Gojira versus Godzilla Social Sciences Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

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Gojira versus Godzilla
If you are an ardent Box Office fan, then you probably have heard off or even watched a couple of the many Godzilla sequels out on display. What you probably do not know is that this popular genre is just another artistic creation of the Japanese cinematography. Formerly known as Gojira; a combination of the Japanese phonetic gorira (for gorilla), and Kurji, the Japanese word for whale, the film made its first debut in 1954 in Japan (Lynch). Two years later, an American recut, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, graced the theaters and was heavily circulated that most international viewers never had an opportunity to delight in the ingenuity of the original version, at least not until its first Box office premier in 2004 (Lynch). For now, most people have had a taste of the original sauce and so, there have been mixed reactions from various views, but a majority seems to be expressing their disappointment in the re-edited film, with some dubbing it ‘fake’ and a complete failure (Napier 347). This paper, thus, presents a compare-and-contrast breakdown of the same monster narrative, customized for two audiences with different nuclear experiences: the victims and the perpetrators.
In a nutshell, the film is about a mythical beast awakened by a combination of repeated nuclear tests in the Pacific, and bears allusion to the hydrogen bomb test fallout at Bikini Atoll by the U.S. military operations. The monstrous sea creature, turned terrestrial, is out to terrorize the native fishing community of Odo Island. The people are horrified by this indomitable force of destruction and are scantily fleeing in a botched attempt to escape with their lives. Meanwhile, an investigative team led by paleontologist Kyohei Yamane is dispatched from Tokyo to Odo Island to oversee the investigations into the residents’ sketchy reports about their assailant. Dr. Yamane establishes the creature to be a monstrous radioactive monster and insists that the animal should be studied for its unique ability to withstand nuclear radiations instead of being killed, as was the general intention. The story also incorporates a dramatic theme of a budding romance between Dr. Yamane’s daughter, Emiko, and a young Navy rescuer Ogata. Their love story is complicated by Emiko’s prearranged engagement to Dr. Serizawa, Yamane’s colleague. In captivating twists and turns, the monster is finally defeated by Dr. Serizawa’s secret weapon, oxygen destroyer. A weapon deemed far more dangerous than the radiation-breathing creature itself, and whose mystery Dr. Serizawa is willing to take his life for, fearing that it might get into wrong hands (Lynch).
The Americanized version of 1956 is widely appreciated for bridging the cultural and language barriers posed by the original Toho Studio version (Tsutsui 39). The voice-over by the new protagonist, American reporter Steve Martin, is a welcomed substitute for the original film’s subtitles. International audiences could now follow the processions of this awry monster as it plagues mankind on their silver screens with much ease. Though, many people still believe that a lot of good content was lost either subtly or perhaps unknowingly during the English translation, or in a dubious attempt to cut in Steve into the script (Umayam). For instance, original 1954 Gojira opens up the scenes with a botched nuclear test that consumes a boat initially determined to be in the safe zone. This scene bears allusion into the recent devastation of a Japanese fishing boat, Lucky Dragon Five, by American nuclear activities at the Pacific (White). The opening sets the mood and pace for this film; unfortunately, most of this was cut out and a more American-palatable opening was incorporated.
It is widely known that this genre of movies was in part intended as a metaphor for the nuclear horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Biodrowski). Naturally then, the movies start with the symbol of nuclear holocaust coming from outside of Japan that is afterwards defeated, killed or returns to its source of origin. This is just the case with the original Gojira film. People are relieved but not as happy at the end as the newscaster wants the audience to believe by “this is exhilaration, this is jubilation” remarks. The actual tone is near mournful with a suggestion that should the nuclear escapades continue, another monster might be awakened. The comment is also excluded from the American remix version along with other direct references to atomic bombings and nuclear deployment aftermaths (Napier 334). These moves only seem to illustrate the divergent views on nuclear weaponry and the Japan-American aggression. The American sequels are however trying so hard to neutralize the historical poignancy of these Japanese inventions by expunging anti-American sentiments and giving them American perspective CITATION Steve \l 1033 (Biodrowski, 2007).
Both movies bear a tormenting black-and-white nightmare about nuclear annihilation in a poor quality film that, as many agree, serves to exacerbate the terror and bleakness in the movies while also obscuring the flaws in motion effects (Biodrawski). Though, the original is still far darker and seamless, a contemporary fantasy of unprecedented power according to Orr (par. 3). Further, the desperate attempts to introduce the narrator and forge his relationships with the rest of the original cast has rendered some episodes in the re-edited piece surreal. For instance, a scene is introduced to show us how Steve and Emiko met and conversed at the hospital. Upon keener look, though, the two backgrounds are quite different. Moreover, during their conversation en route to Odo Island, Emiko is ever behind the cameras and not even a glimpse of her is filmed. So again, Emiko remains just some distant sound in thi...