【CIMS304JapaneseCinema】DiscussionPostWeek.6

ThisismyfirsttimewatchingaGojirafilm.Theembeddedconceptsandthepossibilitiesofinterpretationreallysurpriseme.Beforereadingthearticlesandwatchingthefilm,Iconsiderthismonsterisanalogicalwiththenuclearbombitself,withasettinginfutureJapan.Astonishingly,thefilmprovidesaverycontemporarycontextforitsviewers:post-WWII,afterthehydrogenbombstesting.Statedinthelecture,theopeningscenesclearlyrefertothenuclearbombing.Insteadofshowingthefireandthelargeexplosivesound,mostsurvivorscouldonlyrecall“alightening”thatilluminatestheworld,thentheyremainblindfortheirwholelife.InNobuhikoObayashi’sposthumouswork“LabyrinthofCinema”,healsousesthe“Pi-Ka”toreferthesuddenlightcausedbytheexplosionofnuclearbomb.Therefore,thesuddenlightingontheseawilldirectlyconnectthisincidenttothenuclearbombing.Thearmies,therunningcitizens,destroyedcitiesallforcetheviewerstorecallthescenesinWWII.AsProf.Yamanestatesatthefirstmeeting,hedirectlyconnectsGojirawiththehydrogenbombing,recallingtherealincidenthappenedyearsbeforefromtheaudiences’memories.Attheendofthefilm,Dr.Serizawadestroyedallothermaterialsanddocuments,evenhimself.Hedirectlylecturestheaudiencesinhismonologuethatanyexistenceofthiskindofweaponwillbecatastrophicinthefuture.Serizawa‘swordsseemtobepowerful,ashehimselfsuffersinWWIIandhasoneofhiseyesblind.Allthesedetailsverifythefilm’soriginalmeaninginitsproducer’sordirector’smind:nonuclearweapons,nowars.However,afterknowingthecontradictorystandpointsbetweenthedirectorandthecomposer,IstarttoreflectontheambiguityofGojira’ssymbolismmeaning.WhatisGojiraitselfremainsaproblem.Asthemajorscenestakeplaceinaseeminglyisolatedandtraditionalfishingtown,thereisnotmuchWestern-stylemodernityshowninthisfilm.TheGojiramayalsosymbolizetheAmerica’scontinuinginvasionandoccupationofJapanthroughitsmilitarycontrolandbombtesting.However,ontheotherhand,iftheaudiencesconsiderthe“oxygenbomb”createdbyDr.Serizawaisamorepowerfulnuclearweapon,theGojira’sinvasionissimilartoJapaneseinvasiontoothercountries.Dr.Serizawa’sbombcouldsymbolizetheatomicbombsthrewbyAmericans,endingthechaos.Therefore,Gojiramayalsorepresenttheself-consciousnessofthewarandJapan’sintrospection.本文版权归作者鲍勃粥所有，任何形式转载请联系作者。