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Podcast logo of black retro UFO on a red background with the text Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*. *Almost.

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

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

 

You can follow the podcast on Instagram and Threads although I am also trying to join in on BlueSky a bit.

 

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. The big difference compared to other 1950s sci-fi films of the time, it is told from 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

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Show notes

  • Intro is the very dramatic beginning to the original Godzilla (1954)

  • Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker born in 1910. He is considered as one of the greatest film directors of all time and has been cited as an influence and inspiration for many western film directors such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ingmar Bergman, Federici Fellini and Martin Scorsese.

  • IMDB pages for Rashomon and Seven Samurai.

  • I did not clarify that The Tokyo Story is not by Kurosawa but by Yasujirō Ozu.

  • You can learn more about the Japanese-Dutch trading history here. The 2024 TV series Shogun (that I thoroughly enjoyed) also has this relationship as part of the set up.

  • Jules Verne was a French author born in 1905. He wrote many stories including precursors to modern science fiction films. He is sometimes regarded the father or grandfather of science fiction.

  • The bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 ended the second world war with a weapon that shocked the world. You can learn more about it here. Aside from the tens of thousands that died instantly the radiation sickness killed or left long-term effects on tens of thousands of others.

  • Kaiju is a Japanese term than means ‘strange beast’ and has come to refer to many of the large monsters that include Godzilla, Mothra, Ghidorah and Gamera.

  • IMDB pages for King Kong (1933) and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). You can learn much more about the original King Kong in the podcast episode here.

  • You can learn more about the group Nihon Hidankyo  here and the details of the 2024 Nobel Peace prize here.

  • The Civil Censorship Detachment was a military intelligence unit set up by the Allied forces. The US Military required and controlled censorships reviews for publications including books, magazines and newspapers. This is an interesting overview.

  • You can learn more about Nathanial Hawthorne here.

  • The IMDB page for Godzilla: King of the Monsters!

  • The IMD page for Mothra, Mothra vs. Godzilla and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.

  • Instagram image of suitmation photo I mention.

  • Ray Harryhausen was one of the most famous special effects experts. He was born in 1920 and worked on films such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Jason and the Argonauts and the 1981 Clash of the Titans. He began working under the mentorship of Willis O’Brien  who was the man behind the stop motions effects in numerous old films including King Kong (1933).

  • Susan Sontag’s article The Imagination of disaster can be found here. (It is often references on the podcast!)

  • IMDB pages for Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One and The Mysterians.

 

 

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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