Godzilla Article in 6/7 Los Angeles Times
AMVaquer
head's up). As usual, a not-too-flattering-and-inaccurate story:
Friday, June 7, 2002
Godzilla's Cultural Footprint
Art* The lizard king morphs from a kitsch icon into high art in a Japanese city
that was spared in the monster's 25 films.
By HANS GREIMEL, Associated Press
KAWASAKI, Japan--Don't be fooled by the zippered-up lizard suit,
plastic-model skylines and stock footage of crowds fleeing in terror when
Godzilla smashes into town.
Japan's favorite nuclear-powered monster has finally crossed the threshold
from campy kitsch to high art--at least according to a Japanese museum drawing
thousands with its Godzilla-as-art exhibit.
"There are people who look at Godzilla and laugh. But really this is a
part of Japanese culture and history," said Hiroshi Ohsugi, curator at the Taro
Okamoto Museum of Art in the Tokyo suburb of Kawasaki, one city not destroyed
in 25 films of Godzilla rampages.
"Since Godzilla," on view through July 28, is the world's first art show
looking at Godzilla as a cultural phenomenon, not just a pop icon of lowbrow
thrills, Ohsugi said.
Packed with rubbery green Godzilla suits used in several movies, as well
as model buildings, props, still photos and film clips, the exhibit chronicles
Godzilla as a looking glass on Japanese society over the last half-century.
Nuclear bombs, rapid economic growth, space travel, the Cold War,
pollution and the dangers of biotechnology are just some of the issues touched
upon.
The opening hall takes visitors back to 1954, when the original grainy
black-and-white "Godzilla" hit the screens.
Back then, the monster's origins in a hydrogen-bomb test evoked special
terror for a nation still traumatized by the atomic attacks in Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Impact was heightened that year by a U.S. nuclear test in the Pacific
that showered a nearby Japanese fishing boat with radioactive ash.
Pitted pieces of gray fallout, on display solemnly encased in glass, set
an immediate somber tone at the exhibit, as does a blood-red banner of a
mushroom cloud enshrouding an entire wall.
The early films were likewise angry and dark, allegories of a war-battered
nation still rebuilding--"King Kong vs. Godzilla" was a political shot at
Japan's postwar U.S. occupiers. But that message faded as economic revival
blotted out memories of defeat.
During the late 1950s and 1960s, professional wrestlers zipped up in
monster suits to spice up the on-screen wrangling, and to tap the popularity of
professional wrestling that dominated programming on the nation's TV sets.
Worries about pollution took center stage in the 1970s, and so did a new
Godzilla foe: Hedora, or the Sludge Monster, a toxin-gobbling, shape-shifting
blob. Godzilla defeated it, just as he did a genetically engineered version of
himself crossed with a rose plant--yes, a rose plant--in 1989's "Godzilla vs.
Biollante."
The exhibit evokes mixed reactions, with one Godzilla fan who strolled the
aisles calling it "a little embarrassing." But even those who grew up with the
fire-breathing monster walked away with a new perspective on the lizard king.
"I didn't know there were so many social issues at play," said 27-year-old
Reiko Watabe. "This is the first time I heard the whole Godzilla story."
Nowadays, Godzilla lashes out at the modern, garish buildings that
epitomize Japan's aesthetically numbing dash into post-industrialism.
And the legend lives on with Godzilla's creator, movie house Toho Co.,
churning out a new creature feature every December in what's become a Japanese
New Year's tradition.
Ohsugi defended Godzilla's inclusion in his museum, which houses the
permanent collection of famed Japanese modern artist Taro Okamoto, because he
says Godzilla, like all true art, is a "kind of mirror" on society.
He also compared Godzilla's legacy to that of Japan's now priceless
woodblock prints, which were run off hundreds at a time during the feudal era
and dismissed then as mere tourist trinkets.
"In 100 years, maybe this too will be highly esteemed as art. But I just
couldn't wait that long," Ohsugi said.
The exhibit is drawing up to 1,000 people a day--about double the museum's
normal attendance.
"We are extremely proud," Toho producer Shogo Tomiyama said. "But whether
Godzilla is true art or not, I don't know. Everybody has a different definition
of that."
Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
Legion1979
AMVaquer
calendar...@latimes.com.
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
Norman England
Jonathan Mock
legio...@aol.com (Legion1979) wrote:
> Geez, cant one paragraph go by without insulting Godzilla!!
One can't help but wonder that if this this was an article about African
art, whether the reviewer would be able to get away with stereotyping
comments about "funny little African's" and "mud huts"?
The exhibtion sounds great, but that was lazy, cliched journalism.
Complain!
AMVaquer
>If such a thing is possible, this article is ignorant.
That's putting it mildly!
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
AMVaquer
>The exhibtion sounds great, but that was lazy, cliched journalism.
>
>Complain!
I did!
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
Jim Cleveland
"AMVaquer" <amva...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020609100349...@mb-fq.aol.com...
Unfortunately, probably more people have seen the silliness of Godzilla vs.
Megalon (thanks to NBC) than any of the superior films in the series
combined . The common perception is that Godzilla is inherently cheap and
campy.
I would imagine that at AP, being asked by the editor to write an article
about Godzilla is just slightly above being requested to put scent-cakes in
the building's urinals. The reporter's displeasure shows.
We (as kaiju fans) don't feel that way, but 99%+ of the press likely does.
Cleve
Joseph Goodman
use the phrase "silly little Japs"...
John Schuermann
Would like to see your complaint. I'm sure it was scads better than
Lenell's.
JOHN
"AMVaquer" <amva...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020609100451...@mb-fq.aol.com...
Jonathan Mock
<grreas...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I bet the writer was really upset when his bosses told him that he couldn't
> use the phrase "silly little Japs"...
Or worse! Who wrote that piece, Benny Hill?
John Schuermann
news:advqtt$rst$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...
> I bet the writer was really upset when his bosses told him that he
couldn't
> use the phrase "silly little Japs"...
As much as I am loathe to accuse people of racism (it seems to me to be a
knee-jerk accusation for some), I have to agree that there seems to be an
undercurrent of it in articles such as these. I guess, since the Japanese
can be construed as "successful," that that somehow makes it OK to put down
their culture or their likes and dislikes. Roger Ebert lately has been
going out of his way to praise Indian or Middle Eastern films, yet the
condescending, snotty tone is all over his reviews for GAMERA and GODZILLA
1985. Why is it OK to bash Japanese?
I don't want to get all political (actually I do, but the rest of you won't
like it), but this is my problem with the whole "affirmative action"
mindset - that it's OK to punish or reward a group of people based upon
some measure of their perceived success in a society. We see that in action
here - that it's OK to make fun of a whole society to which Godzilla has
some deeper sociological meaning as long it is not one of the liberal "cause
of the moment" type groups.
All cultures should be treated with equal respect, all the time. I'd like
to add to that that NO culture should be above criticism either.
JOHN
OtiGoji
>...I am loathe to accuse people of racism... >there seems to be an
>undercurrent of it in articles such as these.
I think clear stereotyping is an accurate description.
I am always struck by the irony of people who lightly comment that scenes of
displaced Japanese civilians remind them of monster movies. The relationship
between Japanese sci fi movies and the social upheavals of the Tokyo earthquake
of 1923 (or the Kobe 1995 earthquake) and the effects of World War II on the
civilian population are seen in a twisted perspective.
Regardless of how well made a Godzilla movie may be, it will always be a guy
zippered up in a lizard suit attacking plastic model buildings.
Otius Gojius
"The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to
play a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in." -- George Orwell
Jim Cleveland
"OtiGoji" <oti...@aol.comSPAMNOT> wrote in message
news:20020609121403...@mb-da.aol.com...
>
> Regardless of how well made a Godzilla movie may be, it will always be a
guy
> zippered up in a lizard suit attacking plastic model buildings.
>
>
Odd, too, that other genre movies aren't thus stereotyped. No one speaks of
"Alien" as a man in a "rubber suit". No one labels "King Kong" a child's
puppet.
Cleve
AMVaquer
>like it), but this is my problem with the whole "affirmative action"
>mindset - that it's OK to punish or reward a group of people based upon
>some measure of their perceived success in a society. We see that in action
>here - that it's OK to make fun of a whole society to which Godzilla has
>some deeper sociological meaning as long it is not one of the liberal "cause
>of the moment" type groups.
>
>All cultures should be treated with equal respect, all the time. I'd like
>to add to that that NO culture should be above criticism either.
>
>JOHN
Well said, John!
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
AMVaquer
>
>Would like to see your complaint. I'm sure it was scads better than
>Lenell's.
>
>JOHN
It's on the way to you now.
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
AMVaquer
bit tired and had a big sushi dinner, but a response is needed (join in, gang):
Dear Editor:
It never fails whenever a media outlet (print or electronic) does a story on
Japan's Godzilla, it is written in a condescending tone and is none too
flattering. It has happened again in the June 7 story on the "Since Godzilla"
exhibit by Hans Greimel of the Associated Press.
The story starts out with, "Don't be fooled by the zippered-up lizard suit,
plastic-model skylines and stock footage of crowds fleeing in terror when
Godzilla smashes into town." First of all, Toho Co., Ltd. does not use "stock
footage" of fleeing crowds in their films and the skylines are not "plastic
models." Their miniatures are as professionally done (or more so) as anything
similarly done in Hollywood. Whenever a new film is in production and location
filming is planned, calls go out to citizens to take part in the fleeing
scenes.
The article then goes on to state, "There are people who look at Godzilla and
laugh." Obviously, Mr. Greimel is one of those people. So much for non-biased
opinions, eh?
And again, ""Since Godzilla," on view through July 28, is the world's first art
show looking at Godzilla as a cultural phenomenon, not just a pop icon of
lowbrow thrills, [Taro Okamoto Museum Curator Hiroshi] Ohsugi said." I
seriously doubt Mr. Ohsugi said "lowbrow."
The article finally stated something accurate when it stated that "nuclear
bombs, rapid economic growth, space travel, the Cold War, pollution and the
dangers of biotechnology are just some of the issues touched upon." This was
also one of the few times Greimel wasn't condescending.
Unfortunately, Greimel goes back to inaccurate statements again.
Greimel really missed the mark when he wrote, ""King Kong vs. Godzilla" was a
political shot at Japan's postwar U.S. occupiers. But that message faded as
economic revival blotted out memories of defeat." This is completly false.
"King Kong vs. Godzilla" was a satire on Japan's media and played strictly for
laughs.
And the mark was also missed when Greimel stated that "during the late 1950s
and 1960s, professional wrestlers zipped up in monster suits to spice up the
on-screen wrangling." Again, not true. The suit actors were just that,
actors. Some of the suit actors may have had some martial arts training, but
they were not professional wrestlers. Haruo Nakajima, the original Godzilla
suit actor, is a respected actor who also acted in a number of classic Japanese
films including Akira Kurosawa's classic "The Seven Samurai."
What I'd like to ask Mr. Greimel is, If Godzilla is so "lowbrow", "kitschy", an
"embarassment", etc., then why is he about to celebrate his 50th Anniversary in
2004, appeared in 25 films and has fans worldwide?
Most of the misconceptions people have over Godzilla come from articles like
Mr. Greimel's. It is time we set the record straight.
Sincerely,
Armand Vaquer
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
Jonathan Mock
<jclevel1@(spambytes)rochester.rr.com> wrote:
George Pal's movies get praised for their visual effects, Honda's get
slated when at times they are tehnically more acomplished.
Go figure.
Bokman7757
>Armand -
>
>Would like to see your complaint. I'm sure it was scads better than
>Lenell's.
Isn't that damning with faint praise? :)
Bokman7757
>Greimel really missed the mark when he wrote, ""King Kong vs. Godzilla"
>was a
>political shot at Japan's postwar U.S. occupiers.
Agree here- I have NO idea where the hell that reading comes from. There are no
major American characters in the entire movie- just a few supporting roles,
even if you count "Eric Carter" and the UN News team in the US release.
Ryuusei Productions
You know I will!
If this is the kind of flack that Japanese will continue to get from
Americans, then I will NEVER be domesticated.
If I met people like this guy, face to face, I would've seriously
injured them to show them the pain the fans are feeling now.
To paraphrase David Bowie, "This is not America."
-John Cassidy
Richmond, VA
"When you lose money, they call you broke. But when you lose a
fortune, they call you . . . THE BROKOLOGIST!!!"
Norman England
now so I can't quote it verbatim) that says how some Godzilla fan is
embarrassed by the "SINCE GODZILLA" show. I find this VERY hard to believe,
and would go so far as to say that this was made up. In Japan, the
exhibition has a unanimous approval rating.
Unless of course, the "fan" who stated this is a fan of the very worst
aspects of the giant monster genre. Or perhaps this statement was said
because the show is not directed at the hard-core fan base, and instead is
attempting to elevate the prestige of Godzilla in the eyes of the public.
If this is so, then this article has done an injustice to the very spirit
of the show by showing that the writer, despite having seen the show,
retains his prejudices.
Anyone wanting to see Godzilla given a fair shake would be proud of this
show. I've been twice and plan to go at least once more.
AMVaquer
>Also, in the article there is some statement (sorry, I'm not looking at it
>now so I can't quote it verbatim) that says how some Godzilla fan is
>embarrassed by the "SINCE GODZILLA" show. I find this VERY hard to believe,
>and would go so far as to say that this was made up.
Obviously, not too many people were "embarassed" enough since they doubled the
museum's "normal attendance."
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
John R Stobo
Probably referring to the old rumor of the film having two endings, the US
one where the US movie monster Kong wins, and the Japanese ending where
the Japanese monster Godzilla wins.
But on the other hand the film does feature the US Navy's clumsiest
submarine captain ever. And on a related note G also trashes that Soviet
base on his way south, extracting revenge for the USSR conquest of the
Kuriles.
---jack
John Schuermann
> >Armand -
> >
> >Would like to see your complaint. I'm sure it was scads better than
> >Lenell's.
>
> Isn't that damning with faint praise? :)
That's why I inserted the phrase "scads better." And it was.
Besides, it's all relative. :)
JOHN
John Schuermann
of
> "Alien" as a man in a "rubber suit".
I've made this same point many times before - it's absolutely valid.
JOHN
John Schuermann
of
> > "Alien" as a man in a "rubber suit". No one labels "King Kong" a
child's
> > puppet.
>
>
> George Pal's movies get praised for their visual effects, Honda's get
> slated when at times they are tehnically more acomplished.
>
> Go figure.
No kidding. Movies like LOGAN'S RUN still get praised for their "elaborate
special effects," when they are worse than 90% of what Toho had ever churned
out...
JOHN
John Schuermann
> >All cultures should be treated with equal respect, all the time. I'd
like
> >to add to that that NO culture should be above criticism either.
> >
> >JOHN
>
>
> Well said, John!
Thanks!!!
JOHN
Jim Cleveland
"John Schuermann" <jsmusi...@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:1F8N8.7517$nn1.2...@news1.news.adelphia.net...
> No kidding. Movies like LOGAN'S RUN still get praised for their
"elaborate
> special effects," when they are worse than 90% of what Toho had ever
churned
> out...
Yes, I agree. The city minatures in Logans Run were greatly inferior to
Toho's better work.
I wonder if a case could be made that ridicule of Japanese films is a form
of racism?
Cleve
Jonathan Mock
> But on the other hand the film does feature the US Navy's clumsiest
> submarine captain ever. And on a related note G also trashes that Soviet
> base on his way south, extracting revenge for the USSR conquest of the
> Kuriles.
Even more clumsy than the clots in G98?
Jonathan Mock
> No kidding. Movies like LOGAN'S RUN still get praised for their "elaborate
> special effects," when they are worse than 90% of what Toho had ever churned
> out...
>
> JOHN
Didn't that win an award for "Visual Effects"?
John Schuermann
JOHN
"Jonathan Mock" <jonath...@SPAMOFFukonline.co.uk> wrote in message
news:jonathan.mock-ya0240...@news.ukonline.co.uk...
August Ragone
Yes. Thus proving that the entire US film industry was high on cocaine
for at least a decade -- previously, they were stoned on grass.
Jim Cleveland
"August Ragone" <kaij...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c7251f62.0206...@posting.google.com...
Toho was doing more advanced effects, better, more than a before Logan's
Run. Why would "Gojira" not get an Oscar considering it was superior to
Logan's Run? Anti-Japanese sentiment in the Oscar Committee? It was only
10 years after WW2.
Cleve
AMVaquer
>for at least a decade -- previously, they were stoned on grass.
Longer than that, August! Remember "You Only Live Twice" got it in 1968 for
Special Effects. Nobody seemed to notice the wires on the Vulcan Bomber that
was heading into the drink.
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
Wolf
> >
> > Yes. Thus proving that the entire US film industry was high on cocaine
> > for at least a decade -- previously, they were stoned on grass.
>
>
> Toho was doing more advanced effects, better, more than a before Logan's
> Run. Why would "Gojira" not get an Oscar considering it was superior to
> Logan's Run? Anti-Japanese sentiment in the Oscar Committee? It was
only
> 10 years after WW2.
Simply -- there was no Best Foreign Film award in 1955 (the award year for
1954 movies)
relevant categories and their winners (1955)
Best Effects, Special Effects
Winner:
* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) - Walt Disney Studios
Other Nominees:
# Hell and High Water (1954) - 20th Century-Fox
# Them! (1954) - Warner Bros.
Best Costume Design, Black-and-White
Winner:
* Sabrina (1954) - Edith Head
Other Nominees:
# Executive Suite (1954) - Helen Rose
# It Should Happen to You (1954) - Jean Louis (I)
# Madame de... (1953) - Georges Annenkov; Rosine Delamare
# Stazione Termini (1953) - Christian Dior
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Winner:
* On the Waterfront (1954) - Boris Kaufman
Other Nominees:
# Country Girl, The (1954) - John F. Warren
# Executive Suite (1954) - George J. Folsey
# Rogue Cop (1954) - John F. Seitz
# Sabrina (1954) - Charles Lang (I)
Best Costume Design, Black-and-White
Winner:
* Solid Gold Cadillac, The (1956) - Jean Louis (I)
Other Nominees:
# Power and the Prize, The (1956) - Helen Rose
# Proud and Profane, The (1956) - Edith Head
# Shichinin no samurai (1954) - Kôhei Ezaki
# Teenage Rebel (1956) - Charles Le Maire; Mary Wills (I)
Best Film Editing
Winner:
* Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) - Gene Ruggiero; Paul Weatherwax
Other Nominees:
# Brave One, The (1956) - Merrill G. White
# Giant (1956) - William Hornbeck; Philip W. Anderson; Fred Bohanan
# Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) - Albert Akst
# Ten Commandments, The (1956) - Anne Bauchens
Best Effects, Special Effects
Winner:
* Ten Commandments, The (1956) - John P. Fulton
Other Nominees:
# Forbidden Planet (1956) - A. Arnold Gillespie; Irving G. Ries; Wesley C.
Miller
Best Foreign Language Film
Winner:
* Strada, La (1954)
- Italy
Other Nominees:
# Biruma no tategoto (1956)
- Japan
# Gervaise (1956)
- France
# Hauptmann von Köpenick, Der (1956)
- Germany
# Qivitoq (1956)
- Denmark
--
|\-/|
<0 0>
=(o)=
-Wolf
Jonathan Mock
> Longer than that, August! Remember "You Only Live Twice" got it in 1968 for
> Special Effects.
Or "Thunderball" even.
At least YOLT did have some half-decent visual effects. But then "the Spy
Who Love Me" features perhaps some of the best Bond miniatures (but that
was 1977 and only one movie was ever going to win that!).
> Nobody seemed to notice the wires on the Vulcan Bomber that
> was heading into the drink.
The great thing about Avro Vulcan's at air shows was that the
sound/vibration of the afterburners would always set off car alarms!
AMVaquer
>for
>> Special Effects.
>
>Or "Thunderball" even.
Actually, I did mean "Thunderball" about the Vulcan Bomber and the Academy
Award. The YOLT wasn't bad, as you said (maybe the flames coming from the
rocket didn't look too well, but compare that with rocket flames from Toho's
efforts of the period and they were superior).
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
AMVaquer
>
>>> Longer than that, August! Remember "You Only Live Twice" got it in 1968
>>for
>>> Special Effects.
>>
>>Or "Thunderball" even.
Clarifying this a bit, "Thunderball" (1965) got the Academy Award for special
effects in 1966.
"You Only Live Twice" (1967) I don't believe got any Oscar.
Still, Toho's effects of the period did look better than some from those two
films.
Armand Vaquer
http://www.hometown.aol.com/amvaquer/myhomepageindex.html
Joseph Goodman
> Other Nominees:
> # Biruma no tategoto (1956)
> - Japan
"The Burmese Harp"... one of the most depressing movies one could ever
see... Ifukube's score to this one is great.
Bokman7757
>Why would "Gojira" not get an Oscar considering it was superior to
>Logan's Run?
Hard for them to compare the two films seeing as they weren't competing with
each other...
> Anti-Japanese sentiment in the Oscar Committee? It was only
>10 years after WW2.
Just about- actually GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS, being released in '56,
woulda been competing with THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, which took FX because, well,
they ran film backwards... (also against FORBIDDEN PLANET.)