Godzilla: King of the Monsters Explained!

To outsiders looking in, Godzilla films have generally been regarded as cheesy B-movies with men in rubber suits duking it out. On the surface; that is true. However deep down Godzilla films have been about much more, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters is no exception. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re here to explain the true meaning of “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” Just a few weeks before the film’s release, Director Michael Dougherty (Pronounced “Daui—dee”) stated in a press release to media outlets: “'Godzilla' movies are big, they're fun, but underneath all the monster mayhem and apocalyptic destruction, these movies are allegories. That's how the Japanese initially invented and portrayed the character, and I think it's one of the reasons Godzilla has endured for as long as he has. But they are filled with metaphors, And though the themes have changed over the years, they all leave you with the same warning: that if you push too hard against nature, nature's going to push back.” What he is referring to; is how the 1954 Godzilla film was making a hidden political statement, during a period where making any sort of political message in film was frowned upon in Japan. This was due to heavy censorship guidelines by the Japanese film board that was brought on by the American occupation following World War II. The film makes a brief statement on nuclear weapon testing to set that foundation of the Nuclear bomb topic, but the bulk of Godzilla himself was designed to be an allegory on the devastation of nuclear weapons through the form of visual storytelling of Godzilla leaving Tokyo in flames and leaving an irradiated trail in his path. As Dougherty stated; This strategy of using Godzilla as a political statement is something that is evident in later Toho monster flicks, though topic has changed throughout the years to reflect on the pressing issue of the time, albeit less subtle. For example “The Return of Godzilla” in 1984 touched on the Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union at the time, “Godzilla vs. Hedorah” was a message on excessive pollution, “Godzilla vs. Biollante” focused on the ethics of genetic experimentation, and 2016’s “Shin Godzilla” was not shy on alluding to the slow bureaucratic response of the Japanese Government, following the 2011 Tsunami that devastated many coastal cities. Michael Dougherty is also not shy about including some form of political allegory in “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” either. In December 2018 during an interview with Total Film, Dougherty stated: “The Titans are awoken from their slumber because the planet is on a collision course with self - destruction. 'It wouldn't be a true Godzilla film if you didn't touch upon those things Otherwise you're just making a big dumb monster movie. There has to be a sprinkle of it, otherwise you're not being faithful to the original intent of the series.” How did he incorporate these themes? Well let’s take a look but be warned, from this point onward there will be spoilers. The story begins with Paleobiologist Dr Emma Russel and her daughter Madison are kidnapped by a group of environmental terrorists so that they can use Emma’s artificial echolocation device ORCA to release and control various titans located around the world. But during a confrontation in Antarctica with her ex-husband Mark; it’s revealed that Emma was working with the terrorists all along. Why? Emma believes that mankind’s impact on the Earth is leading them on a course of self-destruction, so releasing all the titans around the world is the only way to ensure life on the planet can continue as it would ensure that mankind is no longer the dominant species on the planet. Not surprisingly everyone else thinks Emma is crazy, since the rise of all these titans around the world would cause the deaths of millions of people. But Emma is aware of this consequence and maintains it is necessary for life as a whole to continue on Earth, including humanity. Thanos is one hell of an influence. So now we have our Climate Change foundation, alluding to the crisis threatening out world. As for the allegory; well that comes in the form of the latest monster they have released: King Ghidorah, from beneath the ice of Antarctica. The biggest difference to King Ghidorah in this film compared to his Toho counterparts is that wherever he flies; he brings with him a Category 6 hurricane. Now obviously “Category 6” on the Saffir–Simpson Scale doesn’t exist, but there has been debate as to whether or not to include Category 6 & 7 levels of hurricanes follow Hurricane Irma in 2017, with those in favor of the inclusion; citing how Hurricanes are getting more destructive with rising global temperatures. King Ghidorah’s storms do have catastrophic effects that can change landscapes too, for example we see Washington D.C. ripped apart by tornadoes and lightning storms, as its so heavily flooded by rising sea levels that ships are now able to sail through it. When you take into account that King Ghidorah was released by humans by destroying the ice of Antarctica, completely ignoring the warnings about how dangerous he is; the signs of King Ghidorah being an allegory to the unprecedented destruction Man Made Climate Change can bring, much like how Godzilla was an allegory for nuclear devastation in his original outing is hard to ignore. Which brings us to Godzilla himself. In the 2014 film, Godzilla was portrayed as a force of nature that mankind cannot control despite the ignorant belief that it could. That philosophy still holds true in “King of the Monsters” though the allusion seems to have evolved. After nearly being killed by the Oxygen Destroyer a badly injured Godzilla is forced to retreat into an ancient temple that predates any known ancient civilization. It’s here that we learn that Godzilla was once worshipped as a deity, and that the film had earlier established that ancient mythological creatures may have been actual titans that roamed the Earth as well. The film doesn’t shy away from the idea of titans being worshipped as gods too, as when King Ghidorah defeats Godzilla in Mexico, there’s a shot of him sitting atop an active volcano with a church crucifix in the foreground and the sky around him ominously tinted red. However the important takeaway here is why natural deities were considered sacred in the first place. Mythology from around the world is filled with so many ancient civilizations worshipping elements of nature as Gods in some form or another, some of which would believe that hurting nature in some way would upset the gods and bring down their wrath upon the world. While the film never directly supports or criticizes religion, it does highlight how without a greater oversight threatening destruction (or the belief of one), how mankind as a whole has been allowed to cause untold damage to the planet with little repercussion. So here’s where this leaves us: Godzilla represents the natural world, and King Ghidorah representing mankind’s destruction on the natural world. Godzilla nearly defeats Ghidorah on the first two occasions, the first time he retreats, second time Godzilla is nearly killed by humanity while Ghidorah gets even stronger by their actions. In the film’s climax; the two are also joined by Rodan and Mothra, Rodan for the most part will bow to whichever monster is stronger to him, but Mothra has a more important role. During the final battle; Ghidorah nearly kills Godzilla again by carrying him into the upper atmosphere and dropping him in a fiery re-entry, only to be saved by Mothra who sacrifices herself to save the big guy, while also carry her essence over to him a la Super Metroid. The key takeaway here though isn’t just that Mothra gave Godzilla the upper hand to defeat Ghidorah, but rather that she was young. She only hatched at the beginning of the film; a representation of youth. More importantly how powerful the youth with their combined efforts, can help make nature stronger. And how when they’re in their maturity; they can pass on what they’ve achieved to the next generation in the hints that Mothra laid another egg as depicted in the end credits screen. That seems to be the films overall message: Mankind can combat the looming threat of a climate crisis, but to do so they have to be more respectful to nature, rather than try to control it, and it’s up to all of us to teach our kids early to make progress, so that they can teach their kids to do the same when the time comes. This is why the small group of humans we do follow in the film are insignificant in comparison to these titans, if the film had focused too much on them, the overarching message about the state of the planet would be dwarfed by something insignificant in the grand picture. Climate Change isn’t something that a small group of people can fix, it has to be a combined international effort; not just by some random soldiers and one wildlife photographer globetrotting in an oversized jet. Of course there is a bit of a contraction here; in that the fanatics claiming to make the stand to prevent the climate crisis, are the ones that release the embodiment of the climate crisis to begin with. So Michael Dougherty’s analogy isn’t perfect. Regardless he does respect Ishirō Honda and Takeo Murata original vision: by using B-movie monster tropes to depict a political statement relevant to society’s greatest concerns of our time.