Kassir1

Jennifer Kassir

Professor Beadle

English 115 8:00 AM

November 6, 2017

Original vs. Shin Godzilla

Life itself is a mysterious thrill. Nobody ever knows what is coming tomorrow or

the day after tomorrow. We live day by day in the unknown. This is why Godzilla rose to

fame. Godzilla became one of the most popular thrillers because people dont know when

it will strike, which is what excites the audience. Godzilla was created as a result of the

nuclear war in Japan. The first ever Godzilla was created in 1954. During this time,

people were actually still recovering from the effects of the nuclear war, therefore, the

audience must have truly felt the connection and emotion. In 2016, another Godzilla

came out called Shin Godzilla, which was modernized. Although the Original Godzilla

and the Shin Godzilla had the same concept that Godzilla arose from radiation due to the

nuclear war, they had differences because of the special effects and color scheme,

Godzillas level of aggression, and the process of killing Godzilla, which is significant

because it shows that the different time periods in which the movies were filmed affected

the audience differently and conveyed a different message.

The original Godzilla and the Shin Godzilla were different due to the color

scheme and special effects. According to Shinji Higuchi, he stated that he wanted to

make this new Godzilla very frightening, so he can represent the worlds loss of

innocence from modern events like 9/11 and the tsunami in Japan, which Higuchi called

the real monsters of the world. (Higuchi) Obviously these events were huge and very
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disastrous, so that is why he made this Godzilla bigger and more disastrous; to send the

message that every monster comes in different shapes and sizes, but the real monsters of

the world are huge such as natural disasters or terrorism. The Shin Godzilla is linked to

the real events of the world. The original Godzilla was in black and white and not so

detailed while the Shin used colors and crazy effects, which made it scarier. The original

Godzilla wasnt as terrifying due to the time period in which they couldnt use much

special effects. Also, it wasnt linked to natural disasters or terrorism. It was linked more

to the nuclear war in Japan, which was recent for them in 1954. The 1954 Godzilla had a

heavy lower body with small arms, a round head, and larger glossy eyes. Godzilla also

stays the same size throughout whereas in the Shin, Godzilla changes and becomes

bigger. According to The Godzilla Wiki, it states, the new Godzilla's official height was

118.5 meters tall, making him officially the tallest Godzilla to appear in a film (about

10.3 meters taller than the Legendary version, mostly due to its longer neck and more

upright posture) (The Godzilla Wiki). This is significant because if the Shin Godzilla is

linked to natural disasters and terrorism, then it shows that these real monsters that are

huge will continue to exist and grow. That is why they made Godzilla taller and larger. It

is sending the message that monsters will keep coming. However, in the original, since it

was focused more on the nuclear war, they werent really focusing on the future; it was

focused more on the past event. Also, the possibility of having another nuclear war is

rare, so it cant exactly grow, however, natural disasters can, as well as terrorism,

especially in todays society. This is probably why the original Godzilla stayed the same

size throughout the film and didnt expand. Additionally, in the original, they couldnt do

much with special effects. For example, in the Shin, they show Godzilla shooting out
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purple lasers and you can actually see the fires that it caused. There was a lot more action

involved, which made the audience enjoy it more, but it did take away from the

emotional aspect because it focused more on the action rather than the people who were

being affected. The original showed the peoples suffering more and there were no

distractions from the color scheme or special effects.

The original and the Shin Godzilla used different levels of aggression to attack the

city and were later killed in different ways. In the original, Godzilla was slower and

didnt come out of the water as much. It also wasnt as stubborn. In the Shin, since it

grew bigger, it was more aggressive and faster. In the original, a scientist named

Serizawa killed Godzilla with an oxygen destroyer underwater. He was the only person to

kill Godzilla whereas in the Shin, the entire government was involved including the

United States. According to Chris Lambert, he states The 1954 Godzilla, the original

Godzilla, had been such a shocking and powerful metaphor for the unintended results of

military and science, of experimentation and technology (Lambert). This is true because

the original focused more on the scientific aspect and also the government wasnt so

involved. It was just showing how the nuclear war affected others. It had nothing to do

with politics or the future. Lambert also states that the Shin Godzilla is very much a

chastisement of government systems (Lambert). This is what made the original and Shin

Godzilla so different. When it comes to tragic events, the governments job is to protect

its citizens. In the Shin Godzilla, it shows how much the government tried their best to

help their citizens. The prime minister even put his life at risk just to save his people. He

ended up dying trying to save the citizens. Lambert claims While Godzilla is terrifying

and intimidating, the idea of a government that's overweight, unorganized, closed-

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minded, and thus impotent, unable to save us not because the situation we're in is

impossible but because it's impossible for them to do anything to solve it...that's in a lot

of ways scarier than Godzilla (Lambert). This is so true because in life, we cant prevent

tragic events, but all we can do is rely on the government to help protect us. Godzilla is in

fact not the one to fear because that is uncontrollable, but it is the government because

they are the ones who will protect us. Monsters will keep coming. Although in both

movies the governments were corrupt, especially since it is in Japan, the Shin Godzilla

shows how much the government tried hard to keep the city safe. Aside from that, the

Shin Godzilla took longer to be killed and was killed by poison injection and then was

bombed by Japanese soldiers as well as the US army. This itself shows how in the

Original, the government seemed too corrupt and couldnt even help protect the citizens.

One person had to help everyone and also ended up dying in the process, which is selfish

because now that machine cant be used in the future in case another Godzilla came into

existence. In the Shin, it shows how the government worked hard together with the

military and even the US military to protect the people. That is the importance of the Shin

Godzilla, to show how the government matters when it comes to situations like this and

how a country needs to have a stable government. This itself shows why America will

continue to be the best country, because of a strong stable government. Although

America may have some tragic events, it doesnt compare to Europe or other places in the

world like the Middle East. For example, today, people are concerned with the whole

ISIS situation. In Europe, there have been many incidents, which continues to scare

Americans, but lots of Americans trust the government here because the US government

is always on top of things and stop them before happening. However, according to Eric
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Schmitt, he is saying that although the government is trying their best to track ISIS,

people fear these terrorists will inspire others to follow their footsteps. In the article, it

says The continuing efforts of ISIL followers in Europe to conduct attacks demonstrate

the potential for ISIL to recruit and motivate followers in Europe, said a United Nations

report in August. Even if the leaders of ISIS were found, it doesnt stop others from

trying to be like them.

Despite all these differences, the original and the Shin Godzilla were similar in a

few ways. They both came out of the water, which is very significant because the ocean

is mysterious itself, so it makes people wonder what else could arise from the ocean. In

Here Be Monsters from the book Monsters, Genoways states, the fear of the unknown,

of that future that lies just past the horizon, has been with us always (Genoways 132).

This is why most people fear the ocean. The fact that Godzilla comes from the ocean is

even more thrilling. Both of these monsters came into existence because of the nuclear

war in Japan. It was due to radiation and in both movies, the people realized that, so it

was the same concept. However, in the Shin, it took them longer to figure it out because

they wanted to make sure they find the correct information about Godzilla, which they

did. It is significant that both monsters were as a result of radiation because this also

relates to the modern day now. People still fear that there is going to be a nuclear war.

For example, in a recent article called North Korea threatens to turn US mainland into a

theater of nuclear war, Kaiman states On A-bomb anniversary, Nagasaki mayor says the

fear of nuclear war is growing. He talks about how Trumps confrontation to North

Korea made them angry and how they are threatening to use nuclear weapons on the US

mainland. People are still in fear till this day because the use of nuclear weapons can
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truly destroy this nation. At the end of both the Original and the Shin Godzilla, when the

monsters were killed, people still said there might be another Godzilla if the use of

nuclear weapons is continued to be in use. The murder of Godzilla didnt end peoples

fear in both movies. Although they had similarities, they each had a different meaning

and significance behind them. The original focuses more on the scientific and emotional

aspect while the Shin focuses more on the technical and shows why the government

involvement is important.

The Original 1954 vs Shin Godzilla were both spectacular movies. In both

movies, Godzilla was a result of radiation from the nuclear war and atomic bombs. Both

Godzillas came out of the mysterious ocean, which was a metaphor for the unknown and

they destroyed the whole city. While that made both movies similar, they were

completely different because in the original, it was based more on science and it didnt

have as much special effects, which made it easier for the audience to connect with the

plot. It actually was more emotional to watch but the Shin Godzilla used lots of effects,

which was distracting. Also, the government was heavily involved, which shows the need

for a strong government. In a world of fear, especially today, the government needs to do

their best to protect its country.

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Works Cited

Hoffman, Andrew J., and Ted Genoways. Here Be

Monsters. Monsters: a Bedford Spotlight Reader, Bedford/St. Martin's, a

Macmillan Education Imprint, 2016, p. 132.

Kaiman, Jonathon. North Korea Threatens to Turn U.S.

Mainland into a 'Theater of Nuclear War'. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles

Times, 9 Aug. 2017, www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-

washington-updates-north-korea-threatens-to-turn-u-s-1502294652-

htmlstory.html.

Lambert, Chris. SHIN GODZILLA and 2014's GODZILLA,

Major Differences and the Expectations for a Godzilla Movie. Film Colossus:

Movie Endings Explained, Filmmaker Tools of the Trade, 8 Oct. 2016,

www.filmcolossus.com/single-post/2016/10/09/SHIN-GODZILLA-and-2014s-

GODZILLA-major-differences-and-the-expectations-for-a-Godzilla-movie.

North Korea Threatens to Turn U.S. Mainland into a 'Theater

of Nuclear War'. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times,

www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-north-

korea-threatens-to-turn-u-s-1502294652-htmlstory.html.

Post, The Jakarta. Japan's 'Godzilla' Director Wants to

Surprise. The Jakarta Post, 5 Aug. 2015,

www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/05/japans-godzilla-director-wants-

surprise.html.
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Schmitt, Eric. ISIS Fighters Are Not Flooding Back Home to

Wreak Havoc as Feared. The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Oct.

2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/us/politics/fewer-isis-fighters-returning-

home.html.

Shin Godzilla. Gojipedia,godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/Shin_Godzilla#cite_note-

Leaked_Design-18.