Godzilla (1954) Brain Farts.

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Written: Monday. August 10, 2020.

  • Godzilla is a Japanese film, and is the first of many kaiju films.
    • Directed by Ishiro Honda.
    • Special Effects by Eiji Tsuburaya.
    • Produced and distributed by Toho Studios.
  • Kaiju means giant monster.
  • Godzilla is an allegory; a symbol for the nuclear holocaust.
    • his features and strengths are paralleled to that of an atomic bomb.
    • 'it is nature taking revenge on mankind for what it has done.'
    • Godzilla's rampage was mirrored from the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
    • if Godzilla was just a dinosaur, he would've died easily. Making him a product of man's attempts to conquer the elements through the atom bomb makes him much more dangerous, and humanity wouldn't stand a chance against it's own creation.
  • Godzilla is a reflection of what the Japanese experienced during World War II.
    • this is the main reason that this franchise is beloved by the Japanese.
    • it's almost a cultural coping method to help the Japanese move on from the war.
  • Godzilla is a victim, not an enemy.
    • the audience was able to empathize with the monster, seeing it as a victim/product of the nuclear weapons mankind brought upon nature.
  • Suitmation.
    • this film pioneered the usage of actors in costumes, roaming around miniature sets; hence, suitmation is born.
    • this brought in a new way of portraying large monsters or entities in movies or shows.
      • ex: power rangers does a lot of this in their shoots for megazord fights.
  • The Human Characters.
    • they played an important role in this film. that being a form of perspective, and a means to drive the story forward.
    • their story-line was coherent to Godzilla, because their role was to find a way to put a stop to his terror. And it was handled in a very creative way, having moral dilemmas and political issues laced throughout several characters in the story.
      • the scientist (Serizawa) who created the Oxygen Destroyer had a moral dilemma regarding his invention, since defeating Godzilla with it would cause the government and the whole world to see the implications of such a device. Meaning, the government might use this for tactical support in terms of war against other nations, which is the last thing they need around this time.
      • the old professor (Yamane) is at odds with the government. he thinks that it's crucial to let Godzilla survive, and have them run some tests and study the creature, instead of killing it. but the government wants the monster dead, and thinks that there is no point on experimenting on the creature's features/abilities. (political dilemma, and also difference of morals)

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