The Gojira Project

Abstract

Since 1954, Godzilla has been fighting other monsters and tackling complex ideas and themes that have the potential to be a greater threat than any giant radioactive monster ever could. For the past twenty-three years, I have soaked in all media forms Godzilla has been featured in, from comic books to anime to American film adaptations, and he has remained one of the most influential characters in my life. I know what most people think; he's just a giant, fire-breathing lizard, but he's much more than that. Godzilla is a force of nature, representing the literal and figurative destructive power of nuclear weapons and war. He is nature fighting humanity for its atrocities against its own planet. He is the result of countless deaths and destruction, due to warfare and the arrogance and selfishness of man. All wars human beings have fought have resulted in the creation of "new, groundbreaking" technology, such as mustard gas, the atomic bomb, the hydrogen bomb, and so on to the present day. Although Godzilla is an allegory for the real horrors and fear of nuclear warfare, he can also be a force for change in the world. My Love Letter to Godzilla will explore Godzilla's message to humanity and will dive into the history of a worldwide icon by looking at the content and making of the film franchise, the political nature of the films, and my personal relationship with the King of the Monsters.