With our computers, medicine, airplanes, and electric grids, we sometimes have the illusion that the world is under our control. Nature? That's something that lions have to deal with on Animal Planet.
But every now and then, a hurricane, earthquake, or radioactive dinosaur rises up to remind us that we live very much at the mercy of the natural world.
We've already looked at Godzilla as an allegory for nuclear weapons, but this prehistoric pugilist is an allegoric one-two punch, being a symbol for unbridled nature, too. As Dr. Serizawa says, "The arrogance of men is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around."
What? That's not a quote from this movie? It's from the 2014 American Godzilla? Well, Ken Watanabe said it, so it's probably true all the same.
Questions about Man and the Natural World
- How does Godzilla being a pre-human creature connect to the theme of the natural world?
- What character's the most naturally inclined? How does your reading of him or her affect your understanding of this theme?
- How do you see the villagers of Odo Island fit into the theme of man and the natural world?
- Consider an American-made movie about a city-destroying monster. Them!, Cloverfield, Godzilla (2014), your choice. How does this film's use of nature differ from Godzilla's? How is it similar? What does this tell you about nature as a theme in the monster movie genre?
Chew on This
Like American monsters born of the bomb, Godzilla can be seen as a force of nature punishing humanity. Unlike its American kin, Godzilla can be seen as a more sympathetic character as it too suffers from exposure to the bomb.
Godzilla's attacks are only on human-made objects and infrastructures.