Godzilla, a revered reptilian villain widely known across all cultures, was first born on screen in the film Gojira, categorized in a genre of film known as Hibakusha Cinema, which was introduced in post-war Japan. Hibakusha is translated to "bomb affected person," which too this day is still taboo in Japan, and alludes to the strange and dangerous effects of radiation. The onslaught of apocalyptic, atomic monster films were rooted in the fear of radiation and nuclear bombs, which were first introduced in the world, and even used against Japan during the Second World War.
The idea for Godzilla was reminiscent of the effects of radiation sickness, which was seen in the effect of fallout of fishing boats on Marshall Islands, where bewildered sailors saw a blinding flash, and were later reduced to vomiting and strange burns hours later. In the same way, Godzilla was the first radioactive superhero, a blown-up hypothetical world where the power of radiation eventually gives birth to a radioactive reptilian giant.
However, while the monster is known for the frightening and exhilarating scenes on the big screen, Godzilla resembles much, much more than entertainment. Godzilla was a product of the radioactive environment around him, but as a franchise, he was also a product of the political environment in the world, at the time. He was a symbol of prejudice, destruction, and arrogance, and resembled the dangerous repercussions of international conflict, as seen in World War 2. He was a punishment for the abuse of technology and advanced weaponry in the film, making a blatant political reminder to the rest of the world to be responsible with technological progress.
Works Cited:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-lankes/godzillas-secret-history_b_5192284.html
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10788996/Godzilla-why-the-Japanese-original-is-no-joke.html
file:///Users/andrewmo/Downloads/1096-5783-1-PB.pdf
Wow great post Andrew! While I am familiar with American cinema monsters like Godzilla and king kong I was not aware of their birth during World War 2. I was particularly intruded by your analysis of Godzilla as not only a product of radioactivity but also the "prejudice, destruction and arrogance... that resembled the dangerous repercussions of international conflict." When I looked more into godzilla I learned that originally they screen casted him as a giant mutated octopus but apparently the producer decided on the dinosaur instead. Also, apparently the original sound of his roar was made from a rubber glove against a brass violin, interesting to think of the original sound production when advanced computer software wasn't around.
ReplyDeletehttp://mentalfloss.com/article/55965/25-fun-facts-about-godzilla
Great post, Andrew. I think it does a great job at showing the big impacts Godzilla is having in society even today. I did a bit of digging and found that Godzilla has also had a heavy influence on environmentalism. In the original movie, Godzilla was a symbol of nature's backlash to human technology, and as a result, it greatly helped grow the environmentalist movement to what it is today.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/06/godzilla_gojira_and_the_hydrogen_bomb_how_a_movie_monster_framed_the_environmental.html
This is such an interesting post! I had never realized quite the extent to which Godzilla also reflected the political environment during this time. The origins of Godzilla remind me of the Incredible Hulk as well. "The Hulk" was another superhero, who first appeared in 1962 in Marvel Comics' "The Incredible Hulk." The story of the Hulk's origin is that a scientist, Dr. Bruce Banner, got stuck in the blast of a test Gamma Bomb and was, like Godzilla, exposed to extremely dangerous radiation, which would give him superhuman strength. Current events were one of the influences kept in mind by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the creators of the Incredible Hulk. According to Arthur Smith of The Paley Center for Media, "His foes tended to be fellow gamma victims, such as the grotesque Abomination and mutated super-genius the Leader, underscoring another key theme in the Hulk’s makeup: Cold War nuclear anxiety." Both of these superheroes display the fascinating impact that political tension during wars and the increasing presence of nuclear weapons have had on American entertainment.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nuskool.com/learn/lesson/monster-within-incredible-hulks-origins/
https://www.paleycenter.org/it-aint-easy-bein-green-a-look-at-the-incredible-hulk