It dawned on me...
...as I was enjoying the destruction of tokyo at its finest, isn't godzilla the last of his kind?
The original Gojira (1954) is a movie that sent many different messages of the times. The horror of nuclear weapons and the repercussions that can bring, even the concerns of impacting the global community, but it also brings up a question of protecting an endangered species.
Okay, here's the sit-rep...
...Gojira, a 2,000,000 year old dinosaur from between the Jurassic and the Cretaceous, is bombarded by radiation and removed from his natural habitat. This totally pisses him off. Boats get destroyed, islands get rampaged, and eventually Gojira takes a stroll through downtown Tokyo knocking over every building and tower in his path. He leaves a wake of destruction as fas as the eye can see. Tokyo is never the same again. He continues his rampage until he's finally brought down by an experimental oxygen based weapon that is supposed to basically removed his flesh from his bones. In the end, humanity prevails and Gojira is destroyed.
But does humanity truly prevail?
The local Professor of Paleontology, Professor Tanabe (Fuyuki Murakami) is intent on studying this creature at first, but has to come to grips with the realization that this mutated Tyrannosaurus is going to destroy ALL of Japan if left unchecked.
But he does have a valid point doesn't he?
First, Gojira is a creature thought to have been extinct for millions of years, kinda like the Coelacanth.
Second, Gojira is the last of his species, kinda reminiscent of the current status of the Yangtze River Dolphin.
Any other animal in the kind of danger status would immediately have doctors and scientists and protesters and activists all up and down it's newly declared habitat in a effort to protect the creature from extinction. Gojira would be the next best thing since the spotted owl. Never mind the fact that he's a 50 meter monster that would probably eat everyone in sight, or at least melt their faces off with his radioactive breath.
It's an interesting thought.
The funny thing is, and my point thats finally starting to emerge, is that it's true, he should be protected. (King Kong too!) Who cares that the occasional fishing boat gets sunken, happens all the time. So what if island villagers get squashed and there homes get demolished in a 2,000,000 year old stampede, don't you think he deserves to be angry after being uprooted and having his habitat destroyed? As for the occasional Japanese resident getting eaten or melted, that all comes down to survival of the fittest don't you think? (You could argue that attacking Gojira with "chemical weapons" is survival too, I'll allow it)
But just because Gojira and so many of the other denzians of the Monster Island are big and ugly and dangerous "monsters" they don't have rights to exist? They aren't allowed to continue to exist simply because the pose a risk to society at large.
Kinda like every time they kill an animal that has attacked a human. Regardless of it's protected status. If the animal is deemed a manhunter, it is hunted and killed, end of story. It's sad to think that just because an animal acts on the instinct it was born with that it must pay the ultimate price for doing nothing more then being itself. Acting as nature intended.
I feel bad just as much as the next person when you hear about the latest shark attack, or bear mauling, but in almost every case these are individuals that have encroached upon the environment of another animal that in all due respect is rightfully there in the first place. When it's not humanity in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's humanity removing the animal from it's natural habitat and placing it into zoos and carnivals and circuses.
Places animals shouldn't be at in the first place. But in all cases, it's the animal that pays the final price. Not just the particular animal, but the species in a whole. Sharks are a great example. Most people I know aren't big on the idea of swimming in an ocean that may be considered a big bowl of soup to some giant fish. Many people are like that (maybe it's a northern thing I don't know) The media paints a picture of sharks as killers, but in reality most sharks are scarred of humans, or mistake them for something else. Yes, there are shark attacks that are more then a simple bite and release, but humans are generally not on the menu for sharks and species gets vilified. The animal gets hunted down and killed. Probably killing many other animals in the process. The shark is doing his own thing in his own environment and pays for it.
We do the same thing with animals humans bring into their own environment. Have you ever heard a story about a circus or zoo animal being hunted or killed after it escaped? I have. Tyke, a circus elephant Hawaii escaped after killing his trainer and rampaged through downtown Kakaako until police put over 80 shots into her eventually bringing her down. (hmmmm...too bad she didn't have nuclear breath)
It's sad, this animal would have probably gone on to cause more death and injury if they hadn't killed her, but at the same time this should have never happened and wouldn't of if we would learn our role in the environment and that we can co-exist peacefully as long as we understand the rules.
All in all, Godzilla sadly is a victim of circumstance. Humanity and it's misuse of the powers it harnesses displaced poor Godzilla and really pissed the big guy off. Is he to blame?
No. I don't think so.
But ultimately he was faced with humanities him or us decision, and thanks to humanity once again playing around with nature, another endangered species bites the dust...
...and every time that happens, its the world that pays the price.
Wait. Hear that? Is that truth ringing?
...as I was enjoying the destruction of tokyo at its finest, isn't godzilla the last of his kind?
The original Gojira (1954) is a movie that sent many different messages of the times. The horror of nuclear weapons and the repercussions that can bring, even the concerns of impacting the global community, but it also brings up a question of protecting an endangered species.
Okay, here's the sit-rep...
...Gojira, a 2,000,000 year old dinosaur from between the Jurassic and the Cretaceous, is bombarded by radiation and removed from his natural habitat. This totally pisses him off. Boats get destroyed, islands get rampaged, and eventually Gojira takes a stroll through downtown Tokyo knocking over every building and tower in his path. He leaves a wake of destruction as fas as the eye can see. Tokyo is never the same again. He continues his rampage until he's finally brought down by an experimental oxygen based weapon that is supposed to basically removed his flesh from his bones. In the end, humanity prevails and Gojira is destroyed.
But does humanity truly prevail?
The local Professor of Paleontology, Professor Tanabe (Fuyuki Murakami) is intent on studying this creature at first, but has to come to grips with the realization that this mutated Tyrannosaurus is going to destroy ALL of Japan if left unchecked.
But he does have a valid point doesn't he?
First, Gojira is a creature thought to have been extinct for millions of years, kinda like the Coelacanth.
Second, Gojira is the last of his species, kinda reminiscent of the current status of the Yangtze River Dolphin.
Any other animal in the kind of danger status would immediately have doctors and scientists and protesters and activists all up and down it's newly declared habitat in a effort to protect the creature from extinction. Gojira would be the next best thing since the spotted owl. Never mind the fact that he's a 50 meter monster that would probably eat everyone in sight, or at least melt their faces off with his radioactive breath.
It's an interesting thought.
The funny thing is, and my point thats finally starting to emerge, is that it's true, he should be protected. (King Kong too!) Who cares that the occasional fishing boat gets sunken, happens all the time. So what if island villagers get squashed and there homes get demolished in a 2,000,000 year old stampede, don't you think he deserves to be angry after being uprooted and having his habitat destroyed? As for the occasional Japanese resident getting eaten or melted, that all comes down to survival of the fittest don't you think? (You could argue that attacking Gojira with "chemical weapons" is survival too, I'll allow it)
But just because Gojira and so many of the other denzians of the Monster Island are big and ugly and dangerous "monsters" they don't have rights to exist? They aren't allowed to continue to exist simply because the pose a risk to society at large.
Kinda like every time they kill an animal that has attacked a human. Regardless of it's protected status. If the animal is deemed a manhunter, it is hunted and killed, end of story. It's sad to think that just because an animal acts on the instinct it was born with that it must pay the ultimate price for doing nothing more then being itself. Acting as nature intended.
I feel bad just as much as the next person when you hear about the latest shark attack, or bear mauling, but in almost every case these are individuals that have encroached upon the environment of another animal that in all due respect is rightfully there in the first place. When it's not humanity in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's humanity removing the animal from it's natural habitat and placing it into zoos and carnivals and circuses.
Places animals shouldn't be at in the first place. But in all cases, it's the animal that pays the final price. Not just the particular animal, but the species in a whole. Sharks are a great example. Most people I know aren't big on the idea of swimming in an ocean that may be considered a big bowl of soup to some giant fish. Many people are like that (maybe it's a northern thing I don't know) The media paints a picture of sharks as killers, but in reality most sharks are scarred of humans, or mistake them for something else. Yes, there are shark attacks that are more then a simple bite and release, but humans are generally not on the menu for sharks and species gets vilified. The animal gets hunted down and killed. Probably killing many other animals in the process. The shark is doing his own thing in his own environment and pays for it.
We do the same thing with animals humans bring into their own environment. Have you ever heard a story about a circus or zoo animal being hunted or killed after it escaped? I have. Tyke, a circus elephant Hawaii escaped after killing his trainer and rampaged through downtown Kakaako until police put over 80 shots into her eventually bringing her down. (hmmmm...too bad she didn't have nuclear breath)
It's sad, this animal would have probably gone on to cause more death and injury if they hadn't killed her, but at the same time this should have never happened and wouldn't of if we would learn our role in the environment and that we can co-exist peacefully as long as we understand the rules.
All in all, Godzilla sadly is a victim of circumstance. Humanity and it's misuse of the powers it harnesses displaced poor Godzilla and really pissed the big guy off. Is he to blame?
No. I don't think so.
But ultimately he was faced with humanities him or us decision, and thanks to humanity once again playing around with nature, another endangered species bites the dust...
...and every time that happens, its the world that pays the price.
Wait. Hear that? Is that truth ringing?
----------------
Listening to: Henry Rollins - Airport Hell
via FoxyTunes
3 comments:
Too hard to read all that on the black background. Too bad too,I love gojira!
You could cut and paste...
I think gojira would want that.
:P
Sweet! Good idea, thanks.
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