Godzilla in 1954: Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare and Sci-Fi Legacy

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

For the full show notes without character limits you can head to the website here. 

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Description
Godzilla was released in 1954 in Japan it has gone on to become one of the longest standing movie franchises and began the Kaiju film tradition. Directed by Ishiro Honda, produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka with special effects my Eiji Tsuburaya. It was inspired in part by the 1933 King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms from the year before.

A big difference compared to US 1950s sci-fi films dealing with nuclear themes is the Japanese perspective. The film wasn’t officially released in the US until 2004 but the US re-edit Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956) brought Godzilla to a global audience. My absolutely wonderful guests share their insights on this cinematic masterpiece.

The Experts
The wonderful Lisa Yaszek is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech. She has written/edited numerous books on science fiction.

Yuki Miyamoto is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Humanities Center at DePaul University. Her work focuses on the ethics around nuclear discourse.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction 
01:56 A short overview of Japanese science fiction history 
04:42 Yuki’s experience of Godzilla in Japan 
07:00 1950s sci-fi in the USA 
10:40 Japanese cultural context: Post nuclear bomb, radioactive tuna and censorship 
16:03 Scientists and flipped themes 
22:44 The scientist’s daughter, a demure rebel and the moral centre 
27:27 Japanese self-sacrifice 
29:27 Godzilla: King of the Monsters! Social critique vs entertainment 
40:16 The Legacy of Godzilla 
48:55 Recommendations for listeners 
51:25 Jean-Luc Picard’s birthday message to me

THE NEXT EPISODE!
The next film we will be covering is the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The film is available to buy and rent on many outlets and even some free with ads streaming platforms. You can check the Just Watch website to see where its available in your region. 

We will (as usual) be spending some time speaking about the sequels so it might be worth watching the 1978 version as it is considered the best version by many! I loved it but the original holds a very special place in my heart so it will not be replaced by a copy. 

The episode hasn’t been recorded yet but the plan is also to speak a little about the 1953 film Invaders from Mars that has many similar themes.

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