Banno, despite re-emphasizing Godzilla as hero, exposes the deceit of the ‘nationalistic’ narrative structures by showing, with irony, that Godzilla’s passage does not result in societal change
Tag: Haruo Nakajima
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters (1968) review [The Godzilla Project]
Honda delivers another narrative in which Otherness is feared and a deceptive imaginary sense of societal harmony is subtly celebrated.
Son Of Godzilla (1967) review [The Godzilla Project]
Fukuda’s second narrative nevertheless constitutes an infantilisation of the evocative and metaphorical dimension of Godzilla.
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) review [The Godzilla Project]
A great narrative that is marred by budget and time-constraints.
Rodan (1956) review [The Godzilla Project]
Honda delivers a bleak and disconcerting outlook on the optimistic post-war reparative economic growth.
Mothra (1961) review [The Godzilla Project]
By elegantly using the kaiju Mothra, Honda warns the Japanese spectator of the destructive societal effects that the blind adoption of unrestricted capitalism and wild consumption can cause.
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) review [The Godzilla Project]
A splendid Godzilla narrative that delivers thrilling kaiju action while elegantly exploring the impact of the rise of capitalism and consumerism on Japanese society and the traumatic truth it does not want to accept.
Godzilla Raids Again (1955) review [The Godzilla Project]
This sequel lacks the impact of Honda’s classic, but Oda’s narrative does deliver enough action and destruction to satisfy any Kaiju fan.
Godzilla (1954) review [The Godzilla Project]
A timeless classic monster movie.