In 1954, a massive irradiated dinosaur emerged from Tokyo Bay and rained death and destruction on the Japanese capital. Since then Godzilla and other monsters, such as Mothra and Gamera, have gained cult status around the world. This book provides a new interpretation of these monsters, or kaiju-ū, and their respective movies. Analyzing Japanese history, society and film, the authors show the ways in which this monster cinema take on environmental and ecological issues--from nuclear power and industrial pollution to biodiversity and climate change.
Over the course of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, Godzilla and other monsters continually plague Japan and its people. Sean Rhoads and Brooke McCorkle provide a new interpretation on this popular film genre. They argue that the genre consistently addresses contemporary environmental concerns and ecological issues.
