Godzilla Man and the Natural World Quotes

How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Godzilla.

Quote #4

YAMANE: Approximately two million years ago, the brontosaurus and other dinosaurs were at their peak. Scientists call this the Jurassic period. It's believed that during the following geological period, the Cretaceous period, a rare intermediate organism was evolving from a marine reptile into a terrestrial animal. Following Odo Island tradition, I propose for the time being that we call this creature Godzilla.

We know, we know. Dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago. Two million years ago, they weren't doing much of anything except hanging out in their rocky graves and waiting to be discovered. Come on, Yamane, that's a rookie mistake.

Nitpicking aside, the point of this scene is that Godzilla is also a prehistoric creature, a dinosaur from a time when the natural world was ruled by a creature other than Homo sapiens.

And has nature ever produced a creature more terrifying to the human mind than dinosaurs? They're basically real-life dragons that snacked on our ancestors.

Quote #5

EMIKO: Father. What's wrong?

YAMANE: All they can think about is killing Godzilla. Why don't they try to study its resistance to radiation? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

OGATA: Professor, I disagree.

YAMANE: Ogata, I'm not saying this on some kind of whim. No scientist in the world has ever seen anything like Godzilla. It's a priceless specimen, found only in Japan.

OGATA: But Professor, that's no reason to let such a violent monster run loose. Godzilla is no different from the H-bomb still hanging over Japan's head.

Yamane may be on the wrong side of the dinosaur here, but he does bring up an excellent point. One of humanity's greatest assets is our ability to study and learn from nature. It's allowed us to develop all sorts of beneficial things, like antibiotics (well, beneficial for us, not the bacteria so much). What could we learn by studying Godzilla?

More to the point, is anyone else disappointed that the Yeti turned out to be just a bear http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/11/so-much-abominable-snowman-study-finds-yeti-dna-belongs-bears?

Quote #6

SERIZAWA: I'd intended to research oxygen thoroughly from every angle. In doing so, I discovered an unexpected form of energy. After my first experiment, I was filled with horror at the power I'd unleashed. I couldn't eat for days. [He picks up a bowl.] Just a small ball of this substance could turn all of Tokyo Bay into an aquatic graveyard.

Yep, Godzilla keeps bringing it back to nuclear weapons. Well, it's the Oxygen Destroyer in this case, but you take our point.