Giant Creatures in Our World: Essays on Kaiju and American Popular CultureCamille D.G. Mustachio, Jason Barr Dismissed as camp by critics but revered by fans, the kaiju or "strange creature" film has become an iconic element of both Japanese and American pop culture. From homage to parody to advertising, references to Godzilla--and to a lesser extent Gamera, Rodan, Ultraman and others--abound in entertainment media. Godzilla in particular is so ubiquitous, his name is synonymous with immensity and destruction. In this collection of new essays, contributors examine kaiju representations in a range of contexts and attempt to define this at times ambiguous genre. |
Contents
Introduction | |
American Superheroes as Kaiju Villains Se Young Kim | |
Observations on Religious Elements Seen in Ultraman Justin Mullis | |
Kaiju as Ciphers of Unbalance Jase Short | |
Kaiju as Cult Icons in Pacific Rim Nicholas Bollinger | |
The Monsters and the Women in King Kong 1933 Gojira 1954 Monster Zero 1965 Destroy All Monsters 1968 and Gamera III Revenge of Iris 1999... | |
Narrative of Neutrality in King Kong Escapes and Frankenstein Conquers the World Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns and Emiliano Aguilar | |
Hitoshi Matsumotos Big Man Japan Kenta McGrath | |
Normalizing Japans SelfDefense Forces through Postwar Monster Films Jeffrey J Hall | |
Godzilla Gorillas and Geopolitics in the Global 21st Century Jamie Macdonald | |
We are eating Gamera Mystery Science Theater 3000 Consumes the Kaiju Karen Joan Kohoutek | |
How Nostalgia Influences Adult Toy Collecting Jason Barr | |
About the Contributors | |
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action allows American anxieties appear attack attempt audiences battle become beginning Big Man Japan bomb called character cinema collecting collector considered contemporary continues create creatures critical cult depicted destruction disaster effects elements entire episodes essay example existence fact film’s final force frame franchise gamera genre giant monster global godzilla Gojira hero horror human idea images imagination important influence interesting Japanese JSDF kaijin kaiju film Kamen Rider King Kong meaning military monster movie narrative nature notes nuclear opening original Pacific Rim particular play political pop culture popular culture postwar Print references relationship represents role scene science fiction seems seen sense situation social society specific story superhero term tion tokusatsu Tokyo tradition Ultra Ultra Q ultraman viewers weapons writer