Godzillas Original Symbolism STILL Holds Up Today

Godzilla’s Original Symbolism STILL Holds Up Today

Nearly 70 years after Godzilla was created, the character’s original symbolism as a warning against nuclear proliferation still holds up.

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Godzillas Original Symbolism STILL Holds Up Today

Godzilla has certainly come a long way since terrorizing Tokyo in the original 1954 film Godzilla and its Americanized counterpart, 1956’s Godzilla, King of the Monsters! A gigantic, prehistoric, dinosaur-like amphibious creature powered by nuclear radiation, Godzilla began as a metaphor warning against the dangers of nuclear proliferation in the wake of World War II and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nearly seven decades later, Godzilla’s original symbolism not only continues to matter, but is worth re-centering in the franchise.

There’s no separating the 1954 Godzilla from its origins in the real-life horrors of nuclear warfare. The film’s plot is set in motion when underwater hydrogen bomb tests awaken the titular Kaiju from its slumber, prompting it to wreak havoc on the inhabitants of Odo Island. It’s soon revealed the creature leaves radioactive footprints and only grows stronger when attacked by nuclear weaponry, leaving those who survive its rampages to suffer from radiation sickness. To further emphasize the ties between the fantastical monster and the very real fear of a nuclear holocaust post-WWII, the movie’s art director, Akira Watanabe, even patterned the texture of Godzilla’s skin after the keloid scars seen on those who lived through the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima.

Godzillas Original Symbolism STILL Holds Up Today

Like so many other world-famous movie monsters, Godzilla has evolved over the decades. The creature’s transformation from villain to antihero can be traced back to 1964’s Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, a film in which Godzilla bands together with fellow Kaiju Mothra and Rodan to protect humanity from the three-headed dragon-esque creature King Ghidorah. Godzilla has since gone back and forth between being humankind’s savior and its enemy, yet continues to function as an allegory for nuclear weapons. Ken Watanabe was adamant that the character’s nuclear element be carried over before he signed on to play Dr. Ishirō Serizawa in Warner Bros.’ 2014 Godzilla reboot, citing it as an ongoing issue in the modern world.

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The MonsterVerse property launched by the 2014 Godzilla has focused on the theme of humanity being its own worst enemy almost as much as the original Godzilla did in the ’50s. At the same time, the nuclear aspect of Godzilla has taken a back seat to the pressing matter of climate change, with 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters presenting Godzilla and its fellow Kaiju, AKA Titans, as the key to restoring balance to the natural world. To the film’s credit, it touched on the issue of nuclear weapons by having Dr. Serizawa sacrifice his life to manually detonate a nuclear warhead and increase Godzilla’s power for the fight against King Ghidorah. And yet, when this led to Godzilla causing a thermonuclear explosion from its rising radiation levels, the fallout was mostly unaddressed.

King of the Monster’s climax gives the MonsterVerse a fresh excuse to bring the issue of nuclear proliferation back to the forefront with the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong. Although it appears the movie will spend a lot of time exploring what life is like in a world where humans and Titans have learned to live together, there are hints that Godzilla and King Kong’s battle will touch upon concerns about nuclear weaponry. The film will have Kong wield an anti-atomic ax and dive into the history of ancient Titan war, possibly exploring the role of nuclear power in Godzilla’s genealogical past along the way.

As much as Godzilla continues to serve as a warning against humanity’s attempts to tame nature and what can happen when they backfire, the creature is still a potent metaphor for nuclear warfare and the terrors it can inflict. There are far more nuclear weapons in the world today than there were when the King of the Monsters first stomped across the screen, so if anything, the Kaiju’s original symbolism is as unsettling now as it was in the ’50s. It’s the same reason why few entries in the Godzilla franchise have come anywhere near to recapturing the horror of the 1954 film.

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Directed by Adam Wingard and written by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein, Godzilla vs. Kong stars Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry. The film arrives in theaters and on HBO Max March 26.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/godzilla-modern-symbolism/

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