King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters - Key Ideas Expressed

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getting ready, brushing his mullet in front of the mirror with the strong, deep tones of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Everybody Knows’ makes the viewer start to question Billy’s authenticity as a champion. This is further conveyed when Billy says, ‘Well maybe they’d like it if I lose. I gotta try loosing sometimes.’ On the other side of the spectrum, there is Steve. A family man who has seen many struggles in his life and is presented as the underdog. He often wears casual clothing and frequently filmed in his classroom. Steve is frequently seen practising, competing and spending time with his family, and the supporting music is often happy and even his own piano playing. Though the two characters are not filmed actually competing against each other, their rivalry and competition is represented through these visual codes and documentary techniques.

Another key idea presented in the documentary is persistence. This key idea centralises around the constant dedication of underdog Steve Weibe to break Billy Mitchell’s Donkey Kong record score. Actuality, archival footage and sound effects are the technical codes used to demonstrate persistance. Throughout the documentary, it becomes clear that Steve Weibe is willing to go out of his way to achieve his goal. The documentary uses real footage of Steve at the gaming events. This showcased the hours of gruelling gameplay he endured and also showed that when his game ended, there was no hesitation to start a new one. Steve’s ongoing participation at these events and the actual footage aids the portrayal of persistence in the documentary. Archival footage shows Steve’s previous failures to make his goals (music career, state pitching, loss of his job at Boeing), which seems to fuel his desire to be the best at something – he choses Donkey Kong. The music played when Steve first broke the World Record features the song Obsession by Animotion, why conveys the key theme of persistence in the movie.

The documentary the King of Kong is a classic film about the underdog taking on the champion. The director, Seth Gordan uses various documentary techniques and visual codes to convey these key idea of competition/rivalry, persistence and family. The King of Kong takes you on a rollercoaster of a ride, showing what it takes to be a world record holder.