Gojira (Godzilla)

As a teacher of production design, and lover of all monster movies, Godzilla is a personal all-time favorite. Not only does it feature a mutant monster and a city's destruction, but it originates a style of special effect movie magic that paves the way for imaginative cinematic minds across the world.
Anime and tokusatsu researcher, Hikawa Ryusuke, writes "The 1954 film Godzilla, with its brilliant combination of miniature sets and costumed actors, gave birth to a whole new genre, called tokusatsu (literally “special filming”). This distinctive style, pioneered by Tsuburaya Eiji, went on to become hugely influential in Japan and overseas, leading to many other memorable creations..." ("Godzilla's Analog Mayhem and the Japanese Special Effects Tradition"). In my courses in Production Arts, this film offers exciting educational opportunities to study early forms of special effects and it's influences on film-making that followed. But I'm also interested in looking at the Japanese and American versions in their use of storytelling through production design.
The original Japanese production makes an obvious and highly impacting analogy of the monster, Godzilla, to the devastation of the atomic bomb. It uses imagery that mimics the bomb's destruction of a mere decade before the premier of this film. The film uses cinematography and actors to present realism over spectacle. Using the news as an ongoing motif and shooting the film in a near documentary-like style, director Ishiro Honda creates a clever platform to criticize war and weaponry. It's a political film first and a monster film second.
In 1956, American director, Terry O. Morse releases a new edit of the Japanese film under the title "Godzilla: King of Monsters!". The spectacle becomes the primary focus of this movie, shying away from the heavy weight of historical devastation and leaning into the mutant beast attack.This, converse to Honda's film, is a monster movie first and barely a political movie at all. It's designed to entertain audiences, not to make them question. Most of the anti-nuclear themes are removed and political discourse shots are edited out.
These two productions are an interesting case study of how a film genre and cultural phenomenon can change dramatically overseas. Looking at these two films back to back could bring some really exciting discussion about cultural differences, both societal and artistic.
Additional sources for teaching material:
"Godzilla's Analog Mayhem and the Japanese Special Effects Tradition" by Hikawa Ryusuke
https://www.nippon.com/en/views/b04001/godzilla%E2%80%99s-analog-mayhem-...
"The Production Design of Godzilla (Gojira) 1954", created by Jonny Arruda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJGwaO5nqGo

Louis Christian Dangelo, Grades 7 – 12, Social Studies, Geibel Catholic Junior – Senior High School
Reflections on the original Japanese 1954 motion picture, Gojira “Godzilla”
The 1954 motion picture, Gojira “Godzilla,” presents some very interesting perspectives, especially since the country of its origin, Japan, surrendered to the allies in September, 1945, a mere nine years earlier, as the culminating result of the devastation caused by the nuclear bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In the movie, the legendary monster Godzilla appears after the destruction of numerous ships near Japan, and it is postulated that the monster may have been awakened as the result of nearby atomic and hydrogen bomb testing in the ocean. As the plot progresses, it becomes quite clear that the monster Godzilla itself is representative of nuclear devastation as it destroys cities in its path, much as did the atomic bombings of 1945. This symbolism is very poignant for the first country to have endured the nuclear devastation brought about on a large scale by the same type of bombs as those believed to have brought Godzilla into contention with the Japanese populace.
Godzilla, as a metaphor for nuclear weapons, contains the potential for the same type of devastation recalled by the Japanese people at the end of the second world war, and likewise illustrates to the viewing audience a terror which may have been much like that endured by the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a manner much more immediate and kinetic than what an audience may have endured viewing newsreels of the actual bombings of 1945.
The societal value of Godzilla the movie, and of Godzilla the monster, stems from the fact that in the time period from 1945 to 1954, both atomic weapons and a monster of the magnitude of Godzilla were both deemed as indomitable, and as forces against which no conventional weaponry could provide an adequate defense. The ultimate message of this film, therefore, is that the cessation of nuclear weapons technology would remedy the existence of both the monster of Godzilla and the monster of impending nuclear terror. This theme is as popular in today’s world as in that of the immediate post-World War Two era, especially with the nuclear missile specter looming with the sabre rattling of North Korea in our current time.
I believe firmly that the anti-nuclear message is clearly discernible in this film, and as a value structure clearly embedded in the art form of cinema, this motion picture provides fertile ground for instruction in the social studies and/or cinema classroom(s). There are many aspects of human sentiment presented in both the cognitive and affective domains. I firmly recommend this film as a classroom resource to that end.

The Original Gojira (Godzilla) is an exercise in restraint. Most monster films go for the throat and unleash the monster early to excite and entertain, but that is not the point of Gojira. Gojira is primarily an allegorical tale that extends its themes far beyond the schlocky kaiju horror films with which it typically gets categorized. This monster movie is about the greatest monsters on Earth: us.
Following a strongly and now obviously Shinto philosophy, Gojira is about respecting the nature that gives us food, resources, and takes all of our abuse. The film's introduction is filled with scenes of nuclear detonations and (not-so-subtle) references to the horrors of Hirsoshima and Nagasaki. This mistreatment of nature goes against the Shinto ideals of kami. These nuclear explosions awaken the titular creature and he attacks a coastal town during a storm. Godzilla's first appearance is misconstrued as a horrible act of nature by many of the film's characters, except for a crazed scientist named Dr. Serizawa. He believes that Godzilla is a byproduct of man's attempts to pervert and control nature and he develops an equally destructive weapon to fight the monster, a chemical that can kill nearly anything by depriving it of oxygen.
Godzilla's path of destruction leads him to Tokyo and other coastal areas, until Dr. Serizawa decides to use the horrible scientific creation he had brought into the world. He throws himself into the chemical along with the instructions concerning how to create it after the military uses the compound to kill Godzilla.
Godzilla's underlying themes are quite overt, as environmentalist and traditional Shinto beliefs collide in an allegory that can be used to teach students about Japanese history and philosophy through film. The anti-nuclear sentiment obviously stems from the effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings that happened just 9 years before the release of this film. The message, though, is less political and more moral. We shouldn't create unnatural weapons that kill large numbers of people. The nukes brought on Godzilla, who is the Earth's protector. After some quick reading, it turns out Godzilla's appearance is even a reference to these events. His rough and scarred visage is inspired by the radiation burn scars many bombing survivor bore for the rest of their lives. This sentiment is also shown in Dr. Serizawa's attitude towards his own chemical creation. He believes that man should not have or use it. This is why he finds it necessary to end his life after he uses it.
I feel that the themes are universal enough to use quite effectively in a classroom setting. The violence is less than most cartoons in this day and age, and it is very crowd-pleasing when Godzilla shows up to destroy everything. The easy connections to Shinto philosophy and how it influences Japanese media are also an interesting use for a classic film that remains quite entertaining today.
The only slight that I can bring against this film is that the pacing is not going to easily capture the attention of today's youth. Once they get into it, it is quite enjoyable, but I do find there are stretches of runtime that could be boring for students that are used to overstimulation.
Four Stars!