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nikto

(3,284 posts)
Thu Apr 24, 2014, 02:03 AM Apr 2014

Why Godzilla matters

While some may never be able to see past the image of those 1970s movies and cartoon show, Godzilla is in reality a literary metaphor of nearly unmatched relevancy and power in today's world. Others have written of Godzilla in literary or cultural terms, well before me.
But I think the symbol of Godzilla is an apt one for this particular era of history and its issues.

This is not about the new film coming out in a few weeks, although, if it proves a hit, that may get people talking about Godzilla, and the symbolic resonance of what he represents.

Hopefully, the film will trigger a lot of conversations beyond just the special effects and production values.

As an ideal emodiment of a particular and persistent human theme, Godzilla matters in today's world, far beyond just the action-movie excitement and box-office receipts.

The Japanese established kaiju (giant monsters) as a film genre, but real-life
kaiju are part of the Japanese DNA. Puzzled? Go check out some actual kaiju on youtube---The 3-11 tsunami at Kessenuma, or Minamisanriku, or Sendai, as an unstoppable giant monster spread it's unimaginably powerful limbs across the land, tossing trucks, ships and buildings around like Cracker-Jack toys, making a mockery of puny human barriers built for the foolish illusion of security, and ultimately laying all to waste.

But Godzilla, the king and biggest star of all the kaiju, is distinctly American-inspired, and so in essence,
a co-creation of Japan and America.

We gave Japan the nuclear connection tragically via Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and later, through Fukushima reactors #1,2,3 and 4---All built at near sea-level (against some Japanese objections at the time), as insisted upon by General Electric in the 1970s, in order to sell their reactor design without costly modification.
And this was after the recent tsunamis of 1946, 1960 and 1964!

Human folly provided the opening through which Fukushima was ripped-open, literally, by the earth's own kaiju.

America gave Japan the dark gift of radiation, and Japan fused their own ancient mythologies, their seismic heritage, and recent history together in a burst of inspiration, and gave the world Gojira (Godzilla)---The radioactive super-dragon that cannot be killed or stopped, and that humanity helped create.

The theme that Godzilla embodies, is deeply colored by the age-old issue
embodied in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein---Has humankind taken on too much power---More than our limited wisdom can handle?

This is a theme that haunts the human race more and more with each passing year.

Perhaps Godzilla is the new, and even more topically relevant,
Frankenstein, for our age.

Godzilla represents everything we fear, that we cannot control, and that can destroy us all. This includes phenomena of nature (tsunami, typhoons, earthquakes), as well as things we are partly responsible for (climate change? Pollution? Fukushima?).

The primary theme behind Godzilla as a metaphor is something many people simply avoid thinking about, but is the thing that all human beings, as citizens of Earth, NEED to be thinking about.

It is a question.

Actually, it is the question:

Will the human race survive?

Put that in your action-movie and smoke it.

For many people choosing not to look, or think, too deeply, Godzilla will continue to be merely an action-flick phenomenon,
a social event, a punch line.

But for the more philosophical among us----Those not afraid to look
at The Big Picture of human life on earth, even via a piece of popular mass-entertainment,
Godzilla matters.

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http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-keywords=godzilla
90 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why Godzilla matters (Original Post) nikto Apr 2014 OP
2 points, one serious and one silly intaglio Apr 2014 #1
Trailer and extended look JHB Apr 2014 #3
Viva Godzuki! AceAcme May 2014 #76
There is no Godzuki sakabatou May 2014 #85
Another source Berlin Expat Apr 2014 #2
The human race can not survive RobertEarl Apr 2014 #4
Thats one way to look at it... TampaAnimusVortex May 2014 #83
It won't be everything falling apart RobertEarl May 2014 #88
I read somewhere that the monster will be covered in scars from radiation burns. Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2014 #5
As a Japanese American I grew up with yuiyoshida Apr 2014 #6
I'm curious----What is the translation? nikto Apr 2014 #15
it means... yuiyoshida Apr 2014 #18
What's wrong with the Original Godzilla with Raymond Burr? Exposethefrauds Apr 2014 #20
Because... yuiyoshida Apr 2014 #21
OK I will check it out thanks. Exposethefrauds Apr 2014 #23
Bryan Cranston > Raymond Burr NT Adrahil Apr 2014 #57
I also PasadenaTrudy Apr 2014 #24
Gamera is a favorite of mine,too gort Apr 2014 #31
That's great! PasadenaTrudy Apr 2014 #33
This plain American mutt LWolf Apr 2014 #47
When 'War of the Gargantuas' first appeared in the States... randome Apr 2014 #50
My trainer LOVED the Gargatuans sakabatou May 2014 #86
One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies... AsahinaKimi Apr 2014 #7
Son Goku ka Half-Century Man Apr 2014 #26
Well said! randome Apr 2014 #8
I'm not familiar with Japanese mythology... Wounded Bear Apr 2014 #9
Many here talk about "woo". The scientific method requires controlled circumstances BUT KittyWampus Apr 2014 #10
That's not woo. Orrex Apr 2014 #32
wat NuclearDem Apr 2014 #45
+1. Or perhaps +wat. nt Codeine Apr 2014 #54
There's seems to be so many things in the world that are out-of-control... nikto Apr 2014 #11
Will humankind survive the next century? nikto Apr 2014 #12
Heh. 2naSalit Apr 2014 #51
History shows again and again Fumesucker Apr 2014 #13
That looks like Gozer the Destructor nikto Apr 2014 #14
It's Rush Limbaugh Dirty Socialist Apr 2014 #22
Limbaugh qualifies as deadly kaiju nikto Apr 2014 #30
I rewrote that song for Mexican food. It's called Tortilla. L0oniX Apr 2014 #39
Ill put my money on Gojira! LostOne4Ever Apr 2014 #44
Oh no, there goes Tokyo. NuclearDem Apr 2014 #46
Quite the pleasurable and informative read. Thanks! nt adirondacker Apr 2014 #16
I am looking forward to seeing it opening night. ProudToBeBlueInRhody Apr 2014 #17
Can't wait to see it! n/t PasadenaTrudy Apr 2014 #25
I am spectacularly geeked-up about this newest iteration... truebrit71 Apr 2014 #55
Here's a pertinent article... nikto Apr 2014 #19
the '54 movie was both noir and taboo: until the Occupation ended you couldn't even mention MisterP Apr 2014 #27
Indeed Godzilla matters. AllenVanAllen Apr 2014 #28
And the Nuclear Arm$ Race Goe$ On... nikto Apr 2014 #29
This is why I love DU. JaneyVee Apr 2014 #34
Godzilla is an image right out of Spiritus Mundi nikto Apr 2014 #35
I find this song to be appropriately ethereal and suited for these themes... nikto Apr 2014 #36
"I am he that was made by you. I have become the destroyer of your world..." nikto Apr 2014 #37
Gojira, the original Japanese film is one of the most influential films Bluenorthwest Apr 2014 #38
So... PasadenaTrudy Apr 2014 #40
Godzilla & Fukushima -- A Natural Pair nikto Apr 2014 #41
Will they ever do a Godzilla movie where it doesn't keep changing scale? The Second Stone Apr 2014 #42
This one is CGI so odds are there will be consistency. randome Apr 2014 #49
Godzilla movies that lack realism bother me jberryhill Apr 2014 #53
You clearly get it. The Second Stone Apr 2014 #58
Awesome post LostOne4Ever Apr 2014 #43
King Ghidora had so much potential... nikto Apr 2014 #60
They're making another? LWolf Apr 2014 #48
Excellent OP. Feral Child Apr 2014 #52
if Forkboy was still here he'd love this thread... dionysus Apr 2014 #56
Loved the old Godzilla movies too. Godzilla, King Kong and other monsters are modern day Titans Larkspur Apr 2014 #59
I'd include the biggest banks among the godzillas of the world nikto Apr 2014 #61
G images nikto May 2014 #62
He looks like he has a chicken beak rudolph the red May 2014 #63
Japanese fans complain local-hero Godzilla too fat Bosonic May 2014 #64
Godzilla and American Presidents and politics over the years... nikto May 2014 #65
I don't think I can watch a Godzilla movie Skittles May 2014 #66
That's odd, I don't remember having a roomate in the 80s nikto May 2014 #67
DUzy! Rhiannon12866 May 2014 #68
SCHEDULING BOTH OF YOU FOR ASS KICKINGS Skittles May 2014 #69
If you had been majoring in Kaiju and taking a class on "Godzilla"... nikto May 2014 #70
What would we do IF... nikto May 2014 #71
This message was self-deleted by its author nikto May 2014 #72
Godzilla crushes all at the box office, and there WILL be a sequel nikto May 2014 #73
That's too bad.... ProudToBeBlueInRhody May 2014 #82
New monsters, new problems sakabatou May 2014 #87
Interesting video riffs on G nikto May 2014 #74
I think it should be pointed out that the 1946 tsunami Art_from_Ark May 2014 #75
They were only prepared for Baragon... nikto May 2014 #79
That's it, in a nutshell Art_from_Ark May 2014 #80
I'm sure the point was to make a visual deeply metaphorical endeavor as opposed to mega-millions. WinkyDink May 2014 #77
All movies are made to earn a profit nikto May 2014 #81
Why Godzilla matters allan01 May 2014 #78
NSA Godzilla nikto May 2014 #84
Most fairy tales mimic the human condition and our sufrommich May 2014 #89
True, and as such, Godzilla is a state-of-the-art archetype nikto May 2014 #90

intaglio

(8,170 posts)
1. 2 points, one serious and one silly
Thu Apr 24, 2014, 04:05 AM
Apr 2014

First please link to the film trailers or the website

Second as long as there is no Godzuki I'm happy

Berlin Expat

(946 posts)
2. Another source
Thu Apr 24, 2014, 04:15 AM
Apr 2014

of American-inspired backstory to Gojira was the Castle Bravo nuclear test of March 1, 1954, which yielded a far larger explosion than expected..... if I recall correctly, in the 15 megaton range, whereas a six megaton blast was what had been anticipated. The unfortunate crew of a tuna fishing boat, the 'Lucky Dragon #5', was exposed to fallout from the Castle Bravo test, and one of them died as a result with the rest - along with a good many others - suffering from radiation sickness as a result. This real-life tragedy inspired the opening scene of the original Gojira in which the crew of the fictional fishing boat 'Eiko Maru' is obliterated in Godzilla's first attack.

I'm looking forward to this new film; the director has said that in this version, the kaiju Godzilla will be a "force of nature". Certainly, it has a top-notch cast including Ken Watanabe, Juilette Binoche, Bryan Cranston and Akira Takarada - who also appeared in the original 1954 film.

 

RobertEarl

(13,685 posts)
4. The human race can not survive
Thu Apr 24, 2014, 04:47 AM
Apr 2014

The pace of the race we are running is not sustainable.

It will run out of cheap energy in time. Probably soon. That end of cheap energy coupled with the pollution, altered seashores and possible nuclear weapon responses to rising land and resource grabs, will knock us off our pedestal and leave us crawling. The race will be over, the dog will have eaten the dog, the rats will have won.

The survivors will be the new cavemen and women who will begin anew the race our society has been running for going on a thousand years now.
Probably with an altered genome which in evolutionary history will denote an end of one race of humans and the progression of another new race of homo E.

And that's being optimystic (sic) and hopeful.

TampaAnimusVortex

(785 posts)
83. Thats one way to look at it...
Wed May 21, 2014, 10:35 PM
May 2014

Or... the price of renewable energy continues to fall along its current path, overtaking petrofuels over the next decade, thanks to advances in nanotechnology. I suggest you start with this book.

http://www.abundancethebook.com/

People have been predicting the end of the world since it started. It's a lot easier to imagine everything falling apart then it is to imagine inventions that haven't been imagined or invented yet.

 

RobertEarl

(13,685 posts)
88. It won't be everything falling apart
Sun May 25, 2014, 12:52 PM
May 2014

True, on Sept. 11, a couple of buildings did appear to just 'Fall Apart'.

It will cease because our Godzilla tears it apart.

At the core of our Godzilla is technology. Einstein had something to say about what would happen to humans using tech combined with our continued mindset of war and inequality. It wasn't good.

Could not those jets flying into the towers be considered a modern Godzilla? The jets were modern tech used to create 'apartness'.

Ok, done pushing this envelope, i will close with this: Making sure our great and powerful tech resides only in the hands of honest caring people is how this society can be continuous.

yuiyoshida

(41,736 posts)
6. As a Japanese American I grew up with
Thu Apr 24, 2014, 06:04 AM
Apr 2014

Kaiju from Mothra to Rodan. I loved Gamera but there will only ever be one king of the monsters, and I don't mean the Raymond Burr version. I was lucky to be surrounded by Japanese culture in my house including Gojira toys...One of the first phrases I learned was..



Maa nante koto nanda!! Gojira itte imasu!!!

まあ なんて こと 何だ!! 五十ら 行って います!!!

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
15. I'm curious----What is the translation?
Sat Apr 26, 2014, 12:26 AM
Apr 2014

For:

Maa nante koto nanda!! Gojira itte imasu!!!

まあ なんて こと 何だ!! 五十ら 行って います!!!


??

 

Exposethefrauds

(531 posts)
20. What's wrong with the Original Godzilla with Raymond Burr?
Sat Apr 26, 2014, 06:53 AM
Apr 2014

It is the only one I really liked of the Godzilla movies the others were OK but IMHO not as good as the original.

yuiyoshida

(41,736 posts)
21. Because...
Sat Apr 26, 2014, 08:33 AM
Apr 2014

Raymond Burr wasn't in the original Gojira. He made many of his scenes in Hollywood and they sliced him into the story, removing quite a bit of the original movie, and it was called GODZILLA: King of the Monsters. IF you want to see the original GODZILLA as it was meant to be viewed, get GOJIRA and watch it. You will be amazed...how MUCH YOU missed.




gort

(687 posts)
31. Gamera is a favorite of mine,too
Sun Apr 27, 2014, 03:50 AM
Apr 2014

It has my all time favorite dubbed line of dialog ever:

Kid, "Gamera not bad, he just misunderstood!"

LWolf

(46,179 posts)
47. This plain American mutt
Tue Apr 29, 2014, 08:53 AM
Apr 2014

grew up watching those movies, and I have a strange affection for the toy-like monsters and structures, and the English voice overs that don't fit the movement of the characters' mouths. While I saw them all, and saw Godzilla over and over, the one that hits the top of my favorites list is "War of the Gargantuas." You know: brown good, green bad, battling it out. The brown one actually reminded me a bit of Lurch, lol. I especially liked the energetic shoulder action when they were challenging each other. I actually, when I was about ten, had a nightmare about the green one hunting me, and trying to hide underground where he couldn't find me.



 

randome

(34,845 posts)
50. When 'War of the Gargantuas' first appeared in the States...
Tue Apr 29, 2014, 09:03 AM
Apr 2014

...it was paired with, I believe, Monster Zero. A double feature. Those awful movies are etched in my childhood, too.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Everything is a satellite to some other thing.[/center][/font][hr]

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
8. Well said!
Thu Apr 24, 2014, 06:45 AM
Apr 2014

One of the things that amazes me about Godzilla is that the first move occurred a mere nine years after the bombs were dropped on Japan.

That first movie seemed as much of a cultural 'apology' for WWII but also the warning to all Mankind you mention.

Plus it was simply awesome for Japan to piece together the fire-breathing dragons of their mythology with the terrifying future of science.

I grew up with Godzilla movies, too. During an obsessive-compulsive phase, I would list all the monsters, their heights, lengths, wing-spans. Write my own stories. And, before videotape, I recorded some of the movies then transcribed them to paper.

My daughters picked up my fascination with Godzilla and the 1990s Gamera films. We're looking forward to the new movie.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Aspire to inspire.[/center][/font][hr]

Wounded Bear

(58,362 posts)
9. I'm not familiar with Japanese mythology...
Thu Apr 24, 2014, 07:11 AM
Apr 2014

but you could actually push the metaphor much farther back in European mythology to Daedelus and Icarus. Science, like religion, must be tempered with reason and discretion.

 

KittyWampus

(55,894 posts)
10. Many here talk about "woo". The scientific method requires controlled circumstances BUT
Thu Apr 24, 2014, 07:20 AM
Apr 2014

Nature/Reality always has an element of chaos.

Outside the laboratory, there are always unexpected consequences.

Science has its own form of "woo".

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
11. There's seems to be so many things in the world that are out-of-control...
Thu Apr 24, 2014, 08:17 PM
Apr 2014

Last edited Sun Apr 27, 2014, 03:42 AM - Edit history (4)

Climate chaos, Fracking, Fukushima, mutations, drones and ultra-high-tech warfare,
GMO "Franken-foods", evolution of super-bacteria,
China's extreme air-pollution, The HAARP Machine and fears of the US MIC,
extinctions and mass-deaths of certain animal species (frogs, urchins, etc), pollution of the seas, contrails paranoia,
NSA super-surveillance, a worldwide banking and financial machine that is running amok, etc etc etc etc


The movie may end up striking striking a chord on a world-wide level (if it's well done,
which, judging by the talent involved, it appears likely to be.)

To live on Earth today, you have to have doubts and insecurities, unless you are uncommonly
pampered or sheltered, a la Koch Bros or Jamie Dimon.

Anyone with a brain and a conscience must eventually arrive at the question:

Is the human race up against a deadly, unstoppable "Godzilla", partly of its own creation?

Will Humankind survive the next 50-100 years?

To be honest, it doesn't look all that great, IMO.
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http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/what_evolution_teaches_us_about_humanitys_grim_future_20140424

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
14. That looks like Gozer the Destructor
Sat Apr 26, 2014, 12:24 AM
Apr 2014

I thought he got liquified in Ghost-Busters.

Must be his son?

 

L0oniX

(31,493 posts)
39. I rewrote that song for Mexican food. It's called Tortilla.
Mon Apr 28, 2014, 09:58 AM
Apr 2014

With some lettus and rice and beef inside ...eat Mexican food again and again ...Tortilla

ProudToBeBlueInRhody

(16,399 posts)
17. I am looking forward to seeing it opening night.
Sat Apr 26, 2014, 02:14 AM
Apr 2014

I'm sure certain DU snobs will trash it if it makes a lot of money and bemoan the stupidity of the public for seeing it, but whatever.

 

truebrit71

(20,805 posts)
55. I am spectacularly geeked-up about this newest iteration...
Tue Apr 29, 2014, 10:13 AM
Apr 2014

...I was never a real fan of the dreadfully amateurish movies of my youth, but with modern CGI and a pretty decent-looking cast this has the makings of an epic popcorn-chewer...

Cannot wait!

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
19. Here's a pertinent article...
Sat Apr 26, 2014, 06:27 AM
Apr 2014

"Earth: Game Over?
We're in the middle of a sixth mass extinction, and this will be the first one—and possibly
the last—we will witness as human beings
.
"

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/24

MisterP

(23,730 posts)
27. the '54 movie was both noir and taboo: until the Occupation ended you couldn't even mention
Sat Apr 26, 2014, 04:08 PM
Apr 2014

fallout; it's not even a metaphor for the utter devastation of 1944-5, but

imperialist nations always imagine themselves victimized by some upstart who doesn't play fair--there was even a whole genre where many Britons basically mentally masturbated to their own ruin, but these invasion stories utterly evaporated once millions were actually injured or killed in industrialized warfare at the Somme and Mons--888000 for Britain alone

those countries that haven't seen their home soil torn up maintain the old fin-de-siecle sentimentalism: their invasion tales remain unrooted from reality, a way to experience one's victimhood beforehand and thus build up righteous anger against the designated enemy; the compassion remains for oneself alone--a fetishized victimhood one can wallow in, like in "Red Nightmare" where podunk county courthouses are surrounded by Soviet sandbags and machine-gun nests; PG Wodehouse got rapped for "Dixie Chicking" something they saw as Deadly Serious--the moment when the Fritzes Finally Would storm East Anglia, drag off our screaming women and line us up against the wall OMG OMG

to us, "Barefoot Gen" and the original "Godzilla" are a type of fantasy, in the same vein as "2012" or "Man of Steel": a "disaster movie" or a "superhero movie" (and indeed the Godzilla movies quickly slid into that); save for OKC and 9-11 Americans haven't really had to pick up dozens of 8-year-olds in knickerbockers and throw them onto a pile for burning or bury infants covered in third-degree burns in the ashes of what used to be a whole city; we can still make believe those we bomb all had it coming, or that it was doing them a favor--but deep inside we know we're lying, as the Lost Generation and then the post-Korea wave of Vonneguts and Hellers and Walter Millers show

and Japan's got a long legacy of mind-bending sea monsters

AllenVanAllen

(3,134 posts)
28. Indeed Godzilla matters.
Sat Apr 26, 2014, 11:40 PM
Apr 2014

Our knowledge has dangerously surpassed our wisdom and nature will soon show all of mankind our true place.


I've always loved Godzilla. He was my all time favorite childhood hero. I saw a an interesting take on him recently in some fan fiction written from Godzilla's point of view. Here's a great quote from it.



This is the Godzilla movie I've waited for my entire life. I can't wait!!!!

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
29. And the Nuclear Arm$ Race Goe$ On...
Sun Apr 27, 2014, 03:37 AM
Apr 2014

"The tiny Marshall Islands is dragging the United States and eight other nuclear-armed countries to the UN’s highest court for failing to halt the nuclear arms race and rid the world of atomic weapons."


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/25/tiny-marshall-islands-to-sue-u-s-over-nuclear-bomb-testing/

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
35. Godzilla is an image right out of Spiritus Mundi
Mon Apr 28, 2014, 01:53 AM
Apr 2014
spiritus mundi ---- "Spirit of the world" ---- From "The Second Coming" (poem) by William Butler Yeats. Refers to Yeats' belief that each human mind is linked to a single vast intelligence, and that this intelligence causes certain universal symbols to appear in individual minds. The idea is similar to Carl Jung's concept of the collective unconscious.

Godzilla is a universal symbol with roots deep in the collective imagination of humankind,
and, via contemporary media, has achieved status as
a modern internationally-recognized mythological archetype on a Joseph Campbell/Carl Jung level.



 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
36. I find this song to be appropriately ethereal and suited for these themes...
Mon Apr 28, 2014, 05:17 AM
Apr 2014
Waiting For A Million Years
by Missing Persons

When will there be forgiveness
Are there enough reasons
I do believe it's possible
We can find peace between us

In the real world all the numbers have no names
Real world--notice how the faces change

I've been waiting for a million years
All the promises and all the tears
Patiently waiting as the days go by
Still looking for the truth but finding lies

What will bring light to our eyes
When will we hear the laughter
Can we build hope on promises
Here on the edge of after

I've been waiting, still waiting
I've been waiting, still waiting
I've been waiting, still waiting
I've been waiting for a million years
================================================================

 

Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)
38. Gojira, the original Japanese film is one of the most influential films
Mon Apr 28, 2014, 09:31 AM
Apr 2014

of all time. One of the all time great movies. A harbinger, a gateway, a progenitor.

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
49. This one is CGI so odds are there will be consistency.
Tue Apr 29, 2014, 09:00 AM
Apr 2014

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Everything is a satellite to some other thing.[/center][/font][hr]

 

The Second Stone

(2,900 posts)
58. You clearly get it.
Tue Apr 29, 2014, 12:08 PM
Apr 2014

One minute Godzilla's face is looking in a commuter train window, the next he is towering over a skyscraper. Decide how big it is damnit! Stick with it! Tell your model makers and prop guys how big it is.

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
60. King Ghidora had so much potential...
Wed Apr 30, 2014, 04:36 AM
Apr 2014

When he was comin' up, the scouts raved...

3 heads;Bigger than Godzilla;Interstellar flying ability;Powerful electrical discharges.

Never won The Big One, never beat the big guy.

Sort of, the Darryl Strawberry of Kaiju.




He coulda' been a contenda'.

LWolf

(46,179 posts)
48. They're making another?
Tue Apr 29, 2014, 08:54 AM
Apr 2014

You can tell how much attention I pay to the movie industry, lol. I DO see a few movies during the summer when I'm not working too many hours every week. Usually with my teen-aged grandson; it's hard these days to find movies that we BOTH have an interest in. I'll keep this one in mind.

 

Larkspur

(12,804 posts)
59. Loved the old Godzilla movies too. Godzilla, King Kong and other monsters are modern day Titans
Tue Apr 29, 2014, 12:08 PM
Apr 2014

wrecking ruin upon civilization but they are not doing it out of spite or even out of psychopathic urges. They’re doing it because they are just following their nature, even if it was modified by human design, and they are so massive that they don't notice us puny humans. To them, we are like ants.

While, I know that Godzilla represents nuclear power and its unpredictable and destructive power, you don't need nuclear power to destroy our planet. Fossil fuel consumption is literally damaging our planet at a faster and more massive rate today than nuclear power.

The real Godzillas in our midst today are the mufti-national oil companies, like Exxon Mobil, BP, and Shell. Their vision of the future is to maximize their profit margins even if that means burning our biosphere to the ground. That narcissistic view isn't much different than the primitive reptilian intelligence displayed by the rampaging Godzilla.

The fact that these behemoth oil companies won't spend even a sliver of their billions in profits in researching new ways to improve cleaning up oil spills that poison our water and land and finding new ways to extract or reduce carbon pollution from our atmosphere is equivalent to Godzilla wrecking havoc and ruin as he strolls through a major city and nation.

One of the morals of the Godzilla movies, is that even if our elites unintentionally create Godzilla, the monster affects us all. Climate change will imperil all of us and all living creatures who share our world. Godzilla, a creature originally from a primitive world, is a reflection of our primitiveness and our hubris, which leads us to think that we can plunder and pollute our world with impunity.

The way to defeat Godzilla is to cut off its food supply. First, recognize the monster within us and make life changes accordingly. While we do that, network with each other to find ways to make our government restrain the unbridled avarice of behemoth companies, like Exxon, and their giant financial backers on Wall Street.

Monsters have been defeated before. Our ancestors passed the Sherman Anti-trust Act, the Glass-Steagall Act, the income and estate taxes, the Clean Air Act and other safety regulations to defeat or restrain past Godzillas. We can do it again. Like Excalibur was to King Arthur, some of those tools our ancestors created are still with us, waiting to be used.

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
61. I'd include the biggest banks among the godzillas of the world
Wed Apr 30, 2014, 04:41 AM
Apr 2014

Talk about crushing the little guy underfoot.

Bosonic

(3,746 posts)
64. Japanese fans complain local-hero Godzilla too fat
Fri May 2, 2014, 03:40 AM
May 2014
Japanese fans complain local-hero Godzilla too fat

Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese fans of Godzilla say the newly-unveiled monster, set to star in a Hollywood reboot of the post-war classic, is too fat and has been "super-sized" by a country used to large portions.

The latest version of the giant amphibian will hit 3D screens in the United States on May 16 and in Japan two months later as the fire-breathing Japanese lizard marks its 60th anniversary this year.

Trailers for the film and promotional stills have begun circulating, as marketers look to build excitement, but Japanese fans said their hero was a little chubby.

"Only the silhouette of the new Godzilla had been seen before," said Fumihiko Abe. "When I finally saw it, I was a bit taken aback". "It's fat from the neck downwards and massive at the bottom," said the 51-year-old, who said he has seen every Godzilla movie ever made.

http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-fans-complain-local-hero-godzilla-too-fat-070236058.html;_ylt=A0SO81yASWNTmhoAl21LBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTE1a3AwMmJ1BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA01TWVVLMDRfNzc-

Skittles

(152,918 posts)
66. I don't think I can watch a Godzilla movie
Thu May 8, 2014, 04:58 AM
May 2014

back in the early 80's I lived with a guy and when he was stoned, which was often, he liked to watch the broadcast Godzilla movies with the sound off and he supplied all the sound effects....and I mean ALL of them......the monster, the screaming people.......gawd

Skittles

(152,918 posts)
69. SCHEDULING BOTH OF YOU FOR ASS KICKINGS
Thu May 8, 2014, 01:40 PM
May 2014

see what happened was, I was taking college classes, trying to study and the noise from the movie would bother me - so he would helpfully offer to turn the sound down, but then he would...............aw f***, the memories........the trauma

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
70. If you had been majoring in Kaiju and taking a class on "Godzilla"...
Fri May 9, 2014, 02:08 AM
May 2014

It would have been a great help.


The choice of major here is a key.



Response to nikto (Original post)

ProudToBeBlueInRhody

(16,399 posts)
82. That's too bad....
Wed May 21, 2014, 08:27 PM
May 2014

I was excited for the film, but there wasn't much of a story there. Godzilla was cool and all, but I don't see what a sequel could consist of.

Art_from_Ark

(27,247 posts)
75. I think it should be pointed out that the 1946 tsunami
Tue May 20, 2014, 04:51 AM
May 2014

affected mainly the Shikoku/Kii Peninsula area, hundreds of miles away from Fukushima Dai-ichi. The 1960 tsunami, caused by the M9.0 Chile earthquake, reached up to 20 feet at Mutsu, a couple of hundred miles up the coast from Fukushima Dai-ichi, but was much lower than that in the Fukushima area. The 1964 tsunami affected Niigata, on the opposite (Sea of Japan) side from Fukushima. There really was no local precedent in historical times for anything near the 65-foot wall of water that hit Tomioka, just south of the reactors, on March 11, 2011.

 

WinkyDink

(51,311 posts)
77. I'm sure the point was to make a visual deeply metaphorical endeavor as opposed to mega-millions.
Tue May 20, 2014, 07:12 AM
May 2014

But that is not to say the movie is without meaning; I'm just not convinced that was the motive for a re-make of an old movie but using CGI technology and a couple currently "hot" actors.

 

nikto

(3,284 posts)
81. All movies are made to earn a profit
Wed May 21, 2014, 08:03 PM
May 2014

Including artistic films like 2001, Life Of Pi, Citizen Kane, etc etc etc



It's true, Godzilla 2014 could have been "edgier" in terms of the plot's cover-up element and the
"mastery of nature" aspects. But I think a strong thematic element is there as well,
if a person wants to think about it more deeply.

Ultimately, it's up to the viewer.

allan01

(1,950 posts)
78. Why Godzilla matters
Tue May 20, 2014, 07:29 AM
May 2014

as one poster stated , raymond burr was value added as the american public wouldnt accept a all japanese movie . too bad . loss of a lot of footage . thanks for posting
some of the " hard core " fans are a bit miffed as they were expecting a all out monster battle royal. one even complaind of the " human element ". us deeper thinkers know that in the original , godziilla wasnt shown much. godzilla was a moral story.

sufrommich

(22,871 posts)
89. Most fairy tales mimic the human condition and our
Sun May 25, 2014, 12:57 PM
May 2014

fears,they always have.Godzilla is hardly breaking new ground.

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