Godzilla (or
Gojira, ゴジラ) refers to a series
of
kaiju (strange beast or
monster), or more specifically
daikaiju (giant monster), films made
in
Japan. Godzilla is believed to
have originally been intended by
Toho to represent the United
States of America (being superior in
its destructive capability) and took
the form of a radioactive
prehistoric reptile. Given that his
origin (in the 1954 film) was the
ocean, Godzilla can be considered
not just a
monster, but a
sea monster. Godzilla died at
the end of the original
1954 film. Subsequent fims in
the series retconned the first movie
by assuming that Godzilla wasn't
killed, and that the body of the
monster was never found.
The series was revamped in 1985
with "Godzilla 1985"; this movie was
created as a direct sequel to the
1954 film, and ignores the
continuity of the previous sequels.
Known as the
Heisei series (for the ruling
emperor of the time), the continuity
ended in 1995's Godzilla vs.
Destroyah after a run of seven
films. The reason for the continuity
shift was based on a realization
that the marketing of the movies had
removed the reason it was so loved.
When it was discovered that Godzilla
was popular with children, sequels
were toned down in obvious screen
violence, and Godzilla was made out
to be a good guy instead of an
indestructible abomination of the
mistakes of Man. Characters such as
"son of Godzilla" (a dimunitive
chubby replica who blew smoke rings)
were introduced. However, the
further Godzilla was taken away from
his roots, the less popular he
became. Hence, Godzilla 1985
brought the series back to form.
Godzilla was originally an
allegory for the effects of the
atomic bomb, and the unintended
consequences that such weapons might
have on our world.
Films have been made over the
last 5 decades, each reflecting the
social and political climate in
Japan. All but 1 of the 26 films
were produced by Toho, a version was
made in 1998 and set in the
United States by the makers of
Independence Day (ID4) and
is widely despised by most Godzilla
fans. Toho immediately followed it
with Godzilla 2000, which
began the current series of films,
known informally as the
Millennium series.
Much of Godzilla's popularity in
America can be credited with
TV broadcasts of the
Toho Studios monster movies
during the
1960s and
1970s. The American company
UPA contracted with Toho to
distribute its monster movies of the
time, and UPA continues to hold the
license today for the Godzilla
films of the 1960s and 1970s.
