A Return to Nuclear Allegory?

As I have poured over the Godzilla trailer and photos during the week, I can’t help but to believe that we will see our beloved kaiju king return to his roots.

Godzilla has always been a symbol of the dangers of nuclear weapons and technology (mainly the weapons part) but much of that symbolism left the character as early as, arguably, Godzilla Raids Again; the sequel to Gojira/Godzilla that was released six months after the first film’s debut. Sure, it was mentioned, throughout numerous Showa sequels (and, to a small degree, played out in some of the stories), that Godzilla was a product of nuclear weapons testing.

But it wasn’t until 1984’s Godzilla/Godzilla 1985 did the message come back in full force as a result of high tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War. During the rest of what would become the Heisei era of films, the nuclear message became a bit more prominent, but it did lose some visibility but not to the degree it did in the Showa era.

The Millennium films touched on the nuclear message as well. Some of the films more than others. The beginning of Godzilla X Megaguirus went through the history of Godzilla’s tromps through Japan in that film’s universe; most of those rampages were a result of Godzilla seeking nuclear energy.

For sake of argument, let’s say this film does return to Godzilla being a nuclear allegory; a symbol that made Gojira, and the Godzilla character, so iconic, is that message relevant today?

Relevant Today as it was 60 Years Ago?

I believe the answer is a resounding yes. Anyone who has paid attention to international, and U.S. domestic, news in the last 5 to 10 years will see just how relevant nuclear power, in general, is today.

First off, one of the more obvious news stories: Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. This particular story has been running for nearly a decade-and-a-half now with no signs of slowly down. This is, perhaps, the most prominent news story involving nuclear power.

The next story would have to be the nuclear power plant incident in Japan in the aftermath of a tsunami in early 2010. Japan is still cleaning up the aftermath in some areas, but the nuclear power plant that was front and center post tsunami, is still not under control. For several weeks, the troubled plant was front page news. Unfortunately, it no longer is despite the situation still being in an unstable situation. This event was so close to home to the Japanese that it was part of the reason why next year’s Godzilla was delayed for a while.

The next story would have to be the U.S.’s aging nuclear  power plants and the disposal of nuclear waste from those plants. I remember reading a Time magazine article about 3 or 4 years ago that discussed the issue of some of America’s nuclear power plants aging to the point of needing to be shut down in the coming years. On top of that, some of those plants were proven to be leaking nuclear waste due to their age and lack of upkeep. Not to mention the discussion of moving towards more nuclear energy as a form of alternative energy became a debate as well. To some extent, we still see that discussion today.

So, I believe there has been enough activity in the past decade to make the nuclear allegory symbolism of Godzilla extremely relevant. As we have seen in some of the pictures, and in the trailer, radiation suits are being used by the characters.

A Darker Film?

Like the relevancy of Godzilla returning to nuclear allegory, the dark tone question as to also be raised. Again, judging from photos and the trailer, the film seems to be returning to a darker, more serious, tone like the first film.

Of course, this film will never be able to totally capture the tone of Gojira, it certainly will be darker than any Godzilla film that’s been released in recent memory.

The possibility of the darker tone may bring in a wider audience as well. As I’ve stated numerous times on the PXCR podcast, Godzilla has the misfortune of being seen, by much of the American public, as a goofy, cheap, cheesy character. This film is certainly to give many pause and to also consider the Godzilla character as something worth taking seriously while also enjoying the entertainment of the goofier Godzilla.

In fact, those who have given the recent trailer highest praise are those who don’t identify themselves as Godzilla fans. This is a good sign that the film could potentially do well at the box office while building the fanbase.

A lot of signs are pointing to a return-to-the-roots route for the Godzilla character in this film. And it should not come as a surprise due to the amount of news that has taken place in recent years, the tone of many current action/adventure films, and an attempt to look at Godzilla differently in the States.

As a fan, who stated on episode 1 of PXCR, that he wanted a grittier film, this, so far, is turning out to be what I had long hoped for. Now I just have to hope that one of my fears isn’t realized: Antagonistic bug kaiju.