Godzilla's Nuclear Origins

n

nThe majority of people who are going to see GarethnEdward’s Godzilla (2014), have a very general idea of Godzilla;nall they see is a giant monster that goes around destroying buildings, stomping on screaming Japanesenpeople, while shooting laser beams from its mouth. In reality, Godzilla is sonmuch more than that, Godzilla is a creature with some depth to it! So here mynfriends I offer you a small explanation of where Godzilla comes from, and whatnhe really means, metaphorically speaking of course.

n

n

nIt’s important to mention that Godzilla is one of thenlongest running franchises in cinema. Like James Bond or Dracula, Godzilla is an iconicnbehemoth that will live on forever! So far, there’s 28 Japanese Godzilla filmsnproduced by Toho Co. Ltd! There are two American Godzilla films and countlessnvideogames and comic books. Godzilla coming back film after film makes sensenwhen we take in consideration that in the films, practically nothing can killnGodzilla! Just ask the Japanese and American armies, they have tried everythingnagainst The King of All Monsters, but practically nothing gets through the creatures indestructiblenskin. Only a device called The Oxygen Destroyer could. But for some reason they only use it in the first film!  

n

n

nGodzilla is sometimes portrayed as a God, walking the earth,npunishing humanity for abusing the planet. Seeing Godzilla as a god isn’t so farfetchednwhen we consider just how big he is. He gets bigger with every passing film!nActually, in Gareth Edwards film he is as big as he’s ever been! His name evennhas the word ‘God’ in it. In other films, Godzilla appears as earth’snprotector, like in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) where Godzilla protectsnhumanity from Destoroyah, one of the most powerful monsters to ever walk thenface of the earth. Be it punisher or protector, Godzilla is an unstoppablenforce of nature. But where did the idea of Godzilla come from?

n

n

nGodzilla’s birth as a character can be traced all the waynback to the many nuclear weapons tests that the United States conducted duringnthe 40’s and 50’s. These tests did not pass unnoticed; they affected manynpeople in the world, but most of all, the Japanese. Let’s not forget thennuclear attacks upon Nagasaki and Hiroshima, events that for obvious reasonsnleft a profound scar on the psyche of the Japanese nation. You see, once upon antime, the United States was all about nuclear weapons. For a while there, allnthey wanted to do was test their nuclear capabilities, to see just how muchndestruction they could inflict on any given enemy. Their ultimate goal withnthese tests was to know the effectiveness and explosive capabilities of thesenbombs before using them against Japan during World War II. But even after WorldnWar II (and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) the tests continued and so thenU.S. tested their atomic bombs on their own turf, igniting atomic bombs innplaces like New Mexico and Nevada. Other times, they would test these bombs outnin the Pacific Ocean, near the Marshall Islands, where they actually managed tontests 67 nuclear weapons! It doesn’t surprise me then that in every Godzillanmovie, Godzilla comes out of the Ocean, as if a nuclear weapon had just beenndetonated.

n

n

nAll this testing yielded valuable knowledge and informationnto scientists and the American military, but it caused irreparable damage onnmany islands and territories; with health effects lingering on the affectednpopulation. In other words, if you lived anywhere near the places where thesentests were conducted, chances are you’d start suffering from exposure tonradioactive fallout. This happened to the residents of Bikini Atoll in ThenMarshall Islands. The residents of these islands suffered horrible health effectsnbecause of exposure to radioactive fallout, the U.S. simply hurled money theirnway as a way to repay them for their troubles. But what’s a couple of millionnworth when two weeks later your dick falls off? Know what I’m saying? Sadly,nnuclear weapons testing continued! For example, on March 1, 1954, United Satesnconducted a nuclear test called ‘Castle Bravo’ which just so happens to be thenbiggest nuclear explosion ever detonated by the United States! This test yieldednan explosion far greater than they expected, and so the aftermath was worse thannthey had imagined. Radioactive fallout spread throughout the world, it affectednresidents of nearby islands and killed one crew member belonging to thenJapanese fishing boat named Lucky Dragon #5. 

n

n

nMy point being that nuclear testing has been something of anconcern for Japanese people for a very long time. When we look at it, the Japanesenpeople are an entire nation of people psychologically affected by nuclearnweapons and why wouldn’t they be. I mean, these detonations yielded thousands ofndeaths in one swoop. The fear of nuclear weapons reflected itself in Japanesenpopular culture in many ways, but especially in Japanese films. One example isnAkira (1988), a film that takes place within a society affected by a nuclearnattack that took place during ‘World War III’. Another film to directly reflectna society traumatized by nuclear weapons would be Grave of the Fireflies (1988),none of the best films on the subject, I highly recommend checking that filmnout, it’s a very emotional experience. Hell, even films from other countriesnaddressed these horrifying events, like the French film Hiroshima Mon Amourn(1959) a film about an actress that’s making a film about the after math after Hiroshima.nWhile making this film, she falls in love with a Japanese man; together theynmuse about love, life and war. In that film the city of Hiroshima is ancharacter on itself, a survivor of the horror. But, one of the best examples isnwithout a doubt Ishiro Honda’s Gojira (1954), the first Godzilla film ever made.nThis film was a direct response to all these nuclear worries.

n

n

nThere are various interpretations for Godzilla, but withoutna shred of a doubt, he is a metaphor for nuclear weapons. Other elements of Godzillanthat let us know he is a metaphor for nuclear weapons are that his scaly skinnwas designed to mimic the keloid scars seen on survivors of Hiroshima.nGodzilla’s origins have varied from film to film, but in general, he is annancient prehistoric sea monster that is awakened by nuclear radiation, sonGodzilla is actually a mutation. I would say that the biggest allusion tonGodzilla’s nuclear origins would be his ‘atomic breath’, a nuclear blast thatncomes out of Godzilla’s mouth that is sometimes blue, sometimes red, dependingnon the movie. Many of the films allude to this nuclear connection, but thenbiggest one for me is in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) a film in which Godzillanbecomes a threat to humanity because it’s about to have a nuclear sized heartnattack that could wipe out most of Japan.

n

n

nWhatever the case, Godzilla is something to be feared and benhorrified by, a destructive force better left slumbering beneath the oceanndepths. When awakened, only death and destruction follows. We could say thensame about nuclear weapons can’t we? When we look at Godzilla through all this background,nit makes sense that the first Godzilla film was more of a horror film, after all, most of the time Godzilla isnsomething to be feared, not our friend, but a destroyer. Sure he later turnedninto a childish thing to say toys, but from inception Godzilla was something tonbe feared. But there’s also that duality to the character, he could be our savior as well. As you can see, if we connect the dots, we know exactly whatnGodzilla represents. Speaking of the current state of nuclear testing in thenworld, there was an attempt to get all countries to sign the ‘ComprehensivenTest Ban Treaty’ of 1996, but alas, eight countries have not signed it, so itnis not in effect yet and so nuclear testing still continues to happennthroughout the world. The most recent of these tests have been conducted bynNorth Korea. It’s kind of scary to know that some countries still considernnuclear weapons an option. So now Godzilla is not just a symbol of thenJapanese’s fear of nuclear weapons, it represents a fear we all share. It’s thenfear of madmen who are ready to press a button that can wipe us all clear fromnthe face of the planet. Good, now you know a little bit more about Godzilla, now go see that new movie and amaze your friends with your new found Godzilla knowledge! 

n

n