Godzilla at 70: Time for <i>Kaijū</i> Studies
This article contextualises the history of <i>kaijū</i> scholarship and looks particularly at the swell of publishing that has emerged in the last decade. It argues that the release of a series of new Godzilla films has led to a greater focus on the <i>kaijū</i> film, but tha...
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2024-10-01
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| author | Steven Rawle |
| author_facet | Steven Rawle |
| author_sort | Steven Rawle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article contextualises the history of <i>kaijū</i> scholarship and looks particularly at the swell of publishing that has emerged in the last decade. It argues that the release of a series of new Godzilla films has led to a greater focus on the <i>kaijū</i> film, but that there is recurrence of critical themes that have persisted throughout scholarship on giant monster movies since the 1960s. This provides a literature review to understand how <i>kaijū</i> media has been critiqued, defined and challenged in response to the near three-quarter century history of <i>kaijū</i> cinema to consider if studies of the <i>kaijū</i> media provide the impetus to look at the <i>kaijū</i> as deserving of its own field of study. If zombie studies and vampire studies can occupy their own emerging fields of study, why not the <i>kaijū</i>? If the figure of the <i>kaijū</i> asks the biggest questions of our cultures, then do the giant monsters not deserve their own field? But, if this is an emerging field of study, the article poses, it needs to be more than <i>kaijū</i> film studies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-679d879581c242e0bcd7ba2b8ea853d2 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj-art-679d879581c242e0bcd7ba2b8ea853d22025-08-20T02:56:07ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872024-10-0113614510.3390/h13060145Godzilla at 70: Time for <i>Kaijū</i> StudiesSteven Rawle0School of the Arts, York St John University, York YO31 7EX, UKThis article contextualises the history of <i>kaijū</i> scholarship and looks particularly at the swell of publishing that has emerged in the last decade. It argues that the release of a series of new Godzilla films has led to a greater focus on the <i>kaijū</i> film, but that there is recurrence of critical themes that have persisted throughout scholarship on giant monster movies since the 1960s. This provides a literature review to understand how <i>kaijū</i> media has been critiqued, defined and challenged in response to the near three-quarter century history of <i>kaijū</i> cinema to consider if studies of the <i>kaijū</i> media provide the impetus to look at the <i>kaijū</i> as deserving of its own field of study. If zombie studies and vampire studies can occupy their own emerging fields of study, why not the <i>kaijū</i>? If the figure of the <i>kaijū</i> asks the biggest questions of our cultures, then do the giant monsters not deserve their own field? But, if this is an emerging field of study, the article poses, it needs to be more than <i>kaijū</i> film studies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/13/6/145Godzilla<i>kaiju</i>nuclearAnthropocenemonsterJapan |
| spellingShingle | Steven Rawle Godzilla at 70: Time for <i>Kaijū</i> Studies Humanities Godzilla <i>kaiju</i> nuclear Anthropocene monster Japan |
| title | Godzilla at 70: Time for <i>Kaijū</i> Studies |
| title_full | Godzilla at 70: Time for <i>Kaijū</i> Studies |
| title_fullStr | Godzilla at 70: Time for <i>Kaijū</i> Studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Godzilla at 70: Time for <i>Kaijū</i> Studies |
| title_short | Godzilla at 70: Time for <i>Kaijū</i> Studies |
| title_sort | godzilla at 70 time for i kaiju i studies |
| topic | Godzilla <i>kaiju</i> nuclear Anthropocene monster Japan |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/13/6/145 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stevenrawle godzillaat70timeforikaijuistudies |