Middle-of-the-Night Thoughts on Godzilla

Godzilla is my personal inspiration. Whether he’s the victory-dancing goof of 1965s ‘Invasion of Astro Monster’ or the grisly abomination of 2016s ‘Shin Godzilla’, the Big G always embodies something fundamental: He should not exist in this world, but now that he’s here he is going to make the best of it- by resolutely stomping forward, conquering adversity and never staying down for long. Everyone is familiar with the monster’s origins as the shockingly raw embodiment of Japan’s atomic trauma in the 1954 masterpiece Gojira - but even by the conclusion of that first encounter, the audience is made to feel stirrings of sympathy for the misbegotten beast as he is reduced to bones by a last-ditch super weapon. As Akira Ifukube’s score swells to a bittersweet crescendo, a character somberly notes that another Godzilla could again emerge from mankind’s hubris.

And so, inevitably, he did again and again in over 30 subsequent films-establishing the now implicitly understood truth that Godzilla will always return, undeterred even by disintegration. I aspire to that. On a good day, when I rise from bed it’s as if from the ocean depths, nuclear plumes billowing from my nostrils, the iconic battle cry resounding in my mind. His familiar jagged silhouette confers totemic power - a universal wellspring of might to draw upon against hosts of adversity, whether they be tanks, space monsters or shitty bosses. We can relate to Godzilla’s determination even as he is a singular entity, alien and unknowable. A skyscraper-sized cipher into which we can project our most daunting ambitions.

Over the years, Godzilla has encountered colossal friend and foe alike - all strange - most, like him, lonely one-offs -the only of their kind. These solitary creatures traverse the ocean floor or hide within volcanoes or sequestered archipelagos. When they bump into each other, conflict is inevitable. But why should this be? Shouldn’t we freaks stick together? Sure, there are always bastards out there that just can’t be reasoned with like King Ghidora and that aforementioned shitty boss that I’m still thinking about. But Mothra and Rodan aren’t so bad once you get to know them! And good ‘ol Anguirus... He deserves some special consideration.

We should all be so lucky to have an Anguirus in our lives. Sure - he’s a giant, spiky ankylosaur that crawls around on his hands and knees like a baby and true - he and Godzilla’s first encounter culminated in Anguirus’s apparent fiery death, but since that rough introduction they’ve formed a partnership that is truly special. To be clear: the guy gets absolutely wrecked every single time he goes toe to toe with another monster. Even moreso than G himself, Anguirus just constantly takes a licking and comes back for seconds. In 1974’s Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, the mechanized doppelgänger of the title appears at first clad in a false reptilian skin that only Anguirus is unfooled by. He knows his friend. And his despairing call to the real Godzilla as he fails in his lonely stand against the imposter, his tusked jaws shattered, gives me goosebumps every time. Yes, Godzilla inspires the faith in his friends that our efforts aren’t for naught - that there is value in our relentless push forward even as missiles and mutant lightning bolts assail us. We can all be Godzilla.