Godzilla, Mothra, and JAF
As is the case with most great literature or cinema, the 1964 classic Godzilla vs. Mothra, directed by Inoshiro Honda, contains story lines, plot development, characters, and dilemmas that can encourage us to revivify the Godzilla myth, even in 2001, to articulate the issues, worries, and debates of our own time and place.
Consider the liner notes from the back cover of my copy of the film:
"Years of nuclear testing have reduced Mothra's home on Monster Island to a hideous wasteland. Now, greedy businessmen have turned Mothra's egg into a billion-dollar tourist attraction--and she wants it back.
Tiny twin girls from Monster Island plead for the egg's return, but the businessmen refuse. It may be the last mistake they ever make because Godzilla has risen and he's trampling Japan!
When conventional weapons fail to stop the 40-story monster, Japan's leaders beg Mothra for help. But will she help the people who cause her so much suffering? And if she does, how can she stop the awesome power of Godzilla?"
Random Notes from the Film/Issues for Our time
Hurricane washes egg of Mothra onto shore of Japan - Greedy businessmen extort money from the non-union workers who build a cage around the egg, so they can charge tourists to see it - The "Holy Land theme park" equivalent of 1964? Egg as reminder of Cloning? Unionization and "competitiveness" in the age of global markets. Eco-tourism and the needs of developing countries. Natural disasters, fried eggs, and how to respond.
Tiny twins - They sing, they speak the same thing at the same time, they are telepathic. If only they were taller than 1'2". But are they really twins or human clones?!?
Monster island - destroyed by nuclear testing/ The tiny twins are part of an island cult whose members have been made sick by the nukes. Environmental degradation and developing countries.
Press photographer (female lead) & reporter in pressed suit
(never wrinkled male lead) play key roles in encouraging Monster Island
cult/Tiny Twins to pray and sing to Mothra to help Japan; help save
schoolchildren; and uncover the dirty dealings of the Greedy Businessmen. Role
of press in maintaining an open society and the resulting transparency that
persuades other Monster Island peoples to trust the "good" within a
society and not condemn all others as "bad."
Godzilla - The National Debt? The looming Social Security Crisis (in the absence of higher payroll taxes or reduced medicare coverage)? Apotheosis of the current Cold War force posture vs. tomorrow's lighter, Mothra-esque mobile fighting force.
Special gunships from the USA - In the absence of any US will to commit ground
forces, the long range carriers with special missile launchers stall Godzilla,
but they ultimately fail to change the facts on the ground. Helicopters and planes to drop nets over Godzilla
-
Internet Godzilla breathes fire on schools left
behind by the children sheltered in the cave. Reduced class sizes. Real
consequences for failing schools.
Mothra & Forgiveness - although sickened by nuclear testing on Monster
Island, stigmatized by being called "The Thing" instead of her real
name, doomed by advanced age to make a choice between staying on Monster Island
or saving Japan and dying, Mothra faces the moral challenge of her monstrous
existence, which is even then precious. Need for cloning.
Mothra's use of wind & dust - natural forces with elements of chemical and
biological warfare.
Electric force field to kill Godzilla seems effective at first, but fails - death
penalty: electric chair vs. lethal injection? - cruel and unusual punishment? Impractical in application? Generators burn out from too much electricity
usage--California electricity crisis?
Tiny twins sing , cult prays & egg hatches - Again, cloning and
religious theme parks.
Teacher refuses to "leave children behind" and leads them to shelter
in a cave - President George W. Bush's policy for allowing parents to use
federal money to send their children to school on islands not threatened by
40-story lizards. What about the other 90% of kids left behind?
The 2 Mothra larvae (more cloning?) bite & spit a web around Godzilla -
Again,
multilateralism, cloning, and the projection of US power. Use of Mothra larvae save US
lives and cost. Biological warfare.
