Godzilla!

 

I have always been a fan of Godzilla. I watched the original black and white as a kid, The Showa Era movies where Gojira had that bobbing rubber suit and epic tail gliding powers like in King Kong versus Godzilla (1963) to the Heisei Era when I met Godzilla’s vixen girlfriend Biolante, my favorite villian Space Godzilla, and was traumatized as The Heisei Gojira died at the hands of Destroyah going Super Nuclear. I branched into Millennium Era, but really only saw Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla III, I sadly never saw Kaiser Ghidorah. I then enjoyed The Advent of The Monsterverse, Godzilla 2014 was the best Americano Gojira film to date, albiet I have a place in my heart for the much hated Godzilla USA with Matthew Brodrick, I love the lines, “aw he looks mad man! What should we do?”, “running would be a good idea!” I even tuned into Animated USA Godzilla series which did rather well. 

Where my Godzilla resurgence of love for The King of Monsters was with Shin Godzilla (2016) which captured of horror of having Gojira being our enemy in an almost Gigeresque way, him evolving and all that blood! Contrast this with The Christian Gospel allegory in King of Monsters (2019) with Godzilla dying and rising from the dead, even sporting Ghidorah gloating like Satan over a lingering shot of a cross on a church after Godzilla dies. Shin and King of Monsters appealed to my favorite sides of Godzy, The Demon Destroyer capable of nuking Tokyo with his atomic breath and the Savior who like Jesus fights the other bad monsters, protecting mankind. 

Toho really has outdone themselves, making their own films like Shin Godzilla and the upcoming Godzilla Minus One (2023), and letting The Monsterverse of the US continue with Godzilla v Kong II (2024) and the current Apple+ Series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters which is the best show I have seen in recent memory and not because its Godzilla, the storytelling, graphics, lore, and production value is amazing! Finally a show that is not trapped in caves and feels like it was filmed on a backyard stage! 

I tuned into the Kaiju Anime, The Godzilla Planet of Monsters Trilogy (2017) on Netflix where Godzilla takes over earth and humans with cyborgs and blond aliens like Metiphies survive on space ships and decide eventually to take earth back. Metiphies’ dark lovecraftian cult of Ghidorah was so creepy I wish Toho would make their own Shin Ghidorah movie and have Metiphies be one of aliens that brings Monster Zero to Earth!, “come forth Ghidorah! Govr us a beautiful demise!”

Godzilla Singular Point (2021) I must say is mind numbing in its scientific, metaphysical, and supernatural blend of concepts that made it disorienting, there is even some occult to be aware of. I still have yet to finish Singular Point due to the bizarre physics and spirituality. Gamera got a anime too, Gamera Rebirth (2023), but not having followed Gamera I did not put it on my list to watch.

Godzilla has always had some hodgepodge of spiritual themes. There were worshippers of the giant Moth monster Mothra on an island, two psychic twins who could speak to Mothra, themes of Mother Nature vs Man, The Titans is now a reoccurring theme in The Monsterverse, which invokes the idea of those beings who waged war against the Greek Pantheon of gods, though in The Monsterverse they are more of Nature’s Wrath against’s man’s dominion who is destroying the world with plastic and man made structures, upsetting the balance and ecosystems; which while I am not eco-radical, there are species going extinct and other species are struggling to adapt to our growing  urban and cosmopolitan world; God did tell us “subdue/put to order the Earth,” (Genesis 1:28) we were suppose to take care of creation as well as make advancements. 

Godzilla began as a parable of nuclear devastation, a way for The Japanese to articulate & express the horror of the memory of the Atom Bomb falling on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I highly recommend you read the short book by John Hershey called “Hiroshima” which tells the experience of the Atom Bomb falling on Hiroshima-Japan and the aftermath from the perspective of a Priest, a Pastor, and Doctor. It should be required reading in all high schools of the world, lest we forget the terrible devastation weapons of mass destruction cause. 

Gojira has now more morphed into a parable of climate change and how mankind’s disregard of nature  and harvesting the many needed elements of this world to the hilt will lead to apocalypse. The Kaiju or Monsters serve like angels and demons of the end of the world, that man will unleash the Titans on the world like the angels of Euphrates in Revelation, “It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.” (Revelation 9:14-15). 

I think this is the appeal of Godzilla. For kids its the monster fights, seeing new Kaiju or new designs, but for adults its the messages about apocalypse, nuclear holocaust, climate change, and will nature rebel if we keep harvesting without balance? I hear Silver has been harvested so that its gone! Silver is now rare! 

Godzilla and his Monster frenemies have staying power. He keeps stomping on the big screen and our little screens. I for one am glad he keeps fighting, like Morpheus I say, “he fights for us!” (The Matrix Revolutions). Yeah Shin Godzilla is like Wrathful Jesus in Revelation 19 judging the world and Monsterverse Godzilla is like Jesus at Golgatha and after The Empty Tomb defeating the powers of darkness. Gojira or Godzilla even means “God Incarnate” kinda solidifying the Christ allegory correlation. I say thank Toho and the US companies who are giving us a Renaissance of Godzilla! I cannot wait for Minus One and have to exercise patience for thevweekly release of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episodes on Apple TV. Am