Godzilla: An Enlightenment vs Industrialist Struggle

Pop in that Blue Öyster Cult CD and set your cultural stereotypes, because Godzilla is in the house, but hopefully not literally; I don’t have a house that big and I’m pretty sure Godzilla isn't a polite house guest. 

"God damnit Godzilla, did you eat all the Tostito's???"

The storied franchise Godzilla has been through an insane number of sequels, including the 1998 Roland Emmerich rendition which I believe won the Nobel Peace Prize for the good it brought to the world. Thus, the version to be examined will be said classic reimagining. Now, often times Godzilla is looked upon as a metaphor for Japanese fear of atomic weapons or the backlash against technological innovation in a post-war Japan, but that’s just a bunch of pansies deciding they don’t really want to look at the truth. The real truth is that Godzilla is a historical analog for the Industrialist backlash against Enlightenment ideals and the repercussions of said backlash.

Let’s get some context up in this hizzy. The Enlightenment was all about democracy and free thought and shit.

Pictured: "And shit"

The Industrial Revolution brought on quite a different viewpoint, all about mechanizing the world and colonizing lesser countries. So what's happening today, but with cotton and precious metals instead of cheap shoes and...precious metals. When it came to Enlightenment ideas, the big wigs of Industrialization weren't huge fans. The cruel stance of the Industrialist leaders in regards to their workers had some pretty tragic results, as well as its own backlash in the form of unions and welfare and other shit.

Pictured: "Other shit"

The Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution were two pivotal times in recent world history, and Roland Emmerich, being the meaningful purveyor of deep themes that he is, perfectly extrapolated their importance in movie form. At the beginning of the movie we see the government, the Industrialists, attempting to contend with the uprising of Godzilla, the embodiment of Enlightenment ideals. Later in the movie we find that the government had attempted to cover up its knowledge of Godzilla, much like the Industrialist leaders tried to stamp out the suggestion that suffrage or human rights were things that their power was founded on. Along with this, the French desperately attempt to hide their involvement in the creation of Godzilla, hiding their own violent past.

"Reign of Terror? What's that" -The French

Godzilla, after decades of hiding, rises up and destroys giant tankers in the Pacific and Atlantic, an occasional strike or call for dignity that the government must hide and refuse to acknowledge. However, when Godzilla attacks New York City, a symbol for the growing power of resurgent Enlightenment ideals, the Industrialist government can no longer deny the truth of the matter and makes the only logical decision: bomb the ever loving shit out of the Enlightenment creation and hope to destroy all remnants of what it holds true. Though they celebrate in the destruction of the monster of their own creation, the fight is not over.

Immediately after the contrarian’s “annihilation,” it’s found that eggs have been laid. Godzilla, being the Enlightenment martyr, has left in the working class seeds of insurrection and thoughts of freedoms that work against the industrialists. Having discovered the eggs, Matthew Broderick and his team, representatives of the white, property owning males that held slight power, alert the Industrial heads hoping for a quelling. Instead, the government destroys the eggs through slight compromises such as minimum wage and basic safety. The hope is that these concessions will be enough to please the Enlightenment idealists.

Instead of being pleased, the idealists are only empowered to form greater collections for freedom and revive the grand monster of Enlightenment as Godzilla rises from the ashes to fight the government again. However, these vast organizations are their own worst enemies, as Godzilla becomes entangled and is easily killed. Though the great collection has been destroyed, an egg hatches again, demanding more rights. Thus the cycle continues, leading towards vast swaths of reforms sweeping the world like a broom sweeping the floor, or some other metaphor that doesn't suck.

Mop mopping the kitchen?

Obviously a fine collector of knowledge, Master Emmerich allows a history of reformation to seep into the mind unknowingly through his magnum opus, Godzilla: Or How a Government Must Bend to its Peoples (the original title). The reformers won, just as Godzilla’s spawn will eventually win. All in due time will the government be toppled and rights be had for all. Except Third World Countries. If they wanted rights, they should’ve been born here. After all, Daddy needs a new pair of cheap Nike's!