The True Notion Behind Godzilla

The 1954 classic science fiction Japanese film that that is known as “Godzilla” or “Gojira” was not only recognized as one of the biggest monster blockbuster films, but it also serves as a root of a real-life altercation that had occurred during that time.

What’s so interesting about this film aside from its history is that many of the films that see nowadays, in other words, the more modern film productions are that they’re always linking back to a previous movie from the past. They’re going to have small details or aspects that you may recognize from the early cinema era. For example, if we go back just a few years to where other science fictions films such as the 1953 “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” or the popular 1933 film that also happened to be re-released in 1952 “King Kong.” These two films were the influence for Toho Studios and of course Tomoyuki Tanaka to make this creature on his own. What’s equally important is that Tanaka didn’t want to just have this abomination alone, but to give the film a deeper meaning by using large components of history in which this creature was formed as the outcome. This part of history he used was the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

It was a settlement made by the Interim Committee to release an atomic bomb and there they set on specific locations on where they wanted to attack. Moreover, the Potsdam Proclamation was preceded by President Truman as a message to Japan. The nuclear bombs that were released on Japan in 1945 of August were the first time to have ever been used by the United States. The first attack the U.S hit was the city of Hiroshima on August 6, of 1945 with one their bombs they called the “Little Boy.” This bomb was comprised of uranium that detonated to an amount of thirteen kilotons of coercion. Before the dreadful event, Hiroshima’s population was up to 280,000-290,000 people and if you were to add the 43,000 soldiers the city would consist of 323,000-333,000 people in total. Evidence has shown that when the bomb fell upon the area 90,000 to 166,000 lives were lost throughout a four-month span alongside the impact of the explosion. The impact of the detonation was so severe that 237,000 civilians were killed instantly on direct contact while the other effects by the bomb involved radiation, illness, burns as well as cancer. Additionally, the bloodshed didn’t just stop there. Nagasaki was next on the list. August 9, 1945, just three days after the attack on Hiroshima the second bombing by the U.S had occurred. Unlike Little Boy, this nuclear bomb also known as “Fat Man,” was a destructive appliance that was made out of plutonic with a detonation of twenty-one kilotons. On the day of the bombing Nagasaki approximately had around 512.400 civilians that ranged from soldiers to prisoners of war. Seeing as though this part of Japan was the United States target, the damage of the nuclear bombs were proportionately small however the effects of it caused Nagasaki to be wary. As a result, many of the citizens of the city were able to be safely evacuated from the premises to other parts of the countryside. This tactic reduced a great number of casualties, but lives were still lost. It was estimated that 40-70,000 residents taken out directly after the bombs fell. Those whom were lucky still suffered from injuries, but near the end of 1945 the death toll was believed to arrive at 80,000.

With this important event in mind, the audience will notice within a few of the beginning scenes that multiple Japanese ships are being engulfed by the agitated sea and that’s when Godzilla finally makes an appearance, coming up from the crashing waves of the sea to wreak havoc through the streets and rural areas of japan. Similarly, the audience will understand right away that this radioactive abomination is the villainous character that merely wants destroy anything and anyone that dares to oppose him and like every happy ending, mankind gains the upper advantage towards the end obliterating the beast with a weapon that was known as the “oxygen destroyer.” At the same time, if the viewer pays close attention to the characters, they will understand that Godzilla wasn’t actually the true enemy. He was a creation — the birthing of the nuclear machinery and technology. The nuclear innovations such as the atomic bombs that evolved the world turned out to be the actual antagonist not the beast. It was the technology that sought to annihilate humanity and constitute itself as the enemy.