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Alex Uribe

Professor Beadle

University Writing

October 25, 2017

The Evolution of Godzilla

Godzilla is a movie monster that may be more real than most people realize. He is

massive, he is nearly unstoppable, and he reeks havoc on everything that stands before him.

Although a lot has changed and there are many differences between the original 1954 film,

Godzilla, and the latest Godzilla release in 2016, Shin Godzilla, the core values have remained

the same and can be felt in both films. Godzilla is still a monster than embodies fear, pain, and

most of all hope for the Japanese people. In talking about the original film, Peter H. Brother

states, Godzilla(Gojira) is a film less about a giant dinosaur running amuck and more about the

psychological recovery of a people trying to rebuild their cities, their culture, and their lives

threatened by radioactive fallout. Nevertheless, the circumstances differ greatly between each

film. In Godzilla(1954), Godzilla represents the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and

Nagasaki but, in Shin Godzilla(2016), he represents the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami. As

mentioned above, both films were made to provide hope to the Japan, but the original does so by

exemplifying the bravery of its citizens while the later exemplifies the strength of its

government. After both disasters and by the end of each film, Japan is left in ruins to be rebuilt

from the ground up.

In 1945, two atomic bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man, were dropped in Hiroshima and

Nagasaki to bring an end to WWII. This horrific and historic event left the Japanese people in
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anguish but, also made for an incredible monster movie nine years later in the form of

Godzilla(1954). It is evident from the very beginning of the film that Godzilla is to represent

those catastrophic events, and the fear that they invoked, from the way in which he is first

introduced. A bright flash of light blinds the crew aboard a Japanese fishing boat which is then

destroyed. According to Brothers, the flash of light, which later turns out to be Godzilla,was a

representation of a phenomenon known to the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as the

pikadon or flash-boom caused by the explosion of the atomic bombs, (Japans Nuclear

Nightmare: How the Bomb Became a Beast Called Godzilla). Brothers also states that Honda

insisted that the monsterss roar sound like an air-raid siren while it's footsteps should sound like

exploding bombs. These features and the fact that his arrival was a result of nuclear bomb

testing in the Pacific Ocean, clearly make Godzilla a representation of the atomic bombs and the

horror of the Japanese people following their detonation. Moreover, throughout the entire film

we are shown images of Japan destroyed and even more so, the suffering Japanese people. In one

scene following Godzillas rampage through Tokyo, the city is shown in flames, completely

obliterated by the wrath of Godzilla. In several other scenes, the audience is shown the damage

and subsequent suffering inflicted upon the citizens of Japan who crowd hospitals and cry in

anguish. It eventually comes to a point where it seems nothing can stop the giant monster and all

hope seems to be lost. That is until finally one scientist invents a weapon so deadly and powerful

that Godzilla is finally killed and the Japanese people can once again feel safe and rebuild their

home from the ashes. The fact that Godzilla is eventually defeated provides hope to the damaged

Japanese people that they too can overcome the nightmares left from the nuclear bombs.
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Shin Godzilla(2016), in contrast with Godzilla(1954), is meant to represent the 9.0

magnitude Japan earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred only five years before the its

release. There are many differences between Godzilla and Shin Godzilla that make this contrast

evident. For example, in the latter, Godzilla appears in the middle of broad daylight with no flash

of light to accompany him. He merely bursts a few pipes that attract the attention of a few

government officials who initially brush it off as nothing. He then surfaces and begins his trek

into the heart of Tokyo leaving only ruble, radioactive waste, and destruction in his path.

According to an article by Annalee Newitz, These are deliberate evocations of the Fukushima

disaster, echoing a long tradition in Godzilla films of recreating nuclear horrors and other

disasters that Japan has endured. Further, throughout the film, Godzilla continuously evolves

and adapts to do even more damage which can be said to represent the hundreds of aftershocks

and the tsunami that followed the earthquake; just when they thought the destruction was over,

the monster mutates and does even more damage. Another contrast to the original film is the

manner in which Godzilla is defeated. An article from Player.One states, The movie downplays

protagonists and individual heroes. Instead, Godzilla is defeated by career bureaucrats doing a

good job, sharing responsibility and working together,(Whalen). In Shin Godzilla there is a lot

of focus on the destruction of the city and the government's response to Godzilla, whereas in the

original film the emphasis is placed on the Japanese citizens and their suffering. It can be said,

then, that Shin Godzilla was made to encourage amongst the citizens faith in the Japanese

government in their efforts to once again rebuild from the ashes of destruction.

In conclusion, Godzilla is more than just a giant movie monster, he is a representation of

the fear, pain, and anguish felt by the Japanese people after facing two major catastrophes.
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Although a lot has changed in the last 62 years, Godzilla remains a symbol of Japanese suffering.

In both films, Godzilla is eventually defeated and Japan is left in shambles, but strong and

hopeful, nonetheless. Godzilla was a direct response to the atomic bomb detonations at

Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II and Shin Godzilla was a response to the Japan

earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Just as they were able to defeat Godzilla(nuclear bombs) and

rebuild Japan from the rubble so many years ago, so too can they rebuild Japan from the rubble

left by Shin Godzilla(Japan Earthquake) in this present day. Similar to the concept of the

Phoenix, only after the destruction can Japan be rebuilt anew.

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Works Cited

Peter H. Brothers, Japans Nuclear Nightmare: How the Bomb Became a Beast Called

Godzilla, Monsters.

Shaking Before and After Japans Great Shake, Los Angeles Times, Accessed December 4,

2017.

Annalee Newitz, Shin Godzilla is a Weird Mediation on the Problems with a Japanese

Bureaucracy, ARSTechnica, https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/10/shin-godzilla-is-a-weird-

meditation-on-the-problems-with-japanese-bureaucracy/, Accessed December 5, 2017.

Andrew Whalen, Shin Godzilla' Ending Explained: What's With Those Last Shot Skeletons?

[Spoilers], Player.One, http://www.player.one/shin-godzilla-ending-explained-spoilers-last-

shot-skeletons-hideaki-anno-118343, Accessed December 5, 2017.

Fukushima Accident, World Nuclear Association, http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-

library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/fukushima-accident.aspx, Accessed December 5,

2017.