It might be hard, let’s face it, to pronounce the word “Godzilla” without giggling. We immediately think of Japanese films with primary special effects, in which latex monsters “with a zipper in the back”, emerging from the mists of time, make humanity tremble.
Godzilla (Gojirain Japanese), the very first film, in 1954, of a series of thirty-six — until Godzilla vs. Kong of 2021, which makes it the longest franchise in the history of cinema -, introduced a kind of prehistoric reptile, awakened and contaminated by the tests of hydrogen bombs in the Pacific Ocean.
However, recalls Alain Vézina in Godzilla and America. Clash of the Titansthe film was born in post-war Japan, a country still traumatized by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
In this sense, Godzilla carries an obvious metaphorical dimension in Japan just emerging from the American occupation (1945 to 1952), where censorship has long prevented the Japanese media from discussing the nuclear bombings or even their consequences.
In godzilla and americathe author revisits the phenomenon in light of the complex relations between Japan and the United States, noting that the United States could also claim the paternity of Godzilla, insofar as it undeniably created a context favorable to its birth.
“After the American occupation and the abolition of censorship, the Japanese will finally be able to express themselves freely,” recalls Alain Vézina, a specialist in fantastic literature and cinema, who teaches cinema and journalism at the Cégep de Saint- Jerome.
“In their traditions, the Japanese have always had an animist view of the catastrophes that periodically befall their archipelago. Godzilla was born out of a man-made disaster, of course, but when looking at Japanese mythology, it often explains the origin of cataclysms by supernatural beings. » In the 18the century, for example, popular belief explained earthquakes by the presence of a giant catfish under the Japanese archipelago.
Godzilla, American creature?
The first film, released in Japan in 1954 before being revived in a partially adapted version in 1956 in the United States, is widely considered a masterpiece of cinema. Thereafter, recognizes the author, the “metaphorical dimension” gradually ended up fading.
But if Godzilla has managed to reach the rank of one of the most popular cinematographic figures, it is above all for the wrong reasons, believes Alain Vézina. Because very quickly, in the West, we liked to make fun of these films, perceived as turnips, in particular because of their somewhat sloppy special effects. A phenomenon that is still present today, when cult films and “little psychotronic gems” often attract crowds.
And if several of the Godzilla films that followed that of 1954 correspond to these prejudices, recognizes Alain Vézina, it is also necessary to know how to look beyond the artifice. “For us in the West, special effects are successful when they are realistic. And for a long time, the Godzilla movies were an actor in a monster costume stomping on models, he recalls. For the Japanese, on the contrary, realism is not an end in itself. We are going to focus on something else, the beauty and poetry of the image. »
To begin to appreciate the unique aesthetic, Alain Vézina recommends looking at Japanese theatre. In particular towards the bunraku, the Japanese puppet theater (featuring an extensive repertoire of plays for adults), where the animators are on the stage, often perfectly visible. “The Japanese audience will ignore these manipulators, they will focus on the puppets and forget that the manipulators are on the stage. It’s also a bit the same in nô theatre, where certain masks are smaller than the actor’s face. “For Japanese audiences, seeing the contrivances and conventional artificiality of special effects is never distracting. »
It seems clear to him, moreover, that the junk side of the special effects of these films could have fueled the American prejudices against Japanese manufactured products that had long been current in the United States.
Because from the mid-1950s, when products made in Japan began to invade the shelves of American stores, the prejudice that was strongly anchored among American consumers was that there was not much quality in these products. “And when you watch Japanese films, especially the King Kong vs. Godzilla of 1962, it is true that the American public could establish a correlation. The giant gorilla in the film looks pitiful, you could say he’s a botched reproduction of the 1933 original.”
perpetrator and victim
The fact remains that, of all the films of the first series, points out Alain Vézina, those made between 1954 and 1975 have been remastered and are now available in the famous “Criterion” collection, alongside the films by Bergman, Antonioni or Jane Campion.
“Godzilla is the aggressor, but he is also the victim,” continues Alain Vézina. It is also the monster that is awakened by nuclear tests, which itself is irradiated. Somewhere Godzilla is a hibakusha [terme par lequel on désigne au Japon les victimes des bombardements atomiques d’Hiroshima et de Nagasaki], a survivor of nuclear testing. You really have to see it in several ways and not reduce it to a single role. »
During the 2016 presidential campaign, recalls Alain Vézina, Donald Trump had suggested that Japan acquire nuclear weapons to face its worrying neighbor North Korea. According to him, the ex-president would benefit from watching the first Godzilla films…
“It would fill in the obvious historical gaps of the former American president, thinks Alain Vézina. It would also teach him all the history behind the use of the bomb, but especially the way in which the Japanese perceive the nuclear. And Trump would also learn, he adds, that there is still a pacifist constitution in Japan, still widely supported by public opinion today.