Genesis

In the original 1954 Toho film directed by Inoshiro Honda, Gojira was a 400' tall, sexually ambiguous, amphibious prehistoric monster from the Mesozoic era. He was released from 100 million years of hibernation by hydrogen bomb testing in the Pacific. The original Gojira had radioactive breath, treacherous taloned feet, and a long powerful tail that could-and did-wipe out tall buildings in a single swish.

Spencer Weart, author of Nuclear Fear, attributes the paradox to the Japanese view that the bombings were an "inevitable tragedy of war" (Weart) and to the hibakusha's (bomb victims) sense of shame and embarrassment, as documented by both Robert J. Lifton and John Hersey. In his essay "Rough Beasts Slouching," Frank McConnell explains the paradox in saying, "The 'Americanization' of Japan is itself one of the mutated flowers of Hiroshima: and these slumbering, heraldic monsters, stung to outrage by (usually) atomic testing, are a half-dream of vengeance coupled with a truly terrifying sense of self-annihilation" (Jacobson). For each reason, and from both Japanese and American cultural viewpoints, it is apparent that basic fear and guilt and anxiety over nuclear bombs inform any critical reading or sociohistorical interpretation of these works.

What, then, would be the significance of a new Godzilla, an American creation of the Japanese character who is totally immersed in American culture, who contributes to it, reflects it, and ultimately even ingests it?

From a Western point of view it seems obvious to notice, beyond Noriega's explanation of the assimilation of Other, the irony of the Japanese productions. Why not have Gojira stomp through Manhattan? The Japanese bomb/monster movies imply a sense of self-recrimination beyond simply the shared history of Self and Other. Broderick suggests that the Japanese recasting of experienced events depicts a potential fate for all-Americans included (Broderick).

godzilla

introduction

genesis

evolution

conclusion