The Monster in us All: Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

     As long as we have had stories, we have had allegories. Stories with a fictional scenario that a lesson can be learned from are popular for many reasons, including being more interesting than a lecture over the same topic and being able to provide a specific situation where the lesson is applicable. While not quiet as fantastic as a fable nor as true to life as a parable, allegories can teach those who enjoy both. Some examples include the Allegory of the Cave, fairy tales and The Chronicles of Narnia. However, I would also like to suggest that monster movies as another from of allegory. A common theme is if science tampering in places it shouldn’t and having to deal with the consequences, such as the 1931 Frankenstein. In the years following the second World War, a film was produced as an allegory of what the rapid expansion of nuclear weaponry could wrought.
     I am speaking, of course, of Toho's Godzilla (1954). Set in the post-war Japan, Godzilla has been awaken by nuclear testing and sets course to destroy Tokyo, mirroring what actually happened during the war. It was highly successful and spawned a franchise with more films than James Bond. Some these sequels forget what Godzilla, as an allegory, was about to the point where is a scene that I have only been able to describe as Godzilla play beach volleyball with a crayfish. This mirrors the eventual post-war attitude, with occupation ended, more friendly relations with the United States beginning and a rise in economic prominence. Godzilla’s salad days would find themselves gone in the early 1990’s with an economic downturn. At this time, the franchise would be rebooted (after a prior reboot which lasted about ten years). And became somewhat grittier with Godzilla becoming an antihero, but still destroying Tokyo.  Godzilla works best when he is an allegory for the current state of Japan, something which the much vilified American Godzilla (1998) forgot in favor of being an action movie.
     So does Netflix’s Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters get the allegory right? The answer is yes. Japan’s economy is still struggling, but this not the allegory this time around as Godzilla represents how humans are hurting the environment. Our heroes leave the planet , but argue if this was truly the best solution, mirroring the way that there is no consensus on how climate change and pollution should be dealt with. The Earth they come back to and the life on it is changed to the point that is unrecognizable, similar to the way that some birds are now singing construction noises and other consequences of deforestation. The strongest pieces of evidence in favor of this is the fact that despite their best efforts, the hero’s actions only make the perceived situation worse, similar to the way that many forms of renewable energy result in initial pollution (solar panels) or loss of fauna life (wind turbines). This is a serious issue in today’s world and maybe not so coincidentally, Japan takes it very seriously. While this Godzilla may not reflect Japan’s economic or social state, it is an allegory for an important issue.
     By examining the evolution of Godzilla in media, we can understand how a figure represented in an allegory can change in interpretation from one generation to the next. What one group saw as a call to peace, another sees as a call to a greener life. We can apply what this means to other historical figures and how the interpretations of their actions change with the culture. Can we apply a similar analysis to a character like Dracula? In this way, the history of Godzilla can mean something to us all.