Category: nonviolence

Godzilla as metaphor

The first trailer for Godzilla Minus Zero dropped this week, and I’m definitely looking forward to the release of this sequel to Godzilla Minus One, scheduled for Nov. 6, 2026. I have a friend who can’t resist reminding me that my interest is mystifying, so here I go trying to explain again.

I fell for Godzilla for all the reasons little boys are attracted to such things — a giant monster, explosions and destruction, what’s not to like? — but I became a huge fan of the first and last Japanese films when I began fully to understand the metaphor.

Japan was crushed at the end of World War II by the use of nuclear bombs against the civilians of two of its cities. The devastation Godzilla wrought on-screen was similar to the nuclear devastation — in fact, the creature is depicted as an ancient dinosaur revived and mutated by the nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific Ocean.

The first Godzilla film, produced in Japan in 1954, is a distinctly anti-war and anti-nuclear movie. The scientist who discovers a way to kill the monster at first refuses to deploy the weapon because he fears what politicians would do if they ever got hold of the technology, and the movie ends with a grave warning that if the Pacific testing continues, more monsters could emerge from the sea.

The film was so on-point that Americans edited the story for its 1956 U.S. release to make it more of a monster-fest like King Kong or Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The Japanese version was not available for general distribution here for 50 years, and by then various sequels had turned Godzilla into something less than a metaphor for nuclear war — more of a superhero, or sometimes a supervillain, than an harbinger.

Godzilla Minus One is my favorite sequel because it returns the monster to his original role as an existential horror, and because the story focuses more than ever on everyday humans trying to cope against the backdrop of a nation devastated by war and now an otherworldly creature.

I can’t imagine this sequel, set two years later, being as good as the last film, but it has the same director, Takashi Yamazaki, and the trailer has at least two moments that promise similar themes. One is an American voice over what looks like the first film’s climax ordering, “Abort third drop — repeat, abort third drop.” Does the new story suggest the U.S. was about to unleash a third nuke, this time on the flotilla that was trying to kill the monster?

The other moment shows Godzilla slowly stalking past the Statue of Liberty, the monster having arrived at the doorstep of the nation that invented nuclear devastation. 

Godzilla is not for everyone, and this interpretation of Godzilla is not even for every Godzilla fan — there’s a huge subset of fans who prefer to see Godzilla fighting other monsters rather than exploring the beast as a consequence of monstrous human behavior.

I, for one, am hoping Yamazaki is planning to deliver a continuation and expansion of the themes from his first masterpiece. If he does, Godzilla Minus Zero could be another triumph. 

Oh, for want of the right song

Tuesday was spring election day in Wisconsin — ostensibly it’s a nonpartisan election, but there’s no such thing as nonpartisan anymore where politics and government are concerned. I was not in the best mood as I drove to my polling place, and I found myself thinking of my old friend Wally Conger, who believed ethical people shouldn’t vote because it only encourages the, um, bad people.

I am a person who rather ardently believes in liberty and peace, and there is almost no one on any ballot who shares those values, and even the occasional ones who hold some acceptable positions are quite comfortable with the idea that, if elected, they have a right to seize a significant portion of my income and use it for purposes I would never voluntarily support, not the least of which is deploying weapons that kill people and break things.

So, in addition to being the exercise in futility that is election day, the air was thick with the bluster of yet another politician who gained office claiming to be a man of peace threatening to prove his pacifistic intentions by bombing another country into the Stone Age. 

I happen to believe that war is not only a crime against humanity and an affront to God but an essentially flawed idea. The intention is to kill as many people with whom you disagree as possible. You can’t possibly kill them all; instead you create a generation of enemies who not only disagree with you but now want revenge for the loss of their loved ones.

Fortunately I was having these sour thoughts while listening to the 60s Gold channel on SiriusXM. The disc jockey said that it was “Make the First Move Day,” and that got me thinking about the woman who made the first move and ended up helping me out of a dark hole of mourning for my lost soulmate. Thinking about her always makes me smile.

Then, in honor of Make the First Move Day, he played “I’d Like to Get to Know You” by Spanky and Our Gang, a lush and lilting song from the late sixties.

Spanky and Our Gang was an underrated vocal group with awesome harmonies who made three brilliant albums during their short time in the spotlight, including Anything You Choose b/w Without Rhyme or Reason, which may be the most joyous and beautiful album no one has ever heard of. The first time I heard the album, I was charmed out of my socks, and just thinking about it Tuesday charmed me out of my funk.

And that’s how a song spun me around and, instead of sulking about matters I cannot change, I found myself thinking about the power of love and music’s ability to save souls.

On turning from rage

Whew, that was close! I almost let my fury explode Friday afternoon when I saw a news story that the president has asked the manufacturers of the highest-tech weaponry to quadruple their production. I was ready to rage about politicians who talk about peace and inevitably seem to make unholy alliances with the good old military-industrial complex.

Fortunately, my Friday exploration of Scripture just happened to have fallen onto a passage from Psalms, specifically Psalms 37:8:

“Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper — it only leads to harm.”

(New Living Translation)

Or, more conventionally:

“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret — it leads only to evil.”

(New International Version)

I take from this that the word NIV translates as “fret” can also be translated as “lose your temper,” which enhances my understanding of the passage. On the other hand, “harm” and “evil” are not the same thing, and I wonder if the NLT is watering down the meaning.

The psalm begins (in my NIV), “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong, for like the grass they will soon wither; like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart …”

And so I’m not gong to fret, or lose my temper, because once again a political animal has disappointed me. There is more than enough rage in the world these days.

All that is in my power is to take a deep breath, remind myself that peace is an internal thing, and that if enough of us decide to stop raging, love God and love our neighbors, someday — perhaps not in the near future or even in my lifetime, but someday — there will be peace.