Nov. 3, 2026

338. Why Do Big Audiences Want to Feel Small Next to Godzilla?

Show Notes

Less than ten years after the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, another radioactive monster stomped across the shores of that struggling nation. Yet a strange thing happened after that original 1954 film from Toho and writer/director Ishirō Honda. Godzilla screeched his way into the hearts of film fans across the world, transforming between reboots and sequels from terrifying black-and-white doom to goofy-eyed rubber-suited hero. How on Earth did this monstrous king get so big?

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Quotes and notes

Godzilla: King of the Monsters Is Not Safe, But He’s Good, E. Stephen Burnett at Christ and Pop Culture (2019)
Godzilla Minus One Pits a Human Hero Journey vs. Godzilla x Kong’s Smashing Spectacle, Parker J. Cole at Lorehaven (2024)
Chariots, Horses, and Aircraft Carriers are No Match For ‘Godzilla’, Austin Gunderson at the original Speculative Faith blog (2014)

Correction

Stephen mentions the wrong release year for the American film Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which released in 2019.

1. Godzilla! The original harbinger of death!

Stephen recently saw Honda’s original Godzilla for the first time.
This was the sub version, no Raymond Burr, only Japanese.
At first the film is very plot-driven, then focused on a human cast.
By then you’re very invested in these poor people’s survival.
He only laughed once at tiny plane missiles. The rest aged well!
Shin Godzilla (2016) and Godzilla Minus One (2023) stay dark.
True fans of Godzilla may also mention other films that follow this.
A few others make Godzilla more of an antihero, yet still scary.
Of these, Stephen likes Godzilla (2014) and especially its sequel.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) is the best American version.

2. Godzilla! A fun hero who slays dragons!

Toho’s monster got away from its original horror-movie origins.
By the time of the sequels, Godzilla got goofier and more positive.
So is Godzilla a dark horror-monster or silly hero? Answer: yes.
Stephen prefers the villainous or antiheroic/heroic sincere version.
Yet the silly version is also canon, embracing the monster fights.
This version forms many memes, with silly moves and derpy faces.
Goofzilla fulfills another fan wish: a monster to kill bad monsters.
The recent American films with King Kong follow in this tradition.
Stephen saw both but can barely remember any of their highlights.
Anyhow, Godzilla is barely in those, placing Kong at center stage.

3. Godzilla Minus Zero, plus a billion fans!

Takashi Yamazaki’s film Godzilla Minus One won for good reason.
This 2023 reboot moves the monster closer to his historical origin.
No more Goofzilla, wrestling matches, or rubber suits for kids.
Yamazaki takes this monster seriously and values human drama.
Godzilla Minus Zero promises more of the same, and even bigger.
Classic fans can expect the return of more fantastical elements.
Stephen wants to see Godzilla smash Tokyo and maybe New York.
But also, what about the new family formed by Kōichi and Noriko?
Minus One celebrates recovery from trauma to fight for new life.
This theme seems more crucial and transcendent, even biblical.

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