Gutierrez 1

Gutierrez, Anthony

Professor Beadle

English 115

October 29 2017

The Evolution

In the original Godzilla (1954) film it was evident that the monster is the visual

representation of an atomic bomb. The monster is gigantic, radioactive, and projects an

atomic ray from its mouth that can melt through anything. Godzilla as a Monster has

changed from the original film compared to the recent Shin Godzilla (2016). There are

miniscule differences between both versions of the monster that make Godzilla develop a

different personality from the original monster. After the bombings on two Japanese

cities, the nation was still able to overcome and thrive. In a way Godzilla is embracing

the atomic bomb, and shows how the Japanese people are able to overcome the

destruction of their cities and still be one of the worlds most powerful countries.

Godzilla is a freak of nature with the ability to destroy entire cities. The monster

represents what happens when humans push nature to its limits, and the results could be

uncontrollable. The monster is a product of nuclear experimentation, and the film shows

what happens when humans tamper with nature.

In the original Godzilla film the monster was awoken by nuclear testing, and it

goes on a rampage through the city. The monster is roughly around fifty meters tall, and

highly radioactive. With every footprint the monster leaves behind large amounts of

radiation. In the (2016) Shin Godzilla film, the monster goes through various physical
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changes that make the monster stronger and scarier looking. In the beginning the monster

looks like a juvenile crocodile with no front legs, and it progressively becomes stronger

taller, and begins to resemble the original Godzilla. What the director could be showing is

the evolution of weapons of mass destruction. The director is showing what happens

when people tamper with nature, and creates weapons that can end the world, as we know

it. With the creation of nuclear missiles, or anything powerful enough to destroy cities,

other nations feel threatened. Other nations feel the need to protect themselves in the

event of a possible attack, so even more weapons and tactics are developed as a result. In

the article Godzilla/Gojiro; Evolution of the nuclear metaphor the author, Nancy

Anisfield, gives a brief description of Godzilla. Humans made the bombs. The bombs

created the monsters. The monsters punish the humans. After enough punishment, the

humans triumph and are left in peace.(Anisfield). In the Shin Godzilla film there is more

involvement with the government and the need to study the monster. For the safety of

citizens of japan a drug has been ordered to be created to stop Godzilla without military

forces. In the meantime that the drug was being developed, there were attempts to stop

the monster. The monsters giant stature and thick skin made it immune to the weapons

used by the Japanese military. All the military managed to do was make the monster

angry. With the failed attempts of at stopping Godzilla the United Nations bring up the

idea of dropping a nuclear bomb on the monster. A major thread of the drama comes

when the United States insists on using a nuclear bomb to eradicate Godzilla, a strategy

encouraged and enforced by the United Nations.(Zevallos) There was no guarantee that

the plan would work, but the government officials looked uneasy with the idea of another

nuclear bomb being dropped on japan.

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In both films Godzilla gives the characters time to develop their weapons that can

put an end to the monster. The directors use of a Deus ex Machina is present in both

films where in a time of hopelessness there is eventually a scientific breakthrough that

will put an end to all problems. In the film a drug is developed to bring down the monster

with out having to uses, another nuclear bomb on the monster. The directors could be

implying that weapons of mass destruction are not necessary, and there is an alternative

solution to any crisis. In the Shin Godzilla film Godzilla takes a nap after a battle with the

Japanese army that destroyed an entire city, and did little to no damage to the monster.

While Godzilla remains asleep, that gives time for scientists to successfully develop a

drug that will freeze Godzilla. In the original film scientist Serizawa developed the

Oxygen destroyer. After a rampage through the city Godzilla returns the sea and the

oxygen destroyer is put to use and doctor Serizawa sacrifices himself to see his creation

do its job. In the original film the people would prefer to get rid of Godzilla completely

rather than study it, and possibly use the monster as a potential energy source. When

doctor Serizawa was testing the oxygen destroyer no fish in the tank survived, the only

remains were fish bones. In Shin Godzilla the government accepted the monster, and

wanted to study it for new scientific discoveries in medicine or energy sources. Godzilla

gave the people of Japan a chance to develop a plan that will freeze Godzilla. The

monster remains frozen in the middle of the city, and everyone comes to the conclusion

that Godzilla is now a part of their lives. This could be a metaphor for the

acknowledgement of nuclear weapons and their potential to destroy the world. Godzilla is

an example of what can go wrong when nuclear weapons are in the hands of the wrong

people.
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Godzilla is much more complex than a giant lizard that runs around burning down

cities with its atomic ray. The director of the original Godzilla film, Ishiro Honda, wanted

to embody the fears of the Japanese people after World War II. Many people were

instantly incinerated when the bomb was detonated, and entire city was knocked down by

enormous amounts of energy. Radiation is not visible to the human eye, but it is very

toxic and many citizens died of radiation poisoning. According to Peter H. Brothers, the

author of Japans Nuclear Nightmare: How the Bomb Became a Beast called Godzilla,

the director of the original film wanted Godzilla to recreate the final months of World

War II. Godzilla is in fact a virtual re-creation of the Japanese military and civilian

experience during the final months of WWII Honda insisted the monsters roar

sounded like an air raid siren while its footsteps should sound like exploding bombs

(Brothers 53). Many scenes of the movies were analogies to the war. For example, Japan

had to face the monster alone without any foreign aid or any strategy as to how to bring

down the monster. During WWII japan was left to face the U.S. alone after Germany and

Italy had surrendered. Godzilla tramples an entire city and reduced everything to rubble,

the same way that B-29s and incendiaries were laid down on Japanese cities. Although

the scenes of destruction were not as graphic as the war, the Godzilla film is meant to be

taken seriously.

The film was meant to portray the feelings of anxiety shortly after WWII. The

film has an anti-American tone, because of the atomic bombs. According to Brothers it is

hard for American critics to face the burden of the atomic bomb that destroyed a city with

fire and radiation. Brothers writes in America the Bomb is viewed as a necessary evil;

in Japan the Bomb is evil, period (Brothers 54). Hondas intentions for the monster have
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faded away over time. The fear of tampering with nature, and the creation of weapons of

mass destruction was evident in the film. After the cold war, fears of a nuclear holocaust

have gone away. In more recent versions of the film the message of Godzilla was

changed, and was just made as another Monster movie.

It can be argued that Godzilla as a monster has not changed since it was originally

created. In the Shin Godzilla (2016) film the metaphor of the atomic bomb is vaguely

present, but it is not as obvious as the original film. Shin Godzilla evolves throughout the

movie, and eventually reaches its familiar form that closely resembles the original

Godzilla. The monster still terrorizes the civilization of Japan and has the same special

abilities. Both monsters were immune to the weapons used by the Japanese military, and

they were able to be defeated when they were vulnerable. Both monsters have their

similarities but the subtle miniscule changes of the monsters make the meaning of the

monsters different from each other. The monsters downfalls were different with the use

of a drug in the recent shin Godzilla as opposed to the oxygen destroyer in the original

film. Throughout the first film the monster was clearly viewed as the atomic bomb,

especially when the directors intentions were to make the monsters rampage resemble

the destruction caused by the bomb. The original film wanted to put an end to the

monster, which meant that the anxiety and constant fears of another atomic bomb had to

be put to rest. In Shin Godzilla the people were more accepting of the creature, and found

a new potential energy source. At the end of the film, when the monster was frozen,

Scientists realized that Godzillas radiation had a half-life of 20 days. In the end the

development of a drug, and a more peaceful downfall of the monster was beneficial to

their society. Shin Godzilla did make the characters reminiscent of the World War II, but
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the monster was not as strong of a representation of an atomic bomb as the original

Godzilla.

As a monster Godzilla developed a different personality that is not as distant as

the original. Godzilla was a distant creature that has taken out its anger on humanity,

because it was awaken from its sleep after many years. Godzilla is an alien that people do

not know how to handle, and it makes japan vulnerable. The original monster was easier

to sympathize with, because of how simple the creature was. The creature looked lost;

Godzilla did not seem to be an aggressive creature that would destroy everything in its

path. The creature ad the potential to destroy all witnesses, but it was only defending

itself. A bomb has no sympathy towards anyone; it annihilates anything in its blast radius.

I believe that the fear between the monster and the humans was mutual. The

monster seemed angry but was not exactly sure what to be angry at. Similar to the Shin

Godzilla film ships were being destroyed, probably because the monster felt threatened

by anything it came in contact with. The monster uses its atomic ray as a last resort of

violence when it is being bombarded or feeling helpless. The death of the original

Godzilla was more emotional, because the monster had retreated into the city, but the

peoples rage would cause them to pursue the monster and use the oxygen destroyer on it.

Along with the sacrifice of doctor Serizawa, the ending of the film is bittersweet.

Throughout the film Shin Godzilla is viewed as the antagonist that people have to

manipulate to use its special abilities for good. The original Monster and the more recent

Shin Godzilla have similar meanings, but the have miniscule differences that make the

monsters unique. Godzilla is meant be the visual representation of the destructiveness of

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radiation. Films are a directors ideas coming to life on the big screen. Godzilla

changed as a monster physically and metaphorically.

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Works Cited Page

Anisfield, N. (1995). Godzilla/Gojiro: Evolution of the Nuclear Metaphor. Journal of

Popular Culture, 29(3), 53-62.

Zevallos, K. (2016, October 18). Shin Godzilla Review. University Wire, p. University

Wire, Oct 18, 2016.

Hoffman, Andrew J. Japans nuclear nightmare how the bomb became a beast called

Godzilla. Monsters: a Bedford Spotlight Reader, Bedford/St. Martin's, a Macmillan

Education Imprint, 2016.