Long Live the King: How Godzilla Evolved Through the Cold War to Confront Modern Day Monsters

Abstract

An in-depth look at the Godzilla franchise, and how the character of Godzilla has changed throughout the years to adapt to different cultural, social, and ecological anxieties. Beginning with the series origins as an expression of trauma from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with Gojira in 1954, the 36 films and counting have touched on subjects of environmentalism, Cold War tensions, the ethics of genetic engineering, genocide denial, American imperialism, the 2011 Fukushima disaster, climate change, and more. Though most of the franchise is discussed, seven films are examined in-depth:

Gojira (1954) Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) The Return of Godzilla (1984) Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) Shin Godzilla (2016) Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)