity

None of concern

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• Cigarette smoking
• Alcohol drinking

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• “Show me a frickin’ nun or a hermit who hasn’t done cards or checkers.”
• “Some poor bastard out there…”
• “Wipe my butt.”
• “…no punk bastard ever got a gnarly piece of poomtang by being sensitive and considerate.”
• “Go kick some ass.”
• “When are you going to kick that guy’s arse?”
• “They’re all BS.”

The movie's message

The King of Kong is a humorous documentary which includes both directed and archival footage.

The main positive messages from this movie are the importance of persistence and honesty in competition.

This movie could give parents the opportunity to discuss the importance of the family unit and the need to sacrifice one’s own desires for the benefit of the family as a whole.  It also highlights the dangers of video game addiction and its impact on a person’s life and those around them.