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Gojira versus Godzilla
Just decades after the infamous Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings that tormented the
Japanese Republic, the dying embers of nuclear horror is rekindled in a Japanese popular Kaiju
movie, Gojira. According to Biodrowski, Gojira, is the name given to a mythical beast awakened
from the deep waters by a combination of repeated nuclear tests in the Pacific and the eventual
hydrogen bomb test fallout at Bikini Atoll. The name Gojira is a derivation from the Japanese
phonetic gorira, for the English name gorilla, and the Japanese word for whale kurji. This film
is the first of the many Godzilla sequels and is arguably the most successful of its genre (Lynch).
Unfortunately, though, this original version never graced the worlds movie theaters until just
recently and instead, the American recut, Godzilla: King of the Monsters was widely circulated
(Napier 347). Most people have, however, expressed their disappointment in the edited version
after a glance at the original, with some dubbing it a complete failure.
In a nutshell, the film is about a monstrous sea creature, now turned terrestrial animal,
terrorizing 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 is dispatched from Tokyo to Odo Island, led by
paleontologist Kyohei Yamane to oversee the investigations into the residents sketchy reports
about their assailant. Dr. Yamane establishes the creature to be a monstrous radioactive creature
and insists that the animal should be studied for its unique ability to withstand nuclear radiations

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instead of being killed as was a general feeling. The story also incorporates a dramatic theme of a
budding young romance between Dr. Yamanes daughter, Emiko, and a young Navy rescuer
Ogata. Their love story is complicated by Emikos prearranged engagement to Dr. Serizawa,
Yamanes colleague. In captivating twists and turns, the monster is finally defeated by Dr.
Serizawas 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
the fear 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 protagonist reporter, Steve Martin, is a welcomed substitute for the
original films 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 much 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 by a botched nuclear test, that consumes a boat that
were 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; it is sad most of this was cut
out and a more American-palatable opening incorporated.
It is widely known that this genre of movies were intended in part as metaphors for the
nuclear horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Biodrowski). Naturally then, movies start with the
symbol of nuclear holocaust coming from outside of Japan, is afterward either defeated, killed or
returns to its source of origin. This is just the case with the original Gojira film. People are

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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 (Biodrowski) (Biodrowski)-American sentiments and giving them
American perspective.
Both movies bear a tormenting black-and-white nightmare about nuclear annihilation in a
poor quality film that many agrees, serve to exacerbate the terror and bleakness in the movies
while also obscuring the flaws in suit-mation 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, on
keener look, though, the two backgrounds are quite different. Moreover, during their
conversation en route 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 this dialogue. Steve does not
meet Dr. Serizawa his college buddy and do not even seem so touched by the eventual death of
his so called old friend in the end (Orr).
One fact is clear from both movies, they all serve their intended purposes entirely. The
Japanese version is meant to bemoan the past decades nuclear catastrophe while American

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version seeks to palette the American audiences conscience about atomic use that has become
part of their daily lives. Japanese movie also aims at addressing their moral superiority over
Americans, by destroying the oxygen destroyer, a weapon deemed far more dangerous than the
nuclear missiles (Boyer 213). For anyone seeking to watch and feel the real the first-hand
experience of Japanese helplessness in the face of the historical devastation, then I recommend
the original Gojira film.

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Works Cited

Biodrowski, Steve. Gojira (1954)/Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956) - Film and DVD
Review. 20 November 2007. Web. 16 November 2015.
Boyer, Paul. "The Dragon's Tail: Americans Face the Atomic Age (review)." Journal of Cold
War Studies (2011): 213-215.
Broderick, Mick. Hibakusha Cinema: Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the Nuclear Image in Japanese
Films. New York: Kegan Paul International, 1996. Print.
Kerner, Aaron. "Gojira vs. Godzilla." Faux Proposal (n.d.): 1-9. pdf.
Lynch, Robert. Godzilla, King of the Monsters! . 1 May 2014. IDMb. 16 November 2015.
Napier, Susan. "Panic Sites: The Japanese Imagination of Disaster from Godzilla to Akira." The
Journal of Japanese Studies (1993): 327-351. Print.
Orr, Christopher. Why You Should Watch the (Actual) Original Godzilla. 22 MAY 2014. The
Atlantic. 16 November 2015.
Tsutsui, William. Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2004.
Umayam, Lovely. Gojira vs. Godzilla: Two nuclear narratives in one monster. 10 Nonember
2014. Medium Corporation. 16 November 2015.
White, Hayden. Figural Realism: Studies in the Mimesis Effect. Baltimore: John Hopkins
University Press, 1999.

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