In trying to unravel the fabric of Creation and understand the mysteries of the universe there often times appears to be an invisible line of demarcation over humanity, as if to warn us that we can only go so far. Like the fabled sword of Damocles these discoveries loom over us with either great promise, or great threat of destruction. When the Large Hadron Collider was commissioned in Geneva, Switzerland with the ambitious hopes of discovering the long-sought after, and perhaps aptly named “God-particle”, there were concerns that the reaction could result in the creation of a super-massive black hole that could destroy the Earth.
It was hardly the first time such a possible threat lingered and in fact during the Manhattan project there had been concern that in detonating the Atomic Bomb the result could create a chain reaction that could set Earth’s atmosphere on fire. While the looming threat of nuclear war between superpower states of The United States of America and the Soviet Union did not eliminate the possibility of a burning atmosphere, the splitting of the atom still provided fertile ground in the imagination for cautionary tales. When Oppenheimer and his team split the atom there was no telling what they would wrought and as a result comic books, science fiction, and horror began to reflect this narrative.
Comic books saw defenders such as The Flash, Green Lantern, The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the X-Men who were born out of science gone wrong to varying degrees, with Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men quite literally coming about through radiation itself. The US was hardly the only country whose creatives dealt with these themes, and perhaps it stands to reason that from the country upon which the devastation of the atomic bomb, Japan, perhaps one of the greatest symbols of the atomic age would arise.
As Peter H. Brothers notes in “Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare: How the bomb Became a Beast Called Godzilla’ from a Summer 2011 issue of the film journal Cineaste,
“In 1954, while barely recovering from a devastating defeat in the Second World War and a humiliating seven-year-long American occupation, the Japanese were once again reminded of their unwilling participation in the Atomic Age, which began with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagazaki. In march of that year a Japanese tuna trawler named The Lucky Dragon No. 5 returned to port after finding itself covered in radioactive ash following the detonation of the first underwater nuclear explosion from the American “Operation Crossroads” atomic-bomb tests, which brought home to the Japanese the recurring and haunting images of the death , destruction and demoralization befalling them at the end of WWII…Inspired by the success of The Beast from 20000 Fathoms ( 1953) and influenced by King Kong ( 1933), the film that resulted is singularly Japanese. Godzilla ( Gojira) is a film less about a giant dinosaur running amuck and more about the psychological recover of a people trying to rebuild their cities, their culture, and their lives threatened by radioactive fallout.”
Part of a group collectively called “Kaiju” of which King Kong retroactively became a part of this modern-day mythical taxonomy, this creature’s name, “Gojira”, comes from a portmantua of two Japanese words meaning “Gorilla” and “Whale” that perfectly capture his semi-amphibious nature as he boasts incredible power and strength both on land and sea. It could even be argued that his English name of “Godzilla” sounds like it could mean “God-like Lizard”, thereby making this transliteration as equally awe-inspiring as that of the “King of the Tyrant Lizards” or “Tyrannosaurs Rex” , as though he were perhaps greater than any of the “terrible thunder lizards” of the prehistoric era.
As Steve Rydle notes in “Godzilla’s Footprint” from a Winter 2005 issue of the Virginia Quarterly, that looked at the cultural impact of the original Japanese film in light of the original 1954 Japanese cut of Gojira finally being screened for American audiences,
“Godzilla, that city smashing, vaguely mammalian-looking mutant reptile with the white-hot radiation breath and that trademark high-pitched roar, is a worldwide pop icon and Japan’s most internationally famous movie star. In this corner of the world, he’s considered little more than a cartoon character, a low-tech holdover from the time of atomic bug movies and drive-in theaters, a nostalgia trip or aging boomers and post-boomers who spent the Saturdays of their youth watching creature-feature programs. For any Cold- War-era kid fascinated by giants, monsters, outer space, warfare, technological wonders, the future, and the bizarre, the Godzilla movies of the sixties and seventies were the ultimate outer playground for the imagination. Sometimes it was simply a horrific monster bent on leveling Japan, like the three-headed space demon, King Ghidorah; other times, it was Earth-conquering aliens, or nuclear scientists, or mad scientists building giant robots but Godzilla could always be counted on to stem the tide of evil…Even if it was obvious the monsters were men in rubber suits, Godzilla had charm and personality that American atomic monsters (usually stiff-moving animated models or live lizards with plastic fins glued on their backs) never did. And even if the Tokyo that Godzilla trampled on was obviously a model, those epic scale destruction scenes had a pseudoreality all their own; entire city all their own; entire city blocks were leveled, yet human casualties were almost never acknowledged. Godzilla movies showed us a fantasy world were gigantic monsters were an everyday fact of life, and the struggle between good and evil routinely caused catastrophic property damage, and because the y ere uniquely Japanese, there was an alluring and mysterious quality that made Hollywood’s vintage giant monsters just plain dull in comparison.”
Godzilla’s origins very from adaption, with the 1998 movie from the makers of Independence Day had him rendering him a mere iguana mutated by the radioactive fallout, with a third act that felt slightly derivative of the first Jurassic Park film’s Raptor chase. However, in the original Japanese movie Gojira from 1954, and it’s 1956 American edit, he was a prehistoric form of marine life that fed on radiation that was awoken by the bomb, a remnant of Earth’s primordial past who served as an intermediary between the marine reptiles like the Mosasaurus and the Jurassic era theropods, like Allosaurus. For the MonsterVerse of films while Godzilla still comes from Earth’s past, he and others like him actually dwelt deep beneath earths surface in a place called Hallow Earth that was broken open by the bomb. Regardless, of how the fallout affected him, whether mutated or simply awoken, it was as though like the Dwarves in the mines of Moria from the Lord of the Rings digging for their Mithril, humankind in splitting the atom had dug to deep and awoken something that should have long been left alone.
Later films incorporate more themes of scientific responsibility including alluding to ideas of invasive species and how they can snuff out life in a non-native environment, and the importance of natural predators in an environment to keep pests under control. Newer films like Godzilla Minus One, Shin Godzilla, and the Legendary Studios MonsterVerse of films even appear to tackle topics of government response, mismanagement and cover-up in the face of a disaster, while 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters sees a once perfectly decent and reasonable person radicalized by an extremist group of terrorists after a personal tragedy. It could even be agreed that themes of nuclear proliferation abound as Godzilla tangled with countless other giant monsters, much like how the Western World had been locked in acold war as nations scrambled to build atomic weapons to keep each other at bay, and even grapple with the question of what happens when a rogue element harnesses that same technology. In Godzilla vs Kong not only sees this proliferation theme carry on into the creation of Mecha-Gdozilal to kill the kaiju, but themes of rogue AI when the machine breaks free.
Perhaps one of the greater strokes of genius that made the 1954 original film, Gojira, and it’s 1956 American edit, known as Godzilla: King of The Monsters! so impactful is just how this story is presented. While it was probably not intended by the original Japanese creators of Godzilla, like all great horror stories, it is grounded in a level or reality, and presented as a real event. Whether it was the tragic tale of Frankenstein and his monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Bram Stroker’s Dracula, or even Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, these stories were presented by their respective narrators as real events, making them far more effective to the readers. Kong may be given to audiences right up front as the next great adventure film to hit cinemas, and is touted as the 8th Wonder of the World like a circus side show, but Godzilla, on the other hand is treated as a real event, almost like this attack really happened.
As a result, other films sought to ground their work in a similar level of realism. Peter Jackson’s King Kong remake had Jack Black’s Carl Denham and Colin Hanks discuss possible actresses for his film, with one option “Fay” already being signed onto a film from RKO pictures, directed by Merian C. Cooper, implying that this is not only a real event, but with the stage show Denham puts on recreating the recovery of Kong, that the movie we’ve loved since 1933 was actually a dramatic recreation of this actual event that occurred. Later, the 2008 movie Cloverfield would draw further inspiration from the original Godzilla film and ground the story in a different kind of realism in the form of found footage recovered after the monster’s attack as we follow the frightened and imperiled people of New York City the same way we followed them through the 9/11 attacks, right down to the opening title card baring a water mark “Property of the US Military do not Duplicate.”
For the 1954 film Gojira, the opening credits directly state that the movie was made in cooperation with the Japanese Coast Guard. While in terms of practicality no movie can be made without some level of cooperation from local and municipal governments, it makes Godzilla feel all the more credible, as though this was an event observed by members of Japanese Navy in the wake of the Tokyo disaster. The 1956 American edit, takes this even further as American audiences are introduced to the story through the eyes of American reporter Steve Martin, played by Raymond Burr, acting as a voice of authority he guides viewers through this encounter as if he were an eyewitness as the movie opens not with Godzilla’s original attack on the vessels like in the Japanese original, but in the aftermath of Godzilla’s final attack on Japan. His sonorous tones lend the same air of credibility that Orson Welles had given to the infamous Halloween night broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 for the Mercury Theater of the Air.
Martin’s voice in Godzilla intones,
“This is Tokyo. Once a city of six million people. What has happened here was caused by a force which up until a few days ago was entirely beyond the scope of Man’s imagination. Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.”
Not only does Burr’s character have a voice of authority he is seen routinely consulting with experts on the phenomena in the same way that reporter Carl Phillips in the War of the Worlds spoke with esteemed scientists about the invasion, and as a result much like how listeners hearing Welles describe the Martian invasion of New Jersey in War of the Worlds believed for a moment the story they were hearing, so to do viewers of the ‘56 Godzilla movie. This is a far cry from how the news reporter Charlies Caiman is presented in the ‘98 Godzilla movie wherein his smarmy, sexist, and demeaning attitude towards researcher Audrey Timmonds would not only cause Mary Tyler Moore’s Ted Baxter to recommend he attend a seminar on workplace harassment, his stealing of her story and repacking it as his own would lead to J. Jonah Jameson from Spider-Man insisting he issue an apology for his lack of journalistic integrity before firing him.
After establishing the devastation in the ‘56 Godzilla, Martin’s narrative back tracks to the initial attack on the Japanese sailing vessels. The attacks happen suddenly, ripping the ships to pieces before they get so much as a chance to issue an SOS. Initially, like any good reporter Martin is skeptical about the claims of a monster being behind the attack, even thinking one of the fishermen has perhaps had too much alcohol. However, it’s not until he witnesses the devastation up close that he begins to learn the truth.
He travels to the Odo Island, where he watches the natives perform a ceremony attempting to appease Godzilla, creating a visual connection with Kong. While it may be perceived as a primitive superstition, to the islanders, beings like Kong and Godzilla are to be treated with respect and reverence, even if it may entail some silly pageantry to do so akin to a natural disaster like a hurricane or a volcano. Thus, throughout the movie, Godzilla is presented not as a wonder, but as a mysterious force of nature. Even his attack on Odo looks likes like a monster movie, and more like a hurricane striking the mainland. The 2014 movie even picks up on the idea of Godzilla, and other kaiju being forces of nature by having the destruction look so natural that unless an expert like Dr. Joseph Brody can actually read the charts and graphs, governments can conveniently explain it away with “science” as being either an earthquake or tsunami. Further the movie even wisely uses the devastation to obscure Godzilla and the MUTOs enshrouding them in an air of mystery. The theme of Kaiju as forces of nature is even felt in Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim franchise, that sees human piloted Jaegers or giant mechas battle these devastating monsters, not only in the title referencing the geographic location known for it’s seismic activity along the Pacific Ocean, but burrowing the category ranking system used for hurricanes to describe the strength of each kaiju, while black market dealer Hannibal Chau notes that there are some who believe the Kaiju have been sent as God’s judgment upon humanity.
Pacific Rim’s hero, ace Jeager pilot Raleigh Becket even waxes poetically about these monstrous forces of nature and the hopes of turning the tide in their favor in the film’s opening narration during such a battle,
“There are things you can’t fight, acts of God. You see a hurricane coming…you have to get out of the way. But when you’re in a Jeager, suddenly…you can fight the hurricane. You can win.
As writer Patrick Macias related to the BBC’s Michael Fitzpatrick in “Godzilla: Why Japan Loves Monster Movies” that looked at the love this great creature the Japanese people have had for 70 years,
“Godzilla has roots as a mythic personification of natural destructive forces: the earthquakes, tsunami and typhoons that have regularly struck Japan over the centuries. He’s a dragon-cum-dinosaur after all, not a human being or even a creature with recognizable emotions à la King Kong. So there’s a spark of the divine there, the ‘God’ in Godzilla, if you will; indifferent to the ant-like humans that inhabit this planet, [he] can easily become wrathful or a bringer of death.”
Then at last the creature strikes mainland Japan, breaking through power lines, smashing cars and incinerating everything in his path with his radioactive breath, and it is awesome to behold. Throughout the onslaught Burr’s Martin reports the scenes of devastation and chaos, informing Americans back home,
“Here in Tokyo, time has been turned back two million years. This is my report as it happens. The prehistoric monster the Japanese call ‘Godzilla’ has just walked out of Tokyo Bay. He’s as tall as a 30-story building.”
It is here we begin to see the imagery of the atomic bomb the creators intended. The camera pans over the scenes of devastation wrecked upon Tokyo, from demolished buildings to medics treating burn victims to doctors checking patients for radioactivity with Geiger counters, invoking the devastation on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even Dr. Serizawa’s oxygen bomb that is later used to apparently defeat Godzilla is rife with parallels, right down to his reluctance to sue the weapon, fearing what may happen should it fall into the wrong hands.
Consoles him, telling him,
“If we don’t defend ourselves from Godzilla now, what will become of us?…Then you have a responsibility no man has ever faced. You have your fear which might become reality. And you have Godzilla, which is reality.”
When Serizawa agrees he won’t deploy the weapon until he has destroyed his plans, and as a further insurance policy against its misuse stays down below the depths where the bomb is planted to detonate it, ensuring his plans die with him. However, as he destroys his plans, audiences are given a slight hint that the weapon may not be as successful as Serizawa hopes by a glane at his fish tank where he tested the device. Thus, while we may see Godzilla sink to the bottom of the sea, it may not be the end for him. Whether he regenerated in sequels or later Godzilla’s were simply other members of his species, one way or another, he always resurfaces, bigger, stronger, and better than he was before.
As Burrs’ Martin would later say in the movie Godzilla 1985 the American repackage of the Japanese movie The Return of Godzilla,
“Godzilla’s like a hurricane or a tidal wave. We must approach him as we would a force of nature. We must understand him. Deal with him. Perhaps, even, try to communicate with him. And, just for the record, 30 years ago they never found any corpse.”
Even if he didn’t regenerate, there is still the possibility that there could be others of his species. There are untold mysteries that lurk beneath the depths of the sea, and as his mythology grows, Godzilla is consistently presented as one of many through out literature and pop culture. Ray Bradbury’s elderly lighthouse keeper “McDunn” says as much the short story “the Fog Horn” regarding the prehistoric creature he’s been privileged to encounter. This story not only inspired the film Beast from 30,000 Fathoms, but the creator of Godzilla admitted that he was inspired by both King Kong and Beast in creating his new take on the legend.
Like the Beast, Godzilla was woken up by this new invention, a reminder to McDunn of the greater mysteries beneath the sea. As he tells Johnny in “The Fog Horn”,
“Oh, the sea’s full…For all our engines and so-called submarines, it’ll be ten thousand centuries before we set foot on the real bottom of the sunken lands, in the fairy kingdoms there, and know real terror. Think of it, it’s still the year 300,000 Before Christ down there. While we’ve paraded around with trumpets, they have been living beneath the sea twelve miles deep and cold in a time as old as the beard of a comet…Sitting here on the edge of ten billion years calling out to the Deeps. I’m here, I’m here, I’m here. And the Deeps do answer, yes, they do. “
However, while the Beast is awoken at the prospects of finding a mate upon hearing siren song of the Fog Horn, Godzilla is woken up to feed. The ’56 movie establishes that those of his species fed on radiation and the fall out was the equivalent of a dinner bell calling him forth. However, later films in the franchise from Toho studios and the MonsterVerse of films, would redefine Godzilla as protector and defender whose sole purpose as an apex predator is to keep nature in balance from other creatures who fed on the radiation, either way creating a feeding frenzy.
To American audiences there is something about Godzilla that is very reminiscent of the mythical dragon. Like the dragon, Godzilla is a massive beast with a tough and seemingly impenetrable hide who breaths a type of fire. His back is lined with sharp metal blades that deflect every blow that comes his way. The mightiest of armies seem to tremble at his foot-steps in the way that knights of old would against a fearsome dragon.
As Burr’s Martin reports in the 1956 Godzilla movie,
“The tanks have been wiped out by a wall of flames. Neither man nor his machines are able to stop this creature.”
Thus, Godzilla being a heroic character comes at odds to some western audience members who may tend to be more accustomed to dragons as adversaries for heroes. Further, wizards and sages in old fairy tales all but demand for the dragon to be killed, knowing full well that they can bring destruction upon a kingdom. Look no further then how one of the oldest of dragons in Western mythology, the Midgard Serpent, in Norse mythology is responsible for killing The Mighty Thor at the battle of Ragnarök.
If a dragon can even fell the god of thunder, then such a beast cannot be seen as heroic. However, as Ishiro Honda, the director of the original 1954 classic once remarked about the neutrality of giant monsters, as recorded by Justin Mullis in “Notes from the Land of Light: Observations on Religious Elements Seen in Ultraman” from the book Giant Creatures in Our World: Essays on Kaiju and American Pop Culture,
“Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy, they are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy. They do not attack people because they want to, but because of their size and strength, mankind has no other choice but to defend himself. After several stories such as this, people end up having a kind of affection for the monsters. They end up caring about them. “
Yet, because of this role into which Godzilla evolves as protector, defender, and even teacher, he transforms into a near-perfect representation of the Japanese dragon mythology of which the kaiju is a proud decedent.
As Rei Yuhara notes in “Dragons in Japanese Culture: Guardians, Protectors and Symbols of Power.” for Japanese culture website Best Japanese Guide,
“Dragons have long been revered and feared in cultures around the world, and Japanese culture is no exception. In Japanese folklore, dragons are not merely fire-breathing monsters but complex creatures with multifaceted roles and symbolism. These mythical beings are deeply ingrained in the country’s history, art, literature, and religious beliefs, reflecting a rich tapestry of cultural significance …In Japanese culture, dragons are not always malevolent entities; instead, they are often revered as benevolent and protective forces…(k)nown as “Tatsu” in Japanese, dragons are believed to inhabit the seas …”
As the character of Dr. Ilen Chen puts it to in the 2019 movie, Godzilla: King of the Monsters,
“Slaying dragons is a western concept. In the East they are sacred. Devine creatures who brought wisdom, strength… even… redemption.”
As Michael Fitzpatrick notes in “Godzilla: Why Japan loves Monster movies” for BBC Culture,
“So where Western audiences sometimes see camp, B-movie destruction, those in-the-know experience something more profound. One can even read Godzilla as a contemporary take on the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita, that emphasizes atonement and selfless service. The giant lizard and a stable of fellow outlandish terrors mirror the Indian god Vishnu when he takes on his multi-armed form and says: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” All to persuade the hero-prince of the Indian epic that he should “do his duty”.
To that end, Godzilla’s transformation from monster to hero makes him akin to the Japanese “Ronin”, a failed samurai wandering feudal Japan seeking redemption not only for his sins, but purpose until he finds it. In taking on bigger and badder monsters, Godzilla appears to have found this purpose. As a result, he and others like him in the MonsterVerse of films are given the appropriate mythical name of “Titans”. To that end, if Kong becomes a simian Hercules, Rodan with his thundering wings from the skies is Zeus, Mothera: Queen of Monsters is Hera, and Godzilla rising from the depths of the sea in a maelstrom is Poseidon.
Thus, it is their duty is to restore natural balance. The ending of Godzilla: King of the Monsters proves this after Godzilla defeats King Ghidorah and commands the respect of the other Titans and upon his urging not only do these monsters use their powers to repair the damages they avoid human cities and restore this balance.
This theme of redemption and performing ones duty is even seen in the context of the original films ending, where in Dr. Serizawa detonates the oxygen Bomb in an attempt to kill Godzilla. In the 2014 Godzilla, Joe Brody’s redemption in his son’s eyes comes when his theories behind the nuclear power plant collapse are proven true. In 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters Emma’s redemption comes upon learning for herself that Alan Jonah has no intention of saving humanity, but in actually embraces such an extreme Malthusian ethics regarding humanity that even Thanos and Ebenezer Scrooge would find frightening, and as a result she chooses willingly to stay behind in the bait car, using the sound device known as the ORCA to lure Ghidorah away long enough to allow Godzilla the chance to recharge, saving her husband and daughter in the process.
The aforementioned film from 2019 even sees the atomic bomb, the very weapon that gave birth to Godzilla get a shot at redemption as it is used to revive him in the films climax. Appropriately in a call back to the original Godzilla: King of Monsters, it is Dr. Serizawa who chooses to stay behind and detonate the bomb, this time giving Godzilla life. The moment even give Godzilla some much needed humanity as Serizawa who has spent his life studying Godzilla, lovingly places a hand on his nostril and bids his old friend farewell.
As Susan J. Napier notes in “Panic Sites: the Japanese imagination of Disaster from Godzilla to Akira” that looked at how the atomic fallout of World War II influenced Japanese science fiction and fantasy in a Summer 1993 issue of The Journal of Japanese Studies, notes,
“The most universal of these conventions is that of the dangers of science, a theme as old as Frankenstein, and one that… carries on importantly in Akira. Godzilla gives this theme a nationalistic twist, however, in emphasizing that it is American science that brings for the monster. Even more significantly it is Japanese science, personified by the humane Japanese scientist whose suicide helps destroy Godzilla, that ultimately saves the world. The film can thus be seen as operating on a number of ideological levels. First, it demonizes American nuclear science in obvious reference to the atomic tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Second, it allows for the traditional happy ending…, by allowing “good” Japanese science to triumph against the evil monster. The film this offered its immediate postwar Japanese audience an experience that was both cathartic and compensatory, allowing them to rewrite or at least to reimagine their tragic wartime experiences. Godzilla tapped into more than just the Japanese nuclear allergy, however. American audiences enjoyed t as well, partly, no doubt, as a chance to work through their own nuclear -age anxiety at a level that was alien and sometimes amusing in imagery, but familiar in its narrative conventions.”
Further, as more giant monsters entered his mythology the atomic bomb metaphor for Godzilla became less about that one single bomb and more and more akin to the cold war itself and the constant stalemate that existed between world super powers. Each one boasted an array of weapons with the ability to annihilate entire cities and each one seemed willing to use them if necessary. Monarch and Apex in the MonsterVerse films take the idea of proliferation further by trying to control King Ghidorah and later Mecha-Godzilla, as well as trying to put a leash and muzzle on Godzilla or Kong, making their actions not unlike the nations in question trying to think that they can control the atom. The original 1954 movie made it very clear as Serizawa did in the Japanese cut did not believe any hands, not even his own could be trusted with his discovery.
This idea of science falling into the wrong hands is carried to even further in the 2019 movie Godzilla: King of The Monsters. In the film a once benevolent animal behaviorist, Dr. Emma Russell and her daughter, Madison, are kidnapped by a group of ultra-radical eco-terrorists, run by a former British Intelligence Officer, Alan Jonah. When her estranged husband Mark, aided by Monarch attempts to retrieve them, he and Monarch, make a heart-breaking scenery.
All this time Emma had been secretly working alongside the very organization that kidnapped her. It is revealed that her and Mark’s son, Andrew, was killed one of the millions killed in the wake of devastation left behind after the Battle of San Francisco between Godzilla and the Muto’s in the 2014 film.
Like any well-intentioned extremist she justifies her actions, telling Mark, when he expresses his skepticism and outright disgust of her actions,
“I’m saving the world…As impossible as it seems, it does. Hear me out, Mark. After we lost Andrew, I swore his death would not be in vain. That I would find an answer. A solution to why the Titans were rising. But as I dug deeper, I realized that they were here for a reason. And that despite all the years that we spent trying to stop them, we never dared to confront the truth…Humans have been the dominant species for thousands of years, and look what’s happened…Overpopulation…Pollution…War. The mass extinction we feared has already begun. And we are the cause. We are the infection. But like all living organisms, the Earth unleashed a fever to fight this infection. Its original and rightful rulers. The Titans. They are part of the Earth’s natural defense system. A way to protect the planet, to maintain its balance. But if governments are allowed to contain them, destroy them, or use them for war, the human infection will only continue to spread. And within our lifetime, our planet will perish. And so will we. Unless we restore balance.”
Monarch team member Dr. Rick Stanton voices is concern, pointing out that when the battle between these kaiju is over there will be nothing left but a dead charred world, to which Emma naively replies,
“Just like how a forest fire replenishes the soil, or how a volcano creates new land. We have seen signs that these creatures will do the same. San Francisco, Las Vegas, wherever the Titans go, life follows. Triggered by their radiation. They are the only thing that can reverse the destruction that we started. They are the only guarantee that life will carry on. But for that to happen, we must set them free. Because as difficult as this will be, I promise, humanity will not go extinct. Using the Orca, we will return to a natural order. A forgotten order where we coexisted in balance with the Titans. The first gods.”
It becomes appropriate then that Dr. Serizawa’s young student refers to him as “Sensei” the Japanese word for teacher, as ever the mentor he imparts a classical bit of conventional wisdom. Like any good expert he is ignored, but his words are always proven true, as he warns Emma
“This is a dangerous path. You are meddling with forces beyond our comprehension. Gambling with the lives of billions!”
His warnings are quickly proven right as the very creature the eco-terrorist revived wasn’t even part of this natural order. Deep within Anatrictcia lay Godzilla’s archnemesis, King Ghidorah and of the creatures on file he was the one selected by the group because of his immense power. However the Monarch research team learned to late upon studying the record of myths and legends, that King Ghidorah was not actually from Earth at all, but came from space, making him an invasive species that snuffs out all native species in an environment. Because of his extra-terrestrial nature, it allowed King Ghidorah to subjugate the Earths’ natural titans.
However, the difference between a technology and a kaiju is that a bomb can be deactivated. Godzilla cannot fully be slain, and in fact it appears that even the most powerful weapon ever devised by humankind can actually make him stronger. As Dr. Kyohei Yamane says in the original 1954 Godzilla movie,
“Godzilla absorbed massive amounts of atomic radiation and yet it still survived. What do you think could kill it?
This seen is even recreated in the 2023 TV series Monarch that filed the gaps between the MonsterVerse of movies and even made some deep cut references to the original 1954 Godzilla. We see the US military conduct a test of a Hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, hoping it could kill the creature. Initially it appears successful and the military top brass passes cigars and liquor to celebrate while the scientist seemed shocked and sadden as they fear they have just witnessed the destruction of a major scientific discovery. Then all of a sudden they see Godzilla along the surface of the water, his sharp spikes cutting like a knife. Then when he breaches the depths we see he is bigger, stronger, and he has attained his iconic atomic blast.
Thus what Dr. Serizawa tells the Senate Sub Committee regarding the possibility of making Godzilla humanity’s pet being impossible is true. Godzilla cannot be controlled any more than Kong can be a side show spectacle. Each beast is a force unto his own will. The military and governments of the world may try to lay claim to them or used advanced sonar technology to emits signals to work alongside them, but it is an illusion of control at best. Somehow, this creature of the deep will break free to do the work he is meant to do.
Thus to call him a force of nature of biblical proportions would be an understatement. The MonsterVerse of films go so far as to include characters whose surnames appear to invoke such larger then life stories and legends of humans against surviving against great beasts Mason Weaver’s last name in Kong: Skull Island appears to reference actress Sigourney Weaver from Aliens, while the 2014 Godzilla movie saw a Ford Brody’s name appears to be referencing Sheriff Martin Brody from Jaws, two stories that feature ordinary individuals with their backs against the wall doing everything they can to survive against a relentless natural force, be it Xenomorphs or Sharks, while Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire introduces hero “Trapper” whose rugged stubble, emotional vulnerability, childlike tendencies, and classic “dad-rock” needle drops appear to reference Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy, an ordinary human taken into an alien world. Even the villain of 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters is given biblical resonance in the name of “Jonah” not only due to his time living inside the belly of a great leviathan of the deep, but, more to the point, his complete willingness to see his enemies destroyed at all cost, even if it meant disobeying God.
Meanwhile Godzilla’s iconic visage in these films as he slices through the waves, immediately calls to mind the passages in the Bible from the 41st chapter of the book of Job, verses 1-9,12-21 and 31-34 about the Leviathan, which run parallel with those of the Behemoth, saying,
“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook? Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words? Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life? Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?…Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering. No one is fierce enough to rouse it… “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form. Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor? Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth? Its back has[c] rows of shields tightly sealed together; each is so close to the next that no air can pass between. They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted. Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth… It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair. Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear.It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud”
While some scholars may try to debate where the verse in question is alluding to extinct animals like mosasaurus, or more familiar animals like orcas, crocodiles, that is not the point of the passage. God is asking Job to consider this magnificent beast and reminding him that there are some things he cannot fully control. The recent films themselves have been rife with this level of apocalyptic imagery and language, from King Ghidorah being referred to as a “dragon that fell from the Heavens” akin to the devil in the book of Revelation, to Ghidorah’s ally, a brainwashed fire demon named Rodan battling Mothra who is bathed in heavenly light like an angel. Looking at these creatures one can only see something beyond the control of human science and reasoning.
It is perhaps part of the reason why we love watching King Kong and Godzilla light up the big screen together. Whether they are adversaries or allies, the appeal of both creatures lies in the reminder that there are some things beyond our control. Thus, whenever stupid humans try in vain to lock them up, cage them, or blow them up, they will always find a way to not only break free but create copious wreak havoc. Humanity is hoisted upon its own petard and reminded about its pale in the universe, as city’s are destroyed, mountains leveled and the course of might rivers is changed.
Then, more than anything, we want to watch them duck it out for supremacy and who is in fact bigger and stronger: the immovable object of Kong or the unrelenting force of nature that is Godzilla. Take for a moment all the themes of science and nature, the allegory of the atomic bomb, or the classical archetypal symbolism of two titanic beasts battling it over for supremacy that you think you know regarding these two great movie beasts and consign it to the furthest reaches of your mind, perhaps the same place where your high school locker combination or your ex-girlfriends phone number reside. More than any other characters in cinema, when you see the names “King Kong” and “Godzilla” on the theater marquee you know you are going to get exactly what you pay for as you watch two iconic titans light up the big screen and put stupid humans in their place by creating massive amounts of pottery damage. Those stupid humans? They are just toe jam beneath the feet of these two magnificent cinematic icons, with some seemingly only existing to prove Darwin’s Theories of Natural Selection.
When King Kong and Godzilla hit the big screen, you are going to get fun time at the movies, watching two genuine titans dominate the big screen and challenge any pretenders to the throne, and putting the stupid humans who thought they could exploit them in their place.
Thus, we find ourselves saying with Dr. Serizawa in the 2014 film when asked by a general if he really believes that Godzilla is the best bet against the Mutos attacking the west coast,
“The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around. Let them fight.”
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PHOTO CREDIT:
1954. Toho Co. LTD.
2004. Toho Pictures/CP International/Zazou Productions/Napalm Films/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
2014. Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. Entertainment.
DISCLAIMER:
This blog is not authorized, endorsed, approved, or affiliated with any individuals or entities involved in the creation of King Kong, Godzilla or any other related characters. The views and opinions in this blog strictly reflect those of the author and do not reflect the views or ownership of RKO Pictures, WingNut Films, Universal Studios, Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment, The Toho Company, LTD., and Jewell Enterprises.
Jonathon D. Svendsen 