Godzilla
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| Godzilla | |
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| Alias: | Gojira King of the Monsters Gigantis, the Fire Monster Monster Zero-One |
| First appearance: | Godzilla (1954) |
| Latest appearance: | Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) |
| Height: | 50[1]-100[2]meters (164-328 feet) |
| Weight: | 20,000[1] - 60,000[2] tons |
| Created by: | Tomoyuki Tanaka |
| Portrayed by: | Shōwa Series: Haruo Nakajima[3][4] Katsumi Tezuka[3][4] Yū Sekida[3][4] Ryosaku Takasugi[4] Seiji Onaka Shinji Takagi Isao Zushi Toru Kawai Heisei Series: Kenpachiro Satsuma Millennium Series: Tsutomu Kitagawa Mizuho Yoshida |
Godzilla (ゴジラ Gojira) is a kaijū, a fictional Japanese giant monster. His first film was made in 1954, and since then, he has made many more appearances, and has even become a pop-culture icon. In total, Godzilla has appeared in 28 films, all of which were produced by Toho Company Ltd. Godzilla has also appeared in numerous comic books, video games, and novels.
In 1998, TriStar Pictures produced a remake set in New York City, starring Matthew Broderick; the film's name was simply Godzilla. Despite negative reviews and negative Godzilla fan reaction, the film was a financial success, taking in nearly $380 million worldwide and spawned an animated television series called Godzilla: The Series.
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[edit] Etymology
[edit] Name
Gojira (ゴジラ ) is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ lit. "gorilla"), and kujira (鯨 (くじら) lit. "whale"), which is fitting because in one planning stage, Godzilla was described as "a cross between a gorilla and a whale",[5] alluding to his size, power and aquatic origin. A popular story is that "Gojira" was actually the nickname of a hulking stagehand at Toho Studio.[6] The story has not been verified, however, because in the 50 years since the film's original release, no one claiming to be the employee has ever stepped forward and no photographs have ever surfaced.
Godzilla's name was spelled in kanji as (呉爾羅), but for sound only. [7]
There is disagreement as to how the monster's name should be pronounced. Purists use the Japanese pronunciation [godʲʑira] 
listen (help·info), but most favor the Anglicized rendering of its name, [gɑd'zɪlə] (with the first syllable pronounced like the word "god", and the rest rhyming with the last two syllables of "gorilla"). When Godzilla was created (and Japanese-to-English transliteration was less familiar), it is likely that the kana representing the second syllable was misinterpreted as [dzi]; in the Hepburn romanization system, Godzilla's name would have been rendered as "Gojira."
[edit] Appearances
Godzilla is the primary character of all of the Godzilla films, though there are numerous different incarnations of the monster. The silver screen is not the only place Godzilla has appeared; there have been literary sources that have expanded the universe of Godzilla. The Godzilla universe, and the character itself have also starred in comic books, manga, Japanese television and two cartoons.
[edit] Films
[edit] Showa series
The Showa-era Godzilla films were the first of the film series. In total, there are 15 Showa-era films, making them amount to over half the total Godzilla movies currently in existence.
The first film was simply titled Godzilla. In this movie, Godzilla was portrayed as a terrible and destructive monster. Following the success of Godzilla, Toho started filming a sequel. In this sequel film, a second Godzilla was set up to fight another giant monster, named Anguirus. This second film started a trend for Godzilla movies, where Godzilla would fight other giant monsters. In this film as well, Godzilla was portrayed as a villain. This portrayal would continue for two more movies. In his fifth movie, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla took the role of a hero. From that point onto the end of the Showa series, Godzilla stayed a hero, protecting Japan against attacks from other monsters, aliens, etc. At one point, Godzilla even adopted a son, Minilla, in Son of Godzilla, who would make appearances in later Showa-era films.
The Showa-era movies played on a lot of fears and interests of people during the time period in which they were made. For instance, Godzilla was a movie designed to warn people about the use and testing of nuclear weapons. Likewise, Godzilla vs. Hedorah was designed to carry a message about the dangers of pollution. As space exploration and the Space Age were extremely popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of Godzilla's movies revolved around Godzilla fighting alien monsters, or involved an alien invasion in some shape or form. For instance, in the movie Destroy All Monsters, an alien race had managed to take control of all of Earth's monsters, who were eventually freed from their control, and destroyed the aliens who had put them under control.
[edit] Heisei series
The Heisei-era Godzilla films were the second of the film series. In total, there 7 Heisei-era films, making them amount to one fourth the total Godzilla movies in existence.
The Heisei-era films differed drastically from the Showa-era films in a variety of ways. The most prominent difference is that Godzilla's outfit was changed to look much more intimidating than previous suits. Another significant difference is that Toho did away with Godzilla being the hero of the films. While occasionally Godzilla would take the role of Anti-hero, he was still consistently portrayed as hazardous to humanity throughout the films. What else changed was that the series was given an overall plotline. Each movie happened in some sort of sequence, and generally referenced previous movies to further the plot of the series.
As in the Showa era, the first Godzilla movie of the Heisei era, The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla was the only monster to make an appearance. All proceeding Heisei-era movies would have Godzilla fight other giant monsters. Like the Showa series, Godzilla adopted a son, Baby Godzilla, as his own child. In the final Heisei-era movie, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, it is shown that Godzilla dies, and his adoptive son matures and becomes just like Godzilla was.
In much the same way that the Showa-era played on fears and interests of people during the time period of production, Heisei-era Godzilla films made some attempts at making statements on popular topics for their time period. One good example would be Godzilla vs. Biollante made explicit warnings against research involving genetic engineering. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah touched very lightly on the subject of communism, implying a negative view on it, and introduced a time-travel plot. Other themes in the movies included commenting on research into hazardous material and environmental statements.
[edit] Millennium Series
The Millennium Series, Also called the Shinsei-era series, of Godzilla films are the third and currently final of the film series. There are 6 of these films, making them slightly under a fourth the total of the series.
The Millenium Series attempts to bring Godzilla a little bit back to his roots by eliminating a few of the things that the Heisei-era films had done. The most notable of these changes are, with one exception, the lack of any real continuity in the movies. Godzilla is, however, still a hazard in the Millennium series, and is always destructive force who will occasionally act as the anti-hero.
The Millennium series, like the Heisei and Showa era films played a little bit on the interests and fears of people, although the themes were much less emphasized in the films. One such instance is in Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, where the monster Megaguirus is created from an artificially-created black hole, touching on popular science-fiction plots.
[edit] Television
In Japan, Godzilla was a frequent guest star on the tokusatsu series Zone Fighter. In it, Godzilla occasionally fought alongside the protagonist against other monsters, including Gigan and King Ghidorah, two monsters who had previously appeared in Godzilla films.
Godzilla made his American series debut in the 1978 Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning show Godzilla. In this series, Godzilla had a nephew, Godzooky. In addition to his trademark atomic breath, which simply changed to fire in the cartoon, he was given the power to shoot laser beams out of his eyes. Godzilla could be summoned by his human friends, sea-explorers on the ship USS Calico, with a signaling device or by the cry of Godzooky. The series ran until 1981.
A second series, based on the 1998 US remake of Godzilla, aired on Fox Kids. The series featured a baby Godzilla which had grown to full size. Godzilla traveled around the world with a group of humans called H.E.A.T, including scientist Nick Tatopoulos, battling monsters. Godzilla had the abilities and physical forms of his parent, but the creators of the show gave him more powers and an attitude more resembling the original Japanese Godzilla.
[edit] Literature
Godzilla has been featured in comic books, most often in American productions (from Marvel Comics in the mid-1970s, and from Dark Horse Comics in the 1980s and 1990s). Japanese Godzilla manga comics are also available.
The Marvel series told original stories and attempted to fit into the official Toho continuity, while avoiding direct references to it. It integrated Godzilla into the Marvel Universe. It was published from 1977 to 1979, fitting between the Showa Period movies and the Heisei Era. This series described the adventures and confrontations of Godzilla in the United States.
The general plots of the series were similar to those of the Showa Period movies. However, other than Godzilla, all characters were new creations, albeit in familiar roles. Likewise, the JSDF are absent, but S.H.I.E.L.D. fills its role in the story.
[edit] Design
Godzilla's character has changed over time. To date, there have been several distinctive versions of the monster. Its iconic design is composed of various species of dinosaurs: he has the body structure of a Tyrannosaurus, the dorsal plates of a Stegosaurus, and the arms of an Iguanodon.
[edit] Characteristics
Godzilla's appearance has changed over the years, but many of his characteristics have remained constant. His roar has remained the same, only changing in pitch, as has his approximate appearance: a giant, mutant dinosaur with rough, bumpy charcoal gray scales, a long powerful tail, and jagged, bone colored dorsal fins.
Although his origins vary somewhat from film to film, he is always described as a prehistoric dinosaur, who first appeared and attacked Japan at the beginning of the Atomic Age. In particular, mutation due to atomic radiation is presented as an explanation for his size and powers.
Godzilla has abilities granted to him as a result of his irradiation and subsequent mutation. The most notable of Godzilla's resulting abilities is a powerful nuclear heat ray that he is able to fire from his mouth. In most movies, he is shown to have an incredible healing rate that surpasses anything else alive. Depending on the movie, Godzilla also shows various kinds of techniques he uses with nuclear power.
Godzilla has many powerful physical attributes as well. He is significantly strong and dexterous, attributes which allow him to use martial arts techniques in combat. He is an adept swimmer, and can remain submerged for indefinite periods of time. He is also shown to be able to lift objects much heavier than he is. Some movies show Godzilla with unique physical powers that only appear occasionally as well.
Despite all of Godzilla's strengths, he was shown to have a few weaknesses as well. In The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla was shown to be vulnerable to cadmium. A fictitious bacteria, called Anti-Nuclear Bacteria, was created in Godzilla vs. Biollante, had proven an effective weapon on Godzilla. Godzilla is also revealed to have a second brain in his spine, much like many dinosaurs, and, if destroyed, could paralyze him.
[edit] In popular culture
Godzilla is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an important facet of Japanese films, embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu genre. He has been considered a filmographic metaphor for the United States, as well as an allegory of nuclear weapons in general. The earlier Godzilla films, especially the original Godzilla, portrayed Godzilla as a frightening, nuclear monster. Godzilla represented the fears that many Japanese held about the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the possibility of recurrence.[8]
As the series progressed, so did Godzilla, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character as the films became geared towards children. Since then, the character has fallen somewhere in the middle, sometimes portrayed as a protector of the Earth (notably Japan) from external threats and other times as a bringer of destruction. Godzilla is also the second of only three fictional characters to have won the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, which was awarded in 1996.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Godzilla (1954)
- ^ a b Godzilla (Heisei)
- ^ a b c Takeo Murata (writer) and Ishirō Honda (writer/director). (2006). Godzilla [DVD]. Classic Media.
- ^ a b c d Al C. Ward (writer) and Ishirō Honda, Terry Morse (writers/directors). (2006). 'Godzilla, King of the Monsters!' [DVD]. Classic Media.
- ^ Steve Ryfle. Japan's Favourite Mon-Star. ECW Press, 1998. Pg.22
- ^ [1] Gojira Media. Retrieved 2006-09-23
- ^ Many Japanese books on Godzilla have referenced this, including B Media Books Special: Gojira Gahô, published by Take-Shobo in three different editions (1993, 1998 {{cite book - | year = 1998 - | title = B Media Books Special: The Godzilla Chronicles Ver. 2: The History of Toho Fantastic Movies, 1935-1998 - | location = Japan - | publisher = Take-Shobo - | id = ISBN 4-8124-0408-8 - }}, and 1999)
- ^ [2] The Monster That Morphed Into a Metaphor, By Terrence Rafferty, May 2, 2004, NYTimes
- ^ "Godzilla wins MTV's Lifetime Achievement Award". AOL.com. http://members.aol.com/reedyb/oscar/awards/mtv96.htm. Retrieved on 2008-03-29.
[edit] External links
- Official Website of Toho
- Godzilla Official Website (Japan)
- Godzilla on the web (Japan)
- Godzilla at the Internet Movie Database
- The Art of Stomping Gojira essay
- DVD review of Godzilla and Gojira
