Godzilla, created by Ishirō Honda, is a reptile-like beast that takes the shape of a prehistoric dinosaur that emerges from the pacific after being disrupted from his home by a nuclear bomb test. Throughout the decades emerged the Godzilla series succeeding the original film Gojira, some of which use Godzilla as a political scapegoat.
The Godzilla series debuted during the peak of technological war advancements towards the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War. In an article called Godzilla and the Japanese Nightmare written by Chon Noriega he states that the Gojira film “transfers onto Godzilla the role of the United States in order to symbolically re-enact a problematic United States–Japan relationship that includes atomic war, …show more content…
Similarly, this scene is a direct metaphor for Castle Bravo, which was a hydrogen bomb test enacted by the United States which was one thousand times stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Unfortunately, a fishing boat, the Lucky Dragon No. 5, was caught in the blast radius of the classified Castle Bravo test site. Twenty-three members of the crew were hospitalized and were treated for an acute radiation, and one member, Aikichi Kuboyama died several months later from the poisoning caused by the radiation. In the film, one witness states that he saw a monster destroy the fishing boats and another man comes to the conclusion that the monster is none the less, Godzilla. These rumors then become the talk of the town, but Godzilla’s physical appearance has still not been shown in the film. Godzilla does not make an appearance in the film until around twenty minutes in, this was purposely done to show the connections between the United States and Godzilla. Godzilla is acting as a scapegoat and taking all of the blame for the destruction, all based on assumption since these accusations were made by people who have never seen the …show more content…
When compared to the 1954 film Gojira, the 1984 film has a firmer grasp on technological advancements in science. In Godzilla, the people of Japan are not afraid to show full force against the monster which gives the sense that the film is more about getting rid of the enemy, showing Japans economic growth. While on the other hand, in Gojira, Dr. Serizawa is afraid to use his oxygen destroyer to stop Godzilla and is afraid that the technology could of prone of the eventual destruction of the world this shows weakness and puts Japan in a state of catastrophe rather than a state of defense when compared to Godzilla. Godzilla’s height has also been massively increased to eighty meters, compared to 50 meters from Gojira. With his increased size in mind, Godzilla travels to Tokyo, where compared to the buildings around him he is slightly shorter than skyscrapers, this shows economic growth in Japans society since the economic downfall in Japan after the war. The main characters of the movie show sympathy towards Godzilla and view him as a victim rather the enemy. A quote from Dr. Hayashida states “It is human beings who created the radiation. We should call human beings the monster. Godzilla is like a nuclear weapon, only he’s alive. He moves around since he likes destroying things, and moreover he is immortal.” With this in mind, the viewer is forced to sympathize with Godzilla as a victim of technological
The Godzilla series debuted during the peak of technological war advancements towards the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War. In an article called Godzilla and the Japanese Nightmare written by Chon Noriega he states that the Gojira film “transfers onto Godzilla the role of the United States in order to symbolically re-enact a problematic United States–Japan relationship that includes atomic war, …show more content…
Similarly, this scene is a direct metaphor for Castle Bravo, which was a hydrogen bomb test enacted by the United States which was one thousand times stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Unfortunately, a fishing boat, the Lucky Dragon No. 5, was caught in the blast radius of the classified Castle Bravo test site. Twenty-three members of the crew were hospitalized and were treated for an acute radiation, and one member, Aikichi Kuboyama died several months later from the poisoning caused by the radiation. In the film, one witness states that he saw a monster destroy the fishing boats and another man comes to the conclusion that the monster is none the less, Godzilla. These rumors then become the talk of the town, but Godzilla’s physical appearance has still not been shown in the film. Godzilla does not make an appearance in the film until around twenty minutes in, this was purposely done to show the connections between the United States and Godzilla. Godzilla is acting as a scapegoat and taking all of the blame for the destruction, all based on assumption since these accusations were made by people who have never seen the …show more content…
When compared to the 1954 film Gojira, the 1984 film has a firmer grasp on technological advancements in science. In Godzilla, the people of Japan are not afraid to show full force against the monster which gives the sense that the film is more about getting rid of the enemy, showing Japans economic growth. While on the other hand, in Gojira, Dr. Serizawa is afraid to use his oxygen destroyer to stop Godzilla and is afraid that the technology could of prone of the eventual destruction of the world this shows weakness and puts Japan in a state of catastrophe rather than a state of defense when compared to Godzilla. Godzilla’s height has also been massively increased to eighty meters, compared to 50 meters from Gojira. With his increased size in mind, Godzilla travels to Tokyo, where compared to the buildings around him he is slightly shorter than skyscrapers, this shows economic growth in Japans society since the economic downfall in Japan after the war. The main characters of the movie show sympathy towards Godzilla and view him as a victim rather the enemy. A quote from Dr. Hayashida states “It is human beings who created the radiation. We should call human beings the monster. Godzilla is like a nuclear weapon, only he’s alive. He moves around since he likes destroying things, and moreover he is immortal.” With this in mind, the viewer is forced to sympathize with Godzilla as a victim of technological