Godzilla is a metaphor (either intended or simply ingrained in the Japanese psyche) for Hiroshima and Nagasaki
From what I’ve gathered, not quite. The film showed up around the time of the Castle Bravo tests at the Bikini Atoll. The bomb tested there turned out to be dirtier than predicted, and fallout made it to some Japanese fishing vessels. It became a bit of an international incident.
And then the original Gojira film launched. And one early scene showed a fishing boat, which went under in a bright flash of light.
Gojira, or Godzilla as he was westernised, was not just the personification of the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was the personification of the fact that this could happen again.
From what I’ve gathered, not quite. The film showed up around the time of the Castle Bravo tests at the Bikini Atoll. The bomb tested there turned out to be dirtier than predicted, and fallout made it to some Japanese fishing vessels. It became a bit of an international incident.
And then the original Gojira film launched. And one early scene showed a fishing boat, which went under in a bright flash of light.
Gojira, or Godzilla as he was westernised, was not just the personification of the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was the personification of the fact that this could happen again.
One take on it that I’m copying
Yes, you’re absolutely right, I’d forgotten about that.
I think my main point is still valid though - Godzilla is a physical manifestation of the destruction that nuclear activity can cause.
As I read on another post somewhere: “Ask a Japanese, and radiation creates monsters. Ask an American, and radiation creates superheros.”
And that part still holds. As Godzilla moved (surprisingly quickly) from existential horror to pulp action, the radiation theme endured.