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Brenda Alvarado

Professor Beadle

English 115

7 November 2017

Godzilla: Sixty-Two Years of Similarities or Differences?

Godzilla, a two-million year old monster built up of radiation, made its way to the big screen

through a number of films. In the year 1954, Gojira, was released with the purpose of informing

the audience what Japan went through after World War II. Sixty- two years later, Shin Godzilla,

was released with the purpose of recreating the original film. Although both films focused on the

suffering and destruction provoked on Japan by Godzilla, they differed in many aspects. Through

the 1954 and 2016 Godzilla films, we can spot the change over the years of debut, foreign

interaction and government collaboration, technology and weapon improvement, and methods of

termination; which in turn resulted in the fear and anxieties of the population, as well as the

reconstruction of Japan.

The debut of this radiation filled monster was distinct during the 2016 film, Shin Godzilla.

The film begins with Godzilla portraying himself as leaks in a tunnel instead of an explosion in

the ocean, like the 1954 film. He made the sea water boil due to the amount of radiation that

spilled from his body. Godzilla was classified as a sixty year old monster, but came back worse

than he ever was imagined in the past. The people of Japan protested that Godzilla was God

coming to take over the world revealing their fear of not only themselves being destroyed by this

monster, but the country they call home as well. This monster stomped through the cities of

Japan, destroyed building after building with his enormous tail, and through his flaming mouth

blew the populated atmosphere into flames.

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The government is said to be the voice of the country, but sometimes they would rather keep

secrets than letting the citizens in on the news. In the 2016 film, the Japanese government kept

the population updated through technology and news reports. The entire time Godzilla was in

action, an anxiety attack was provoked to the citizens of Japan. They didnt know when he was

going to stop or what move he was going to make next. This lead them to become anxious and

devastated, causing more chaos in the streets of the city. The people of Japan were put first and

they were to be kept safe of any harm. For example, when two trains were going to crash into

Godzilla in order to make him collapse, a few citizens were spotted on the train tracks and

because of their safety and value of life, the operation was aborted.

Through the 2016 film, Shin Godzilla, foreign interaction with the United States regarding the

termination of Godzilla in Japan was introduced. The cause of Godzilla was through the U.S and

their hydrogen bomb testing in the Pacific Ocean, which later provoked a rivalry between Japan

and the United States over the use of nuclear weapons. As time went by, the United States

government realized that Godzilla was a walking threat not only to the population of Japan, but

to the population of the United States as well. They became worried that the radioactive monster

would find its way to United States territory. The Japanese government and the United States

government came together with their fears and decided to terminate Godzilla. The idea of both

governments putting aside their differences signifies the importance of teamwork and helping

others when in need. In the article, A New Godzilla Faces a More Nationalistic Japan; A

monster movie portrays Japanese officials as heroic defenders of the homeland who set aside

postwar constraints on the military, the author, Chieko Tsuneoka, states, In the current film,

public officials emerge as heroes, brave defenders of the homeland who are ready to assert

Japans strength and set aside postwar constraints on the military. This explains how the
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Japanese government did everything in their power to prevent their country from falling apart

and protected their citizens at whatever cost because they are a country of unity who value

family and friendship. The film reenacted what Japan went through after World War II, which

left Japan crushed and ruined. The people of Japan feared losing everything they had to a

monster caused by nuclear bombs. As said above, Japan has always been a country built on

family and support. The strength and support they had from the government allowed them to

rebuild and revive the Japan they love and cherish.

As years go by, things improve for the better and they become part of our day to day lives.

For example, weapons have become an enormous part of the world and are often used to get rid

of problems. Weapon involvement was a huge asset to this action filled film. In Shin Godzilla,

the sixty- two year improvement of weapons and their usage reveals an emotional change in the

nation towards the military and government. At the termination of Godzilla in this 2016 film,

distinct weapons were used to defeat him. The Japanese and United States government proposed

Operation Yashiori to abolish Godzilla. There were five phases that made up the operation and

they all involved the use of nuclear weapons. Phase one was bullet trains crashing into Godzilla.

Phase two was planes launching mini explosions onto Godzilla. Phase three was stationary

blasting causing Godzilla to become weak. Phase four was a guided blast. Phase five was a

special crane platoon used to open Godzillas mouth. After going through ever phase, nothing

seemed to work on Godzilla and they decided to abandon the operation. Moments after, they try

phase five once more and manage to blast coagulant into his mouth causing him to freeze.

Chieko Tsuneoka states, The government's response to Godzilla's attack, after plenty of legal

introspection, turns out to rely heavily on attack helicopters, battle tanks and F-2 fighters. It is a

clear indicator of a change in the national mood. This explains that the United States
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government proposed to use nuclear weapons to get rid of Godzilla because it was one of the

fastest and realistic options, even though the Japanese government went against this method of

termination. Once the destruction of Japan by the monster increased, the Japanese government

decided to risk it all in order to save the country. This reveals the anxious feeling the government

had because they were trying to prevent a worse situation from occurring. However, they came

to their senses and realized that the fear of a never-ending monster destroying their home was

something that needed to be conquered. The people of Japan were saved by the government and

its members, leading them to become the leaders and pride of Japan.

Although weapons were used, Godzilla was not killed. Instead, he was frozen causing Japan

to live and cope with the fear that one day he may melt back to life. Through, My Zombie,

Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead, Chuck Klosterman asserts, This is our

collective fear projection: all of it comes endlessly, and if we surrender we will be over

taken and absorbed (Klosterman, 42). This explains that zombies, a type of monster, are endless

and usually never go away even no matter how hard you try to make them disappear. Through

this quote, a connection is made back to the fear of Japan having to live with a never ending

monster that destroys homes, families, and culture. This also supports the actions of the

government when they stood up and defended the citizens from this destructive monster.

Klosterman encourages humans to never surrender to these monsters because we may become

consumed and defeated by them. Japan had to realize that things were far from being settled and

Godzilla was a never ending monster that could come back at any given moment. They had to

learn how to co-exist with him and keep him as a part of their lives, revealing the fear and

anxiety of having to relive the destruction again and again. .

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To counter these points, some people might say that Godzilla is the same radioactive monster

that looks and sounds familiar, as it did sixty years ago. Indeed, the monster in both films has the

same look. Godzilla stands up tall swinging his enormous scaly tail that destroyed buildings

without a stop. In both films, his roar echoes through Japan reflecting the bombs that went off

during World War II. Godzilla films were created to become a real life lesson for other countries

and what could happen with their use of nuclear weapons. In the 1954 film, Godzilla appears to

be a monster made up of radiation that focuses mainly on the destruction of various cities in

Japan, with little to no involvement of government officials. In the article, Japans Nuclear

Nightmare: How the Bomb Became a Beast Called Godzilla, Yuri Kagayema argues, Japan

faces Godzilla alone with no other country giving or offering aid. This supports the idea, in the

1954 film, of Japan having to fight Godzilla on their own without any help from the government.

Helpless, the people of Japan took matters into their own hands and trusted a scientist to destroy

Godzilla with an invention named, The Oxygen Destroyer. This invention killed Godzilla

under water harming no one above, leading to a peaceful termination. Some people might say

that the ending of Godzilla was effective in both films. However, due to the peaceful ending in

the 1954 film, the fears and anxieties of Japan are much more portrayed and focused on in the

2016 film. The people of Japan in the new film had to live with Godzilla provoking the fear of a

never ending nightmare. They had to rebuild their country knowing that the same monster could

come back and destroy it all over again. This film served as a warning to the audience by

illustrating what nuclear weapons can do to the world and also as to how a country should act

when a problem arises.

It is difficult to reenact a specific moment especially after many years have gone by. Godzilla

signified the disaster Japan went through after the devastating World War II. Through a large
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amount of films, audiences all over the world were able to get a sense of the pain experienced by

this country. A few films were able to hit home and actually depict the fears and anxieties the

people of Japan held of this monster. Both films enforce the same creature, but the 2016 film

focuses on the true feelings Japan experienced after World War II. The film, Shin Godzilla,

released in 2016 portrayed these elements through government protection, weapon usage, and a

violent operation of destruction. The true meaning of these Godzilla films was to inform other

countries of the effect nuclear weapons and bombs can have not only on the country, but the

people living in it as well. Ultimately, Shin Godzilla, did a great job at keeping that meaning

alive sixty-two years later.

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Works Cited

Anno, Hideaki, and Higuchi, Shinji. Shin Godzilla. Toho, 2016.

Honda, Ishiro. Gojira. Toho, 1954.

Kageyama, Yuri. Godzilla Comes Back to Japan, in Ways Fresh and Familiar. Asian

Reporter, 15 Aug. 2016, pp. 2, 4

Klosterman, Chuck. My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead. Monsters:

A Bedford Spotlight Reader, edited by Andrew J. Hoffman, 1st ed., Bedford/St. Martins,

2016, pp. 40-44.

Tsuneoka, Chieko. A New Godzilla Faces a More Nationalistic Japan; A Monster Movie

Portrays Japanese Officials as Heroic Defenders of the Homeland Who Set aside

Postwar Constraints on the Military. Wall Street Journal (Online), 5 Sept. 2016,

p. n/a