The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema's Biggest MonstersThe Kaiju (strange monster or strange beast) film genre has a number of themes that go well beyond the "big monsters stomping on cities" motif. Since the seminal King Kong 1933) and the archetypal Godzilla (1954), kaiju has mined the subject matter of science run amok, militarism, capitalism, colonialism, consumerism and pollution. This critical examination of kaiju considers the entirety of the genre--the major franchises, along with less well known films like Kronos (1957), Monsters (2010) and Pacific Rim (2013). The author examines how kaiju has crossed cultures from its original folkloric inspirations in both the U.S. and Japan and how the genre continues to reflect national values to audiences. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 4 | |
1 The Japanese Origins of the Kaiju | 25 |
2 Disasters Manmade and Natural | 37 |
3 International and Domestic Politics | 68 |
4 Science and the Weapons of Mass Destruction | 105 |
5 America and Kaiju | 121 |
6 The Body Gender and Kaiju | 156 |
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Common terms and phrases
actions alien American military argued atomic bomb attacks attempt audiences Barugon battle beast Biollante Brody Brody’s bunraku Cloverfield country’s course created creature critics Daimajin death defeat depicted Destroyah destroyed destruction disaster porn example explore female characters film’s focuses folklore Gamera gigantic Godzilla films Godzilla franchise Gojira Gyaos Hedorah Heisei horror human ican Interestingly island Japa Japan Japanese Self-Defense Forces kaiju cinema kaiju fans kaiju film kaiju genre film killed King Ghidorah King Kong 1933 Kiryu Korean massive Mechagodzilla military’s missiles Monsters movie MUTOs native nese nostalgia nuclear bomb nuclear weapons numerous original Godzilla Oxygen Destroyer Pacific Rim plot pollution Pulgasari Rebirth of Mothra released result Return of Godzilla reveals Rodan role scenes science fiction films scientists screen sequence Serizawa Showa soldiers Soviet SpaceGodzilla special effects symbol television Terror Terror of Mechagodzilla theme Tokyo ultimately United viewers villagers violence yokai
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema's Biggest Monsters |
| Author | Jason Barr |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | McFarland, 2016 |
| ISBN | 1476623953, 9781476623955 |
| Length | 212 pages |
| Subjects | › › › Performing Arts / Film / Genres / Science Fiction & Fantasy Social Science / Ethnic Studies / American / Asian American & Pacific Islander Studies |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |