HannibalBarca wrote:
It matters because the nuclear age, and the new dangers that it introduced to the world, are universally applicable.
i understand this,
but much of the criticism is that the connection between Godzilla and his nuclear weapons history is ignore. what is important to note that it was not missed, but rather it cannot so easily be related to by everyone. that is because not everyone was faced with the destruction wrought by atomic weapons the japanese were. in short, the universality of the threat is there, but the representation that is Godzilla is not relatable to us in any way. giving him relevance via historical influence is the next best thing in that regard leading up to his revalation that the threat is not just universal, but that we will all experience it (which the movie did well).
Japan may have been the primary victim of humanity's nuclear excess, something that was well-represented in the original film as well as some others, but Godzilla has an international relevance precisely because the threat of annihilation posed by the instruments forged during the atomic age has the potential to effect all mankind. The fear of a nuclear holocaust may be one with which Japan is most intimately acquainted, but all the world has feared it at one time or another.
yes, and this is demonstrated through the destruction and attacks by the MUTO on our weapons, waste, and nuclear plants. to clarify: there is absolutely no reason to assume that Godzilla's origin
must begin at the dawn of the nuclear age. it's a matter of opinion.
The connection between the destruction of the Maine and the Cuban Missile Crisis is a tenuous one at best, conditional on all sorts of events in the US, Cuba, and elsewhere that were only tangentially related, if at all, to the actual sinking.
that's ok, because that wasn't meant to stand as any major point. the point it Godzilla has major historical significance to us and a basis for our seemingly unjustified military provocation of the monster. when he first appeared is entirely subjective and will vary viewer to viewer.