Godzilla may arguably be the best known singular monster in
the world. Known as the King of Monsters, I believe that Godzilla strikes a
type of fear in us that few other monsters can compete with. He is the apex
predator of the planet Earth, and stands leagues above of mankind on the food
chain. Mankind’s greatest weapon the atomic bomb was useless in the face of
Godzilla. The type of fear we feel when confronted with the idea of a monster
such as Godzilla is the same old ancient fear that our ancestors felt towards
the sabre tooth tiger or other such natural predators. What is the most terrifying
thing to a Hare, simply the Fox right? However this fear may translate to
admiration or envy as suggested by Cohen’s sixth thesis “Fear of the Monster is
really a Kind of Desire”. Being the absolute apex predator of the planet Earth
Godzilla is not constrained by the same rules as every other creature on the
food chain. He can take whatever he wants without worrying about any
consequences. He can sleep all day or eat all day; there is no horizon he
cannot reach and nothing, absolutely nothing can stop him. He is in total and
absolute control of his existence and potentially the existence of any other lifeforms in his domain. Godzilla has absolute freedom. Nelson Mandela said “There is no
easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the
valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop
of our desires”. We are taught that there are many challenges to face before
obtaining “freedom”. From a young age we are programmed to go to school. Most
kids try to go to college then after that grad-school. Even after years and years
of schooling there is the struggle of finding a decent job. Then even after we
find a job we are expected to work 40+ hours a week every week with maybe one
or two vacations a year. After all that, for our “vacations” we are allowed
some sort of freedom, which is still limited to how much money we have in our
bank accounts. However we are also taught to accept this type of lifestyle. We are taught that to work hard, share and be unselfish is what a decent human being should be. We shouldn't yearn to get privileges and such without working for it, without deserving it. Godzilla never had to struggle for any of the freedom/privileges and might that he possesses. Godzilla was simply born that way. The thought that Godzilla didn't have to do a damn thing to achieve his status repulses us! Society has told us that the honest way to better your life is to work for it. Tommy Hilfiger says "The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion its possible to achieve the American dream". However as Cohen states it is the "repulsion" of a monster - in this case Godzilla's unearned might - that also "attracts" us to him. Maybe we all yearn to be handed a easy
life full of privilege and freedom, maybe Godzilla
represents our hidden desires to be given something priceless like absolute
freedom for free.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting how you brought up Cohen’s thesis and compare to Godzilla, which also me to think of his last thesis that monsters are our Children. They ask us why we have created them. If we have to give a specific reason about why we right monster stories, I think to a great extent is because monsters help us to full fill the desire that unreachable as a human. Just like what you mentioned Godzilla has absolute power, has absolute freedom, there is absolute nothing can stop him. These are the strengths that human beings thirst for. Like the newest Godzilla movie, the way that the actor depicted him was more like a hero than a monster. However even he save the world human was still trying to kill him. We are scared of his power but in the mean time we are jealous of his power. I like the comparison that you made between normal human lives to Godzilla’s. In this case we seems so insignificant, like ants to Godzilla. He would not even care about human beings just like how we ignore ants. After all, these bring back to the question, why we make this scary invincible monster? I think because it is more like we want to be scared. I like to think that Cohen’s 6th thesis can answer all the monsters’ question about why we create them.
I have to agree with you on the prospect of Godzilla epitomizing the human desire to be unrestrained and completely free. There is undoubtedly something alluring to the prospect of having absolute control of one's life without having to give up something in return. But then again, I do think in that respect Godzilla also serves as an equal reminder of why power should not come without limitation. As you stated he can do whatever he wants. Whether that be nothing at all or devouring anything and everything. Such power is not something that should be attained or even reached for. There comes with that dark desire for power a loss of perspective. The idea that everything and everyone is not our equal and therefore meaningless. Godzilla's size is a physical translation of that and his rampant destruction and carelessness for anything that does not concern the fulfillment of his needs is therefore passed over. Godzilla cannot be stopped. He should be, but that ability is beyond the reach of the fallible. One can almost relate that to a child's undeveloped sense of morality. A parent teaches a child right from wrong by correcting behavior. They can do so because they have control over what the child can and cannot do. From that the child learns. If there is no boundary, no policing factor, desire becomes the only law worth following. As becomes the case with Godzilla. To say we desire Godzilla's freedom and absolute power is to say we want to be beyond the limits society and morality have set. But without such what differentiates humanity and bestiality. Therefore Godzilla remains a monster.
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