Essay: That time Godzilla Critiqued Humanism in 1984 · 5:21am Aug 17th, 2020
Return of Godzilla/Godzilla 1984 is, to me, the most anti-humanist film of the franchise with only the original to rival it. Now this isn't me being some edgy-sot and discrediting other darker or series entries. I actually rather like Shin Godzilla but the ending to that one, while cautionary, could be argued as leaning to optimism and humanism with victory over Godzilla. So why would I suppose 1984 is more anti-humanist even if Godzilla is also beaten at the end? Especially if it lacks the tragic sacrifice of the original?
Well for me it's less the ending (but I will get back to that), and more the relationship between mankind, technology, and their impacts. Namely in the 1984 film, every single case of great human invention and achievement utterly fails to make things better in the long run and arguably just makes things worse.
First off, the Soviet Submarine and the progression of technology in the Cold War in general. Nuclear armed and powered submarines are a true marvel of technology and are something very decidedly unique to the post 1954 world. After all 1954 was the year the USS Nautilus, the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine, was launched and it retired in 1980. In essence they are as much a technology of the Cold War as biplanes were of WW1. And what does the Soviet submarine do?... Offer itself to Godzilla as a light snack and exacerbate the entire issue to the risk World War 3 almost happens with the USA and USSR chomping at the bit for a fight with Japan caught in the middle.
Next up, the Soviet Missile Satellite and US counter rocket. Truly a piece of engineering in the Cold War era, that with a push of a button missiles carrying such destructive payloads as to make Nagasaki and Hiroshima look like firecrackers can be sent across continents and even launched from space. Both Superpowers try to force the chance to show off such deadly force against Godzilla, confident it can destroy him. The nightmarish beast that leveled Tokyo in 1954 can be slain with but a push of a button, hi-tech computer systems allowing for the entire complexity of targeting to be done automatically. Such convenience!... Only for it all to utterly fail and make things worse. First the Soviet launch's computer automation nearly gets the main cast killed when an accident makes it go off on its own. Then the American attempt to stop it results in a radioactive storm that promptly revives and probably re-charges Godzilla.
Next one could say the Tokyo skyline itself. Japan's economy since the 70s was booming and prosperity for the 80s was still going strong, continuing to do so until the 1990s. The skyline has swelled up in size, with the Sunshine 60 building towering over all as the tallest building in Japan at the time with a rise of almost 240 meters. The busy economic ports, high end railways and raised trains, massive office buildings, and more all as symbols of a healthy Japanese economy. And by the end of the movie, a very noticeable chunk of it is all leveled.
And finally, the Super X itself. If this was a humanist movie, this would have killed Godzilla. After all observe the musical cue-
How triumphant and energetic at first! It's shiny, soars through the sky, and is set up in a clear David vs. Goliath battle in which everyone would root for the former. Truly this is our knight come to slay the dragon! And it seems to at first. Only for the mechanations of humanity's other aforementioned achievements to bite them in the ass pretty hard. Notice how the music gradually turns grim and ponderous? As if questioning if the machine is really up to snuff.
Well at 1:40 the music swells back up to the triumphant Super-X melody and you wanna know what exact moment this plays in? It plays when the Super-X is triumphantly!-... Flying away from an enraged Godzilla who is chasing it and causing more damage to Tokyo now than he ever was before, as the Super-X ineffectually tries to keep fighting now that it's gimmick isn't usable anymore. It's almost like a satire of a triumph at this point. And it all ends with the Super-X crushed underneath a building that looks suspiciously like the Sunshine 60 (I don't believe it is as city layout doesn't match up, but similarity nonetheless). Godzilla literally just killed Japan's champion with the fruits of their own prosperity.
Which brings me to the ending. While yes, the sonic device does bring about Godzilla's capture inside Mount Mihara and controlled explosions do seal him in; it's not quite a triumph. It wasn't a big collaboration of many lending aid like Shin Godzilla nor was it a genius device that slays the monster like in 1954. It's a pretty simple lure trap that doesn't kill Godzilla, but can just be hoped to keep him pinned down. In the end, it takes another force of nature, Mount Mihara itself, to keep Godzilla at bay. And sure enough, due to humanity's meddling over petty things like greed towards technological development, it didn't hold him for too long.
Humanism is, at its core when taken to the extreme, the ambition that humanity is the best their is and we can overcome any problem by ourselves. We don't need forces of nature nor gods to help us, for we can control nature and make the gods bleed. The Return of Godzilla takes that concept and crushes it like it did the Super-X. And this seems to be a conscious decision on Tomoyuki Tanaka and Shuichi Nagahara. Earlier versions of the film, from the 1970s rewrites of Bride of Godzilla, to 1978's Godzilla, King of the Monsters, to the two forms of Resurrection of Godzilla all had a much more overly "Science saves the day!" ending. While none of them killed Godzilla, it was very decidedly a scientific device that defeated him outright with no outside help and the number of fantastical weapons (be it real like nuclear powered arsenals or the Super-X) were either absent or used a much different way.
Y'know, I never thought about it that way, but you make a compelling case. I'll have to watch RoG again soon.
And some people say that the Godzilla movies are just goofy monster movies.
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https://archive.org/details/Godzilla1985RedMenace
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Huh... fascinating essay. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Well said.
I never thought of it that way...
Godzilla 1984 is definitely a hallmark of the franchise. With the ending of the family-friendly Godzilla of the 60's & 70's, he was returned to his foundation as a menacing and uncompromising force of nature. Which ultimately, is where his greatest strength as a character lies.
I would recommend the Japanese version of the film to anyone, not least because of the extra scenes cut from the American version, which depict the international politics of the 'nuke Godzilla' proposition with more nuance and gravity. Though, much like the dichotomy of the American and Japanese version of '54, one could view the American cut as existing from a new perspective in the same course of events.
with Humanism broadly defined-
I think, as Tarb touched on, is that the existence and actions of Godzilla serve to humble the ego of Man, and give him the living avatar of a force beyond his control or capacity.
To quote the character Steve Martin: "Nature has a way sometimes of reminding Man of just how small he is. She occasionally throws up terrible offspring's of our pride and carelessness to remind us of how puny we really are in the face of a tornado, an earthquake, or a Godzilla. The reckless ambitions of Man are often dwarfed by their dangerous consequences. For now, Godzilla - that strangely innocent and tragic monster - has gone to earth. Whether he returns or not, or is never again seen by human eyes, the things he has taught us remain.