Compare And Contrast Gojira And Godzilla
Julie Y. Moon
ANTHR 2560
Paper 2: Godzilla vs. Gojira
Prof. Hirokazu Miyazaki
Godzilla: Gojira, stripped
The film Gojira, released in 1954 by Toho Studios, was a tremendous success to the Japanese public and the first postwar film to gain an international audience. Gojira is a science-fantasy film about a mutant creature from the Jurassic period with nuclear powers, brought to life as a result of the atomic explosion and nearby nuclear bomb testing. In 1956, Godzilla: King of the Monsters was released in the U.S. as an American version of the original Japanese movie. This version was heavily edited with English dubbing and the deletion of various scenes, altered strategically in a political fashion for the American audience as a …show more content…
Many scholars, myself included, believe that the initial Godzilla – with his links to nuclear testing and radiation – may in many ways be seen as a displaced version of the atomic bomb. His story and its ultimately happy outcome – Godzilla is vanquished through Japanese science – may, therefore, be read as a form of cultural therapy, allowing the defeated Japanese to work through the trauma of the wartime bombings in the scenes of panic and destruction, and, with the film’s happy end, giving them a chance to reimagine and rewrite their devastating …show more content…
Portraying these inner conflicts allow for the audience to build a more intimate relationship with the characters in the movie, as well as creating an opportunity to convey crucial ideas that provides the basis for Gojira. This in turn allows for examine their own moral compass – to ask themselves what they would do in such a situation, thus educating the viewers of their moral obligation and responsibility for their actions and inactions, especially in light of scientific and technological advancements. Emphasizing the stances of the zoologist, Dr. Tamara, and the scientist, Dr. Serizawa, brings out an important statement Honda wishes to communicate to the audience. Scientific advancements come at a high price, and the burden of responsibility that Dr. Serizawa repeatedly states in various ways resonates with the invention of the atomic bomb. Many of Dr. Serizawa’s passionate assertions are cut out in Godzilla, such as when he expresses his concern for his invention of the Oxygen-Destroyer to fall into the wrong hands and the magnitude of destruction it can cause. Behind Dr. Serizawa’s words are Honda’s message that science and technology must be used with caution – otherwise, another catastrophe like the atomic bombing can occur again. Taking in the words of Dr. Serizawa, it becomes nearly predictable that he will end his life with the usage of the
ANTHR 2560
Paper 2: Godzilla vs. Gojira
Prof. Hirokazu Miyazaki
Godzilla: Gojira, stripped
The film Gojira, released in 1954 by Toho Studios, was a tremendous success to the Japanese public and the first postwar film to gain an international audience. Gojira is a science-fantasy film about a mutant creature from the Jurassic period with nuclear powers, brought to life as a result of the atomic explosion and nearby nuclear bomb testing. In 1956, Godzilla: King of the Monsters was released in the U.S. as an American version of the original Japanese movie. This version was heavily edited with English dubbing and the deletion of various scenes, altered strategically in a political fashion for the American audience as a …show more content…
Many scholars, myself included, believe that the initial Godzilla – with his links to nuclear testing and radiation – may in many ways be seen as a displaced version of the atomic bomb. His story and its ultimately happy outcome – Godzilla is vanquished through Japanese science – may, therefore, be read as a form of cultural therapy, allowing the defeated Japanese to work through the trauma of the wartime bombings in the scenes of panic and destruction, and, with the film’s happy end, giving them a chance to reimagine and rewrite their devastating …show more content…
Portraying these inner conflicts allow for the audience to build a more intimate relationship with the characters in the movie, as well as creating an opportunity to convey crucial ideas that provides the basis for Gojira. This in turn allows for examine their own moral compass – to ask themselves what they would do in such a situation, thus educating the viewers of their moral obligation and responsibility for their actions and inactions, especially in light of scientific and technological advancements. Emphasizing the stances of the zoologist, Dr. Tamara, and the scientist, Dr. Serizawa, brings out an important statement Honda wishes to communicate to the audience. Scientific advancements come at a high price, and the burden of responsibility that Dr. Serizawa repeatedly states in various ways resonates with the invention of the atomic bomb. Many of Dr. Serizawa’s passionate assertions are cut out in Godzilla, such as when he expresses his concern for his invention of the Oxygen-Destroyer to fall into the wrong hands and the magnitude of destruction it can cause. Behind Dr. Serizawa’s words are Honda’s message that science and technology must be used with caution – otherwise, another catastrophe like the atomic bombing can occur again. Taking in the words of Dr. Serizawa, it becomes nearly predictable that he will end his life with the usage of the