Wilson Wei Sing Lau
5101454
Professor Meredith Gill
CSCL 3461
December 16, 2014 The movie "Gojira" in 1954 reflects monstrosity in the history of mid 20 century. The appearance of the dinosaur age animal in Japan bring different perspective view through psychoanalysis to different groups of people. This film also read as a national allegory for Japanese, war trauma and the revenge of nature. In the movie of Gojira, Japan was thrown into a panic state after several cases of fishing and military boat reported missing mysteriously. Military officials suspected the missing might due to sea mine or underwater volcanic activity. Somewhere near the ships were sink, named Odo Island, villagers reported the appearance of a 164 foot tall monster.
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Based on Oxford dictionary, the word "monstrosity" is define as ugly; extremely and dauntingly large. Gojira in the movie is approximately 164 foot fall, his ultimate size and ugliness scare people in the sense that it is a dangerous animal. His high pitch roar and destructive power add the monstrosity level in him. Beckerman explained that Gojira is a mashed up Japanese words, kujira (whale) and gorira (gorilla). The combination of the size of whale and the power of King Kong made him the king of the monsters. (Beckerman 1) "Stark, brutal and genuinely beautiful," says August Ragone, author of the biography Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters. "He helped create a dramatic visual impact that is still impressive today." (Colton 1). The feeling of scariness toward Gojira is something unfamiliar or mysterious. In the movie Gojira, its unfamiliar behavior and unpredictable movement bring scariness to people around the world. Even with the help of military forces, it unstoppable destructive power put Tokyo into the city of …show more content…
In reality, this movie actually brings a lot of meaning to the world. The movie is far more deeper than what we think of it. It actually brings the message of nuclear weapon and the power of mother nature that cannot be defeated. It remind us, how fragile human being are when comes to the power of mother nature as Gojira can easily clear off the city even defense by military forces. It also tell us about the benefits and dangerous of using science, as it can produce a weapon that seek the revenge of mother nature, in the other hand destroy harm bring to us. This movie cover everything from warnings about the dangers of nuclear war to environmental devastation it may cause to
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a monster is described as “part animal and part human”, “ferocious”, “ugly”, and “frightening”. Yet at the same time, a monster can be “amazing” and “extraordinary” . From these characteristics alone, a monster can essentially be anything. In the literal sense, a monster is perceived to be large and physically grotesque, however inner qualities of monstrosity can be easily masked, and are therefore often overlooked. Three 19th century novels, Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes: The Sign of Four, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reveal both physical and mental qualities of monstrosity through the characters and demonstrate how these qualities relate to one another.
I have many perspectives of the movie. Though, the feeling that often returns is fear. I loved the movie because it is was very inspirational, but I felt fear because this was what our world was a long time ago and it still is now. I felt that the movie was describing reality.
Frankenstein Constructed Response What is a monstrosity? A freak? A monster? Monstrosity is defined as something that is exceptionally large and is considered unsightly.
Japanese forces are closing in on American soldiers. There was word that reinforcements are on the way for the Americans on the island. The rumor was started by the Navy and Marine corps to keep the soldiers fighting, which was a dumb idea because the troops on the island were greatly outnumbered 151 to 3000. The American soldiers fought the Japanese for over 150 days, the reinforcements never came and the americans were captured. This rumor went down as one of the biggest lies in american history.
As the monster Gojira came lumbering over the buildings of Tokyo on the big screen in 1954, director Ishiro Honda saw his dream of seeing a film focused on the devastation of nuclear weapons play out. Although, his film could not clearly be about the devastation, his symbolism of the monster as the atomic bomb was clear to all Japanese, even if it was not clear to foreigners viewing the film. The film, Gojira, and its many reiterations over the years, is a result of the atomic attacks that took place almost a decade previous, the following occupation and continued use of nuclear weapons by the United States, the lingering anxieties had towards these nuclear weapons and the censorship that encased Japan after the United States occupation. As
Godzilla Godzilla’s appearance has changed gradually over the years, but its general shape and iconic figure. Godzilla was actually inspired by the Rhedosaurus which is a fictional being created by Ray Harryhausen from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Godzilla’s design was interpreted as an amphibious reptile. Godzilla is a bipedal creature in which Akira Watanabe combined aspects of the T-Rex, Iguanodon, Stegosaurus, and alligator. Godzilla’s specific origins vary, but the common theme is that it was awakened from the sea and empowered by nuclear radiation.
While watching this film you may find yourself experiencing some of the same emotions as the characters in the film this allows you to be in the movie letting you be a part of an important event in our history. This is what makes the film so unique. Its full of different scenarios that keep you wondering what is going to happen next. I think that this film is a very close representation of what WWII was really like.
Because people were frightened of his appearance, no one gave him a chance. “Although his imagination brings sympathy within his grasp, the monster’s hideous body consistently precludes sympathetic experience” (Britton). This meaning that the monster had a realistic imagination of just wanting a companion and to be accepted, but his ugly physical appearance stopped him from allowing to him to do so. The creature, on many accounts tried to approach different people and get them to accept him, but was denied. Some of these failed attempts were horrific and even abusive.
What is a monster? The word "monster" causes one to imagine a hideous, deformed or nonhuman creature that appears in horror movies and novels and terrifies everyone in its path. More importantly, however, the creature described generally behaves monstrously, doing things which harm society and acting with little consideration for the feelings and safety of others. "Thus, it is the behavior which primarily defines a monster, rather than its physical appearance"(Levine 13).
The film gave great insight on what it was like living through the Japanese internment. Personal stories from Lise Yasui allowed me to envision how her family’s life was and I could only imagine how they felt. The film focused on her family’s struggle to become citizens of the United States. I’m sure every family had their own story, but based on the history I could say that they were not much different. What her grandfather Masuo went through defiantly helped personalize the Japanese internment. He ended up committing suicide after he was put through so much. Lise was able to interweave her personal history with the history of Japanese internment by showing clips of homes being destroyed.
movie had some flaws, it did closely represent the feelings of the era that was depicted. This paper intends to analyze and give
When analyzed online many of the definitions you will find for the word monster include: a strange or horrible imaginary creature, one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior, or an animal of strange and/or terrifying shape. (Merriam Webster) When observing the “Monster Theory” by Jeffrey Cohen and the 7 theses that he provides in this text, one can begin to somewhat disagree with these formal definitions and attempt to say that it has an even greater meaning. Monsters might scare us and frighten us because of their physical appearances but also can provide us with possible solutions to gaps and uncertainties in our mind that Sigmund Freud would label as “The Uncanny”. I can only but agree with
One thing that it really prompted me to think about was the effects hunger and food insecurity has on its victims. It showed me how only a few weeks of hunger can affect a child for the rest of their life. For example Barbie’s son. Because of the hunger they endured her child has speech developmental problems. Other things that the movies prompted me to think about was how sad and grave this problem is for the people affected and America as a whole.
The movements of German Expressionism and Japanese pre-war cinema produced trends greatly influenced by its historical context. These contexts contributed to shaping their own stylistic styles captured throughout the theme, mise-en-scene, and cultural ideologies. Although these two movements occurred in fairly similar time periods, they both occurred in different parts of the world which had a fundamental role in generating key contrasts between these movements. Both occurring in pre-war periods, a striking similarity existed between the two; they both displayed the economic instabilities. Both subtly exhibited the internal anxieties that the individuals faced in the differing societies. German Expressionism had the stylistic forms that in turn captured distorted images or grotesque style to convey an abstract sense of reality throughout 1920’s. On the other hand, the Japanese pre-war cinema expressed the humanistic family by displaying their everyday struggles of the lower middle class known as the “common people” during the 1930’s. Although these movements were individually unique throughout their distinct stylistic devices and ideologies, they essentially came together during this time period to help transform the art of national cinema.
Webster’s Dictionary defines a monster as a “powerful person or thing that cannot be controlled and that causes many problems”. Mankind usually thinks of them as ugly and vile creatures. This is not always true, although in the case of the book Frankenstein, the monster has hideous characteristics, according to Victor and the monster himself. Fiends have a habit of getting classified as not having emotions, but this is not the instance with Victor’s creature. Mary Shelley identifies the monster in Frankenstein by his tendency to become angry, feel unloved, and seek revenge.