Eight-Fifteen
For my Humanities Core research essay, I have decided to analyze the 1954 Japanese film Gojira, or Godzilla. Directed by film director Ishirō Honda and produced by the film distribution company Toho, the film tells the story of an unstoppable, 164 foot tall beast wreaking havoc on the Japanese city of Toyko and the citizens that reside there. With countless American adaptions and the proliferation of the antagonistic figure, it's very easy to brush of the franchise as another overly done pop culture production. But what has been lost in our current understanding is the deep meaning found within its origins and its profound political implications.
To provide the context and framework for the film, it's best to recall the end of World War II. As the Pacific War between the Allied powers and the Empire of Japan raged on, the Allies called for an unconditional surrender from Japan or else it would face "utter destruction." When Japan didn't respond to the ultimatum, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 am and on Nagasaki just three days later. As a result, a total of 129,000-226,000+ people were killed and major populations suffered from devastating burns, permanent injuries, and irradiation. Long term consequences plagued those affected by the bombings with tragic radiation poisoning, illness, malnutrition, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. With the bleak and devastating memory of the atomic bombings still fresh in the minds of the Japanese public when the film came out less than ten years later, Godzilla now takes on meanings far deeper than superficially present.
In the film, Kyohei Yamane is sent by the Japanese government to investigate where the monster that has been destroying their country and killing civilians has come from. Presenting his findings in Tokyo, Yamane informs the Japanese government that Godzilla has been awoken from his underwater slumber due to underwater hydrogen bomb testing and has itself absorbed an enormous amount of atomic radiation. Using its own nuclear weapon called the "atomic breath" which is a radioactive heat ray, Godzilla brings grand destruction to Tokyo, seen as the film depicts shots of the city in flames, children and civilians exposed to radiation, and hospitals collapsed and unable to support all of the injured. It thus becomes clear that Godzilla acts as a symbol for nuclear and atomic weapons, particularly the Atom bomb, that have greatly effected Japan in the recent past. The film also importantly reflects the fears of the Japanese against the use of nuclear weapons and its possible recurrence, further embodying the uneasy sentiments of many around the world after World War II. Referred to as the Atomic Age, the period of history after the hydrogen bomb testings and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings led to the widespread fear of nuclear warfare made only sounder with the emergence of the Cold War and continuous nuclear weapon testing. Director Ishirō Honda further writes about his personal experience as a Japanese civilian after the Atom bomb attacks. He writes,
"There was a feeling that the world was already coming to an end. Ever since, I felt that this atomic fear would hang around our necks forever."
The film accurately portrays this fear and trauma in a very clever and unorthodox way. The spirit of loss, grief, fear, and remembrance of a painful past have been manifested into a gigantic monster who inflicts equal damage, showcasing the long standing effects the bombings still have on Japan.
With its theatrical success in 1954, the film gave rise to a franchise that created a total of 29 productions featuring the notorious monster. Japan had done something tremendous; it made a pop culture icon that significantly dealt with deeply political issues. A significant backlash resulted however, due to the proliferation of the Godzilla figure. Initially created to reflect the trauma of Japan and the sentiments of a war ridden world, it soon become Westernized. The films were now set in America, featured only white people, and lost its origins of depicting nuclear fallback on the Japanese civilians. Godzilla became less destructive, and the films essentially started to pander to a younger audience, making Godzilla into a simple beast that was devoid of any real profound implications. Even upon the original release of the 1954 film, the American public did not make do with the political undertones that essentially made the United States look like antagonists. Once bought by distributors, a reshoot and editing resulted in the film no longer featuring references to the American nuclear bomb testings and the detrimental effects of their results on the public. History, even through a monster film, was being re-told and spun to pander to an American audience, reflecting the predominantly pro-Atom bomb sentiments that the American nation held.
American Pro-Atom bomb propaganda poster Young Japanese children injured and burned in Hiroshima
A monster initially created to symbolize the wrong doings of America as a continuously growing superpower was consumed and reworked by the very same country that sparked its fear ridden creation. Rewritten and mass produced for Western consumption, Godzilla represents one of countless stories about the detrimental effects of "feats" by imperialistic nations that have slowly been shifted to erase the perspective of those afflicted. For many, the nuclear warfare depicted in Godzilla wasn't a gripping plot and interesting backstory, it was a reality. A very bleak, a very horrendous, and a very tragic reality that was slowly being forgotten.
While I am still on the search for a humanistic question and though I am still unsure if I should stick with Godzilla as my permanent artifact, I hope my possible paper will delve into the history of nuclear warfare, the sociopolitical consequences of its emergence, the American perspective of the atomic bombs vs the Japanese perspective, how these mentalities have been internalized into modern culture, and how nations, including Japan, react and try to come to terms with their own imperialistic past.
Works Consulted
Tanaka, Yuki. "Godzilla and the Bravo Shot: Who Created and Killed the Monster?" The Asia- Pacific Journal 3.6 (2005): 1-13. JSTOR. Web.