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- Godzilla’s Origin, Explained
- Godzilla’s Gender, Explained
- Godzilla’s Species, Explained
As a scholar who has spent countless hours delving into the fascinating world of Kaiju, I must say that Godzilla remains one of the most intriguing and captivating figures in pop culture history. Born from the ashes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this colossal creature has evolved over seven decades to become an iconic symbol of fear, destruction, and resilience.
As we approach October 2024, marking Godzilla‘s 70th birthday, this colossal creature has never been more captivating. The success of the film Godzilla Minus One, the latest collaboration between Godzilla and Kong titled Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and the Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters have reignited interest in the iconic Toho movie monster. Now, both new and old fans can appreciate Godzilla’s cultural resurgence. However, despite numerous appearances in movies since 1954, several mysteries about Godzilla’s biological structure remain unanswered.
It’s high time we figured out Godzilla’s gender, origin, and species, considering it has been around for 70 years in mythology. While the movies and literature have provided conflicting information about its details, there seems to be enough agreement on its physical characteristics to determine whether it’s a male or female monster, and what kind of creature it belongs to. Now that Grant Sputore is set by Legendary Entertainment to direct the sequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which will be released in 2027, it’s important to take a closer look at Godzilla’s characteristics to prepare for the upcoming film.
Godzilla’s Origin, Explained
In the 1954 film “Godzilla,” directed by IshirÅ Honda, the character Godzilla is widely recognized as one of the most infamous movie monsters ever created. With appearances in over 38 films so far, this amphibious creature has undergone various transformations throughout its lifetime, many times due to mutation resulting from atomic radiation exposure. Beyond movies, Godzilla has made its mark in comic books, novels, television series, video games, and other forms of media.
Four significant individuals are recognized for conceiving Godzilla. Besides Honda, Shigeru Kayama was responsible for crafting the original scripts for both “Godzilla” and its sequel, “Godzilla Strikes Again.” Tomoyuki Tanaka, a producer at Toho, admired Kayama’s writing prowess and enlisted him to write a screenplay that drew inspiration from the American B-movie titled “The Monster from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
While Kayama conceived the story for Godzilla, Tanaka created the monster’s name. The name Godzilla combines “Gorilla” and “Kujira” (which translates as Whale in Japanese) to describe a mutated Gorilla-Whale-like hybrid. Beyond Honda, Tanaka, and Kyama, Special Effects Director Eiji Tsuburaya co-created Godzilla in the 1950s. In addition to Gojira or Godzilla, the movie monsters are often grouped within the “Kaiju” race of gigantic monsters featured in Japanese cinema.
Godzilla’s Gender, Explained
In 1955, Kayama released book adaptations of his screenplays for the movies “Godzilla” and “Godzilla Rides Again.” These novelizations have been translated into English for the first time, courtesy of Jeffrey Angles from the University of Minnesota Press. In his research, Angles pointed out that Kayama never clearly defined Godzilla’s gender. As explained by Angles:
In the books “Godzilla” and “Godzilla Raids Again”, the creature doesn’t have a specified gender. It’s quite simple in Japanese language to omit gender entirely. In these particular stories, the author didn’t provide any information about Godzilla’s gender. However, it can be challenging to avoid mentioning gender in English.
Angles goes on to quote Kayama about Godzilla’s mysterious gender, adding:
“At times, I’ve written Godzilla’s name or referred to it as a monster to avoid using a specific gender. Continuously repeating the same words could become monotonous. Therefore, I considered different options, and eventually, I chose to use ‘he’ as a pronoun for clarity, although I recognize that this decision might not be universally accepted.”
It’s plausible that Godzilla was portrayed as a male character because during the Cold War in the 1950s, when America was leading nuclear energy development, Godzilla was initially conceived as a symbol of atomic bombs.
Initially, Japanese versions of Godzilla didn’t assign a gender and referred to the creature as “it.” However, subsequent American productions explicitly identified Godzilla as male. Tanaka implies that Godzilla might be male, but the original 1954 movie version could have been female. Interestingly, the 1998 Godzilla film portrayed the beast as a male capable of reproducing asexually by laying eggs. The latest Legendary Godzilla films present the monster as a male character.
Godzilla’s Species, Explained
Godzilla, a creature belonging to the Kaiju family, has evolved significantly over the past 70 years. The initial designs for this monster by Art Director Akira Watanabe were influenced by dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Iguanadon, and Stegosaurus. Over time, Godzilla’s appearance has morphed into a mix of various creatures, with characteristics resembling alligators in its scales and teeth. To underscore Godzilla’s symbolism as an atomic bomb, the creature was given Keloidal Scars on its skin to symbolize the injuries sustained by survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Despite Godzilla’s physical transformation over seven decades, the monster retains its bi-pedal reptilian stature. Often thought of as a giant fire-breathing lizard with the ability to walk on land and swim in the sea, his amphibious qualities allow the monster to fight on the ground or in the water and gain an advantage over opponents. With an upstanding posture, a strong supercharged tail that can incur high damage rates, rows of razor-sharp teeth, serrated blades along its back, and matching claws, Godzilla is an apex predator Kaiju known for its atomic fire breath.
As Angles explains, the word “Kaiju” is Chinese in origin and translates roughly as “Scary Monster” or “Terrifying Beast.” While this fits perfectly with our image of Godzilla, it’s interesting to note that the term gained popularity through the Godzilla films. In Japan, the word was already in use, but its global recognition can be attributed to these movies. Angles mentions that he couldn’t pinpoint the exact time when the word “Kaiju” was first coined in ancient China.
To put it simply, Godzilla is a massive creature called Kaiju, born from atomic radiation fallout. For readers eager to delve deeper into the world of Kayama’s translation, Angles’ books “Godzilla” and “Godzilla Returns” are now accessible in paperback format.
Godzilla Minus One is available to stream on Netflix
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2024-08-18 20:31