King of Kings Symbol Analysis

King of Kings, the Christian film the Washington movie theater plays instead of the advertised Gorilla, My Love, symbolizes betrayal. The film itself portrays betrayal due to its subject matter—King of Kings charts the life and death of Jesus Christ, who was famously betrayed by Judas, one of Jesus’s own followers. The film also represents betrayal because it wasn’t the one that Hazel and her siblings paid to see, and the manager of the theater further betrays them by refusing to give them a refund. Hazel is furious when she realizes the theater has cheated her out of her money, fuming, “when you fixed to watch a gorilla picture you don’t wanna get messed around with Sunday School stuff. So I am mad.” Hazel views the “raggedy old brown film” as a sign that adults “figure they can treat you just anyhow.”