Gojira Essay

In 1954, Japan debuted the world’s first radioactive “king of all monsters”, Gojira. Gojira director, Ishiro Honda, sets the first scene with a destructive power emerging from the sea that would ignite a burning panic throughout Japan and force catastrophe in its wake—much like the atomic bomb it was birthed from. Gojira had a single purpose, to rampage across Japan and decimate everything in its path. As much as they tried to stop the monster, Japan’s defenses fell victim to Gojira’s indestructibility. As Japan’s last resort, they found hope in Dr. Serizawa’s emergence of new science and technology to dismantle Gojira. In the end, the bittersweet success of defeating Gojira with Dr. Serizawa’s Oxygen Destroyer was not dared to be forgotten or thought of lightly. Because if placed in the wrong hands, nuclear weapons testing may continue and another monster might appear again.
Gojira is a story of a nation who tried its

But, somewhere in popular culture, the essence of the film was lost and Gojira was used as a caricature. As Gojira entered the mainstream and morphed into Godzilla, perceptions of Japanese culture followed suit. In class, we had discussed how outrageous and over-zealous Japan culture was perceived by western cultures; Gojira, the monster itself, is a perfect example. With evidence like subtle references to Lucky Dragon No. 5, Japan gave us a film to be dissected but our thoughts on Japan trivialized it. For example, in the American adaptation, the beginning of the film does not show the first attack made by Gojira under the water and the wreckage it had caused. Instead, Terry Morse, the American director compelled images of white, American men laying in rubble. When Gojira entered mainstream attention, we felt the need to make changes and ingrain our own beliefs. What does this say about our mindsets and how we approach discussions about cultures other than our