En de aap is mens geworden

Since man came face to face with the monkey, there has been an intense relationship between the two species. People find monkeys funny, useful and instructive. What they think of human beings remains a matter for conjecture. This film essay considers the man/monkey relationship with a humorous collage of nature shots, drawings, museum pieces and interviews with scientists. It also includes many feature film passages from films like Planet of the Apes, Tarzan and King Kong. A voice-over links the rapidly changing scenes. Our fascination with the chimpanzee, gorilla and orang-utan obviously stems from the fact that we feel some kinship. The degree to which we are related has been a point of investigation and discussion since Darwin's evolutionary theory. Unfortunately, man scantily grants his evolutionary brother species a decent existence. The monkey can be launched into space and submit itself to degrading medical tests, but gets very little in return. And all this while we merrily keep gaping at the behaviour of this endangered species.