Oppenheimer, Godzilla Minus One and the birth of the atomic bomb onscreen

Godzilla Minus One, the latest installment in the Godzilla franchise, has become the highest grossing Japanese film ever released in the U.S.

In order to unpack what this milestone means, Godzilla superfan and expert William Tsutsui and Asian culture critic Michelle Cho look at the long Japanese and American history of one of the most popular movie monsters of all time.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast, on your favourite podcast player.

LISTEN | Today's episode on YouTube:

Elamin: The original Godzilla movie drew inspiration from the atomic bomb that was dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. That killed over 200,000 Japanese people, mostly civilians. Meanwhile, we just learned that Oppenheimer, the biopic about the creator of the bomb, is finally set to release in Japan. Bill, you're of Japanese descent. What comes to mind as these two movies are kind of having a moment at the same time?

Bill: Over the 70 years and 30 films of the Godzilla franchise in Japan, the monster's nuclear origins have always been front and center reflecting the ongoing struggle of the Japanese people to find closure from the trauma of the atomic bombings, and to move beyond defeat in 1945 both psychologically and in international relations. So in some ways, it's no surprise that Godzilla Minus One continues to tackle, in some very new and creative ways, the ongoing legacies of World War Two and nuclear victimization in the Japanese imagination. What's more surprising to me is to see Hollywood looking back now with Oppenheimer, and trying to make sense of the dawn of the atomic age and America's role in it. It's a very different approach than using a giant walking metaphor like Godzilla to engage with politically sensitive issues.

Elamin: Oppenheimer is certainly not a film that is celebratory of the origins of the atomic bomb. It actually kind of paints it as this thing that is quite morally dubious, and we're not really sure we should have gone into this. What do you make of this moment, the fact that Godzilla Minus One and Oppenheimer are colliding in this cultural moment?

Michelle: As a global media scholar, I think about it as a sign of a contrapuntal relationship, maybe, between the way that Hollywood sees the world and then the way that the world talks back. I think it's really valuable for viewers that they can go see both of these perspectives on the atomic age — but that requires that people take Godzilla seriously, which hopefully this conversation will convince people to do.

Elamin: Say a little more about that. What do you mean by "take Godzilla seriously?" Do you get the impression that Godzilla is in the silly, campy mode in North America?

Michelle: Think about the difference between Oppenheimer and Godzilla in terms of the audience demographics that they're aiming for. If people are like, "I see serious films at the movie theater," you know, versus, "I go for entertainment" — you're not going to reach the same audience with these two films. But I want to get people to think about the way that you can go see a film for entertainment value, but still learn a lot about the world, the geopolitical situation. These films can be both entertaining and teach you something. That's what I always try to say about films that people might otherwise dismiss.

Elamin: That's a good point because Oppenheimer is sort of explicitly trying to be in the very serious biopic, prestige cinema kind of category, and I guess we don't really think of Godzilla movies and monster movies in general as occupying that space.

Bill, we should say between Japan and the U.S. alone, there have been a slew of Godzilla films, cartoons, other releases over the decades. What would you say is the biggest difference in the way that Godzilla as a monster has been portrayed in Japan compared to how it's been portrayed in the United States?

Bill: Well, the best of the Japanese films have wrestled with significant social and political issues — in 1954's Gojira with atomic age anxieties, in 1971's Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, which is a wonderful film [about] the threat of industrial pollution, and now with Godzilla Minus One we have a very human, and I think humanistic, drama about the traumas of war and the need for communities to come together in moments of crisis.

The four, and soon to be five, American films have been pretty much standard Hollywood blockbusters with great special effects, big-name star power and huge marketing budgets. But in general, they've been lacking in terms of historical perspectives or real political edge.

Elamin: It sounds like you're saying Hollywood is kind of dropping the ball on Godzilla a little bit…. Michelle, what is it about Hollywood that makes it go, "You know what, we're going to remove ourselves from the context of the birth of these stories," and go into the direction of spectacle?

Michelle: Hollywood has really leaned into its technological mastery over visual effects, and it is selling that in order to bring audiences into the theater. The MonsterVerse franchise, as it's been done by Legendary Pictures, is leaning into this worldbuilding, which I think is really important and smart. But in some ways, it's letting go. I think it's more like, "Gee whiz, look at what we can do!" As opposed to talking to folks who have not just this kind of fan-ish mastery over the world, but also have a really strong emotional connection to it.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Ty Callender.