Trope Talk: Kaiju

All riiiiight, you've sold me, I'll watch Shin Godzilla! -R

“Run, it’s Godzilla” “It looks like Godzilla but due to international copyright laws, it’s not” “Still we should run like it is Godzilla” “Though it isn’t”

Here's a theory: Clifford is actually Fenrir. Ragnarok already happened, and his fur is red because it's soaked with Odin's blood.

Red: "Let's not get too specific, that's how you attract philosophers." Me, a philosophy major: "You're too late. I've been here for a while now."

I think the "nuclear power/bombs being good now" narrative for the modern movies might also stem from the fact that nuclear power is currently our most viable alternative to coal/oil power. Since, as you stated, we currently use the modern kaiju as an allegory for global warming, the narrative might be switching to tell us that nuclear power is our salvation in this sense.

"Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy. They do not attack people because they want to, but because of their size and strength, mankind has no other choice but to defend himself. After several stories such as this, people end up having a kind of affection for the monsters. They end up caring about them." — Ishiro Honda

The question “Is Clifford a Kaiju” was not a question I expected to hear today, but boy was I happy to hear it

"Guillermo del Toro is a man who understands monsters. He understands the complex interplay between humanity and inhumanity and he knows that sometimes a person is a monster, sometimes a monster is a person and sometimes a monster is a monster." And that's why I'm EXTREMELY frustrated that he couldn't do the adaptation of the manga "Monster" in a TV series.

I've always said (in reference to Dungeons and Dragons, specifically) "sometimes monsters are people and sometimes people are monsters". I do appreciate the addition of "and sometimes monsters are monsters.

"It's easier to think about a giant monster than a disembodied fear." H.P. Lovecraft's just over here like "They're the same picture".

Can’t wait for Hollywood’s new Kaiju movie: Clifford the Big Red Destroyer

Fun fact. The pattern on godzillas skin looks like burn scars from the sailors caught by the castle bravo incident

Mothra is my favourite Kaiju. Her alegorical message is “nature is mysterious, beautiful, sacred, and if you try to destroy it or use it selfishly (for profit or otherwise) it will fuck you tf up. Mothra also shows how if given the chance, space, and time required, nature will renew itself, even if mama Mothra dies, there’s always a baby Mothra waiting in the wings to step u[ when her mother passes. Also that nature’s spokespeople are tiny fey twins who sing… but I think that’s a metaphor for how nature needs people to speak up for it and remind folk how scary it can be when not well cared for. Tl;dr Mothra is the prototypical environmentalist kaiju and I love her.

"The common biologist's answer of: mnemnmeneh you know it when you see it." I hate how accurate that is.

"Let's not get too specific, that's how you attract philosophers." Once again, a line that seems destined for merch.

i always interpreted godzilla becoming a good guy despite still having nuclear powers was an optimistic portrayal of nuclear power, especially since a lot of the monsters he fights are clear allegories for pollution. nuclear power is actually very safe currently, but because of disasters like chernobyl people are still understandably nervous about the idea. its helpful to keep in mind that chernobyl was a recipe for disaster to begin with due to how it was built under a tight budget with little regards to safety and was staffed by people not properly trained for their job. in the new godzilla vs king kong it was pretty clear to me the enemy of that movie was corrupt capitalism. very fun movie.

Oh man, the Terminator is a Kaiju!

"You could even say it's a mysterious color unlike any seen on earth" SHE'S IN BOYS, SHE DID IT, SHE SAID IT AIRHORN

FUN FACT: Gojira's stroll through Tokyo was intentionally the same as the path of destruction from the firebombing in WW2.

We actually know the King Kong thing! The director was fascinated by stop motion, and wanted to see a gorilla fight a dinosaur - The stop motion animator told him that would have to be one bloody big gorilla, and there you go. It's like that thing Frued said when someone pointed out his obvious penis fixation "Sometimes a cigar is only a cigar" - it's hardly ever true, but this one time it is. Of course the 30s had a certain way of depicting both Africa and Gorillas. It's hard to argue the subtext, but it really was a movie about a gorilla fighting a dinosaur.