Does Godzilla NEED the nuclear allegory for this movie?

[gzilla46]

I'm sure I'll get yelled, I'm sorry for asking, but does that mean that Godzilla's origins will be different, or that Godzilla will have the same origins but different allegory?

I am not 100% sure. I think it means that we may still get his origins tied to a nuclear power of some sort (although that might even be up for debate) but it looks like it definately will not be nuclear bomb testing but something more contemporary.[/quote]
Glad you brought up this interview with Darabont. What I took from this is that we are getting an actual film with a message that goes beyond the movie. It is not going to be insert monster A, destroy city, people react, monster B shows up, monster B kills monster A, monster B walks off into the sunset, people cheer, the end. It will be a film like the original that is about more than what is on the screen. What that allegory will be I have no idea.
I do not get from this article that his origin want be from the bomb, just that the film will have a different metaphor than the original while keeping its serious tone.[/quote]
I wonder what it will be.

[JGAR]

I hope his origins are still there, they're the very core of the character. Changing it will cause a lot of hate and backlash against the film.

[Rody]

I don't think the nuclear theme needs to be blatant or the focus of the film necessarily, but the origin should remain; it's integral to Godzilla.

[Gojira1963]

I hope his origins are still there, they're the very core of the character. Changing it will cause a lot of hate and backlash against the film.

I don't understand why there would be hate and backlash against a plot point in the film? That sounds like too extreme of a reaction. I am open to all sorts of ways they could do Godzilla's origins. GMK messed with the origins and many people like that movie.

I will be happy if they show Godzilla being created by a cause of some contemporary issue facing mankind. If the use the nuclear bomb testing approach I think it will sound very dated because that isn't a relevant issue.

[Bluezilla 65]

I hope his origins are still there, they're the very core of the character. Changing it will cause a lot of hate and backlash against the film.

I don't understand why there would be hate and backlash against a plot point in the film? That sounds like too extreme of a reaction. I am open to all sorts of ways they could do Godzilla's origins. GMK messed with the origins and many people like that movie.

I will be happy if they show Godzilla being created by a cause of some contemporary issue facing mankind. If the use the nuclear bomb testing approach I think it will sound very dated because that isn't a relevant issue.

I don't think they are changing his origin but they will be adding to the story. I could totally understand backlash from fans if they change his origin. Iraq and North Korea are in the news every other month with concerns over there nuclear programs. As far as GMK goes he was still nuclear just channeled by war dead.

[Gojira1963]

I don't think they are changing his origin but they will be adding to the story. I could totally understand backlash from fans if they change his origin. Iraq and North Korea are in the news every other month with concerns over there nuclear programs. As far as GMK goes he was still nuclear just channeled by war dead.

I am pretty sure they will use radiation of some sort. If they don't, depending on what it is, it could work.

[Rody]

Thanks, but I don't smoke.

[Bluezilla 65]

Thanks, but I don't smoke.

Col. Potter from M*A*S*H on smoking cigars, "I don't inhale these. I just invite the smoke into my mouth for a quick rendezvous followed by a lingering au revoir.".

Great discussion on this topic. Just don't see anyway that the atomic bomb will not be part of Godzilla's origin. We know their inspiration is the original Gojira, they used Oppenheimer quote at the San Diego teaser, and we have seen the nuclear missiles on the train. Just more evidence for than against at this point.

[Hipster Thor]

I really hope they don't go for a Global Warming theme. I notice people stop talking about Global Warming after 2008 when most people found out that Al Gore was full of shit.

Are you saying you don't believe in Global Warming?

[Hipster Thor]

I don't really buy into it. I remember a few years back it was proven that most what Al Gore said was wrong.

By who? Fox News?

Just throwing it out there, but Global Warming is a fact. As is it agreed by the vast majority of the scientific community that mankind is a big factor in it's occurrence. Also a fact, it will have long reaching, negative effects on our climate. It may not happen immediately, but it will happen. Think of a ball of snow rolling down a hill, and picking up more mass as it goes along. Global Warming and it's consequences are FACTS. Do I think it's the end of times? No. Human beings survived the Ice Age, we can survive this. However, the Western economy which relies so much on the farm belt will see major consequences to the economy. You also have to factor in the food shortages that would be synonymous with that. The more frequent Hurricane's will be an issue, and many species of animal and plant will die out due to inhabitable habitats. Fresh water will also be an issue due to drought. This will all take place over the next century. Spread out, but still ever present and tumultuous.

[knockinrockin]

I don't think they're going to make an allegory towards global warming/environmental message. If anything there will be an anti-war message.

I can see that happening. Maybe because of the Godzilla attacks, world nations will reconsider whether or not to disband all of their Nukes. This can be applied to the next movie. For example, say most of the nations whom have nukes disband all of them, but some still keep theirs. This will create a lot of political arguments, and tension.

[Bluezilla 65]

One hot button issue I haven't seen discussed yet as a subtle allegory of possible use in this film is class warfare. I could see it as an issue in a disaster picture with the super rich and most of the middle class evacuated and the lower middle class being left to fend for themselves. This was obvious in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and would be interesting in this film. I could see major divisions among the public if the government left thousands of citizens in a ravaged city while they spent days preparing a response.
Just a thought.

[JGAR]

One hot button issue I haven't seen discussed yet as a subtle allegory of possible use in this film is class warfare. I could see it as an issue in a disaster picture with the super rich and most of the middle class evacuated and the lower middle class being left to fend for themselves. This was obvious in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and would be interesting in this film. I could see major divisions among the public if the government left thousands of citizens in a ravaged city while they spent days preparing a response.
Just a thought.

Yeah what you said is one of the things I'm dying to see in a Godzilla or Giant Monster movie. What really happens after a Monster attacking the city, and what I mean is how the Government is going to deal with it?

[knockinrockin]

One hot button issue I haven't seen discussed yet as a subtle allegory of possible use in this film is class warfare. I could see it as an issue in a disaster picture with the super rich and most of the middle class evacuated and the lower middle class being left to fend for themselves. This was obvious in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and would be interesting in this film. I could see major divisions among the public if the government left thousands of citizens in a ravaged city while they spent days preparing a response.
Just a thought.

I can see there beig many uprisings depending on what the Gov. does. If they did what they did back in Katrina, I could expect to see many riots in other cities, and the Gov. Being forced to place Martial Law on those cities. It be an interesting aspect to see. This hasn't been done with the other Godzilla films.

[RedZillaKing]

I see no reason why Fukushima can't be the origin of the new Godzilla. It seems the most likely source IMO.

@Donkun: Are you still here?

[JGAR]

I see no reason why Fukushima can't be the origin of the new Godzilla. It seems the most likely source IMO.

@Donkun: Are you still here?

Same here, the incident is recent and could be perfect for a modern origin of Godzilla.

[Bluezilla 65]

Perhaps a terrorist attack on a nuclear plant. Two hot button issues for the price of one.

[KingGhidorah]

Perhaps a terrorist attack on a nuclear plant. Two hot button issues for the price of one.

I kinda like the whole "Terrorist Attack on a Nuclear Power Plant. Some countries just don't give a fuck about preventing internal attacks on them:
http://www.cracked.com/article_19459_6- ... -into.html

"In 2003, Greenpeace decided to break into the Sizewell B nuclear plant in England, just to see if they could do it. They came armed only with dreadlocks, tie-dyed T-shirts and wire cutters, the only tools they figured would release an acceptable level of carbon emissions. Luckily for them (but not so much for us), the most high-tech security system they came up against was a fence and a sign asking them to please not come in and blow up the power plant.
A very short time later, the activists were in the central control room of the plant, looking at a whole bunch of big red buttons with "For the love of God do not ever push" written on them."

[Bluezilla 65]

I remember reading about that. It was hilarious and scary at the same time. Absolutely no security.
Seem to recall security measures have been improved since then but still minimal for the risk they pose.
Water plants are even worse. Usually one or two people at the facilities responsible for the water supply of thousands.

[gzilla46]

If I offended anyone by questioning whether the allegory is a requirement, I'm sorry. It's just sometimes it's a touchy subject in history and makes me feel guilty about how America killed so many people using that weapon. We killed more innocents than Japan EVER did in Pearl Harbor. I also felt the same way about how we Americans forced Native Americans off their land when they were there first.

Also, did you know that when Gojira first premiered, it actually didn't get very good reviews like it does today? Don't believe me? Check this piece out fresh from Wikipedia. This is how they said.

The film initially received mixed to negative reviews in Japan. Japanese critics accused the film of exploiting the widespread devastation that the country had suffered in World War II, as well as the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (Lucky Dragon) incident that occurred a few months before filming began. Ishiro Honda lamented years later in the Tokyo Journal, "They called it grotesque junk, and said it looked like something you'd spit up. I felt sorry for my crew because they had worked so hard!"

But as time went on, it earned great respect in its home country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_( ... _reception