Summary Does the Horror Genre Reflect the Fears of Current Culture? If so, what characters and themes are used to represent this fear of the current cultural climate of this era? Looking at gender through the theoretical lenses of semiotics, queer theory, and postcolonialism through the Godzilla films and the monster's most notable incarnations and how they connect to the Cold War, the nuclear bomb, and themes of disaster, as well as the 80s slasher and themes of sexuality. and the link to parental ignorance and fear. Horror as a genre has permeated literature, television and film, but is often overlooked by critics because it is considered low, cheap and raunchy. But this perception neglects the hidden meaning of many horror classics. We'll take a deep dive into two radically different decades and discover how the fears of that era reflected the cultural climate. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay In the 1950s, the Cold War was on the minds of many North Americans and the idea that one day , there would be an atomic attack was terrified. a lot. So, in the 1950s, horror featured films featuring giant insects, aliens, or atomic experiments gone wrong. One of these films from the 50s does not come from America, but from Japan with the so-called film “Gojira”. Directed by Ishido Honda and with special effects done by Eiji Sugurya, the two had worked with Tomoyuki Tanaka and Toho Studios to produce a political film presented in the guise of a creature feature. "Gojira" was meant to reflect the Japanese's lingering fear of the destruction of the atomic bomb and the effects of radiation, as many scars were still healing from previous events. This thinking was the result of the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which left an empire in ruins and resulted in American occupation. Although the United States attempted to lay the groundwork for a new democracy in Japan, this also resulted in strict censorship involving propaganda and the outright banning of military imagery. While "Gojira" was released two years after the end of the American occupation, Toho studios were unfortunately still facing pressure from new censorship regulations implemented by the Japanese government, heavily influenced by American censorship policies. This led to a judicious use of imagery and a suggestion of Honda's vision in what he wanted to show. This included designing Godzilla's creatures. There is a lack of scales on its body, despite its lizard-like appearance, this is due to the fact that its grooved textured skin was meant to reflect the scars of survivors who encountered the nuclear blasts, in addition to this, the head of Godzilla is a shape similar to that of a mushroom cloud. Additionally, the opening scene of "Gojira" shows a boat with a lifebuoy bearing the number five, referencing the Lucky Dragon 5 incident a few years earlier, which involved US nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands (FSD Productions, 2017). . The film was supposed to tell the perspective of ordinary people who faced such a horrible disaster, how they reacted to it and how they coped with it. However, this perspective was not taken into account when the company Transworld Releasing obtained the distribution rights in 1956. The film's message wasdeemed unsuitable for American audiences, resulting in many scenes being deleted and the plot rewritten to include an American actor. . The idea of ​​a Japanese film with a Japanese perspective was deemed unsuitable for North American audiences because Americans were supposedly not ready to deal with what the American military had done and did not want to confront pain and destruction through the eyes of ordinary Japanese. civil. So “Gojira” was renamed “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and had actor Raymond Burr in the lead role of an American journalist covering the destruction of the Japanese capital. He was filmed alongside Japanese-American actors who were cast as lookalikes to make it appear as if he was originally part of the production. . Along with this, any notion of US nuclear testing has either been completely removed or distorted, including the subtext involved as it has either not been translated at all or has been lost in translation and with the thirty minutes which replaced the twenty which were deleted from the film. , the dubbed lines were either poorly done or not done at all, erasing any deep dialogue that was in the original. As expected, the version's release in North America was a critical failure due to unfortunate circumstances. The original "Gojira" had themes of oppression, tragedy, and how the Japanese dealt with that tragedy, only to have it censored, to have that tragedy trivialized, and to introduce an American perspective to an experience that was so strongly Japanese as the Americans. had never dealt with this kind of nuclear disaster before not understanding this experience. Godzilla only gained popularity in drive-ins, and the context and symbolism of Godzilla changed from war, destruction, and suffering to something as simple as Godzilla fighting other big monsters like Mothra and King Ghidorah. Due to American censorship, everything Godzilla symbolized was erased and he has now been domesticated and reduced to nothing more than a tourist mascot and depicted in later films as supposedly being the "savior" and symbol culture of Japan. (KaptainKristian 2017). The main thing all cultures do is take something inherently horrible and turn it into something entertaining as a way to cope. We see many examples of this with the United States, the Vietnam War, and the counterculture era. With young people unhappy with the current situation in the United States, horror filmmakers sought to create something that reflected this discontent. The movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” was supposed to show this anger, how heinous violence can be and how young people felt about this violence. “Gojira” is just a Japanese way of showing tragedy and using entertainment to cope with the contrast with American horror. . It was meant to be a means of liberation and healing from the war and disaster that befell Hiroshima and Nagasaki and allowed them to learn the lessons of the war. However, with the end of the war and improving relations between Japan and America, Toho Studios felt it was time to change Godzilla with lighter, campier tones, appealing more to younger audiences . However, in recent years, Godzilla has once again evolved from a symbol of a mascot to a symbol of natural disaster and will continue to change and evolve with time and change. For example, we are witnessing a shift from the status of tourist to that of symbol, not of nuclear waste and the danger of radiation, but mixed with themes of nature andnatural disasters. In “Godzilla 2014,” the film uses imagery reminiscent of disasters such as the Pacific earthquakes and Hurricane Katrina. It shows that humanity does not necessarily triumph through ingenuity and creativity, but shows that humanity is helpless and unable to stop natural disasters. , in this case with two giant monsters brawling in the middle of San Francisco. “Shin Godzilla” is a film that is least likely to strike you with the meaning and symbolism of Godzilla’s new phase. Instead, it focuses on a critique of Japanese politics and how Japanese politicians act in conflict. A dire situation, with every action Godzilla takes, the audience is then taken to a scene of a conference room full of politicians debating what to do next before they can decide to move forward with their decision . Does Godzilla in “Shin” symbolize the dangers of a nuclear catastrophe or a natural disaster? In a way, it's a bit of both, as there is still footage of the use of gas masks and radiation tracking after Godzilla uses his radiation breath, but also footage of natural disasters , the most poignant relating to the Fukushima nuclear disaster that occurred in 2011. However, there is a more recent and novel approach to the symbolism of the creature, and that is the life cycle. At the start of "Shin", Godzilla is nothing more than a tadpole in the middle of a bay, only to grow and evolve rapidly, landing, wriggling and crashing awkwardly into buildings until he becomes bipedal and on. more apparently aware of his surroundings. Only for him to roar at the Japanese army and retreat, much like an infant or child discovering the dangers of life. However, Godzilla returns, fully formed and more recognizable as the creature we know. In the end, when Godzilla stands there, frozen like a statue due to the blood coagulant he was force-fed, it is noted that in a last resort attempt, the creature attempted to divide into more organisms. small, giving the audience a glimpse. a feeling of dread, as these organisms vaguely resemble humanoids, in turn giving a sense of the uncanny valley. Even part of the title "Shin" has symbolic connections, as it roughly translates to God. So, in turn, "Shin Godzilla" has themes of science and religion intertwined since Godzilla symbolizes evolution and metamorphosis, but also a wrathful god as in the film he does not go out of his way to killing people until bombs are dropped. against him, in turn, he retaliates. Even the music cues in the film have these deep gothic anthems whenever there's a dramatic shot of the beast. Godzilla is important because it shows how human beings cope and respond to disasters at given times, and these three incarnations show a deeper, more moral and philosophical side, Godzilla is more than just a giant lizard destroying a city, Godzilla serves as a catharsis for the Japanese and serves as a symbol for how humans react to near-apocalyptic events. Looking back to the 1980s, at that time, American politicians were reminded of older American traditions and values. However, many believed that Reagan-era politicians were trying to take control of their rights and freedoms. Around this time, it gave birth to the '80s slasher film, with the "Friday the 13th" franchise giving birth to iconic killer Jason Voorhees. Many argue that Jason representsa force of nature or divine intervention, because many of those who end up dead in Friday movies are teenagers who indulge in drug use and premarital sex. In turn, many parents worried about what their children were doing. Expanding on parents fearing sex and teenage sexuality, the first film "Nightmare on Elm Street" expands on this topic, as the film touches on deep themes of the moral play between promiscuity, sexual themes and the danger of sex . Teenagers who have sex are the ones who die first, and the film tends to link symbolically connected sex as a gateway drug to evil, with the use of symbolism from the phone scene, the scene where Nancy is in the bathtub and the suggestive nature of Tina's death in the first act of the film. With the negative connotations towards sexual activity intertwined with the naivety of adolescents as they are about to become adults, society in general and parents tend to use the label of danger in association with the sex in order to keep their children away from sexual and online activity. The adults on Elm Street tend to fear him, as Nancy's parents appear more concerned about whether or not their daughter participates in such activities than about more obvious and pressing issues that should be addressed. Wes Craven wanted to present his vision of the impact that hypocritical adults had on vulnerable teenagers but also the domination of Freddy Krueger. As in life, Kruger was a man who preyed on children, in a sense, an adult using his domination as a means of abuse. In death, he is a demonic serial killer who uses domination in his victims' dreams as a mechanism for his success. The main difference between Kruger and other slashers from the 70s and 80s is that Kruger has an exploitable weakness compared to Jason and Michael Meyers, who are mute and seemingly invincible monsters. The problem with Freddy Kruger is that he doesn't have the appearance of being invincible, but with the way he taunts, toys and manipulates his victims, his need to show that he is bigger, worse and more tougher than everyone else, which is just another way for Freddy to assert his dominance and instill more panic and fear in the children he preys on. This puts the main cast in a difficult situation to deal with, because, in reality, Freddy is asserting his dominance over them through their parents, just as Springwood's parents had taken justice into their own hands by killing Kruger in life and all. being guilty of it and keeping this source of guilt hidden from their children, therefore, the dream world manifests in the source of the parents' guilt, the boiler room in which Freddy would kill the children. In turn, the next generation theme must clean up the mess of the last generations. The overall metaphor of the film is that once we show our fear, we will lose our control and composure, and the cause of that fear will take the reins we lost. Once Nancy drags Kruger into reality, Craven makes a point of showing how vulnerable Kruger is only to subvert the idea that he can be killed by indicating that he is not essentially real. However, the ending shows that the trials of responsibility and adulthood will never go away and because Kruger is the embodiment of fear and nightmares, he cannot be completely erased because Nancy's dreams will always be a part of her and see his mother symbolically. taken away symbolizes that her parents will not be there to protect her from the dangers of life forever. (Ryan Hollinger, 2017). By developing the notion ofTeenage sexuality, another thing parents also feared was their children being gay. Many fans have questioned whether or not "Nightmare on Elm Street 2" is a gay film, as many people involved in the production have either outright denied it or given a definitive answer. So this left many fans and critics observing and analyzing the subtext of the “Nightmare on Elm Street” sequel. Only recently did the actors and writers involved admit that the sequel had a gay subtext, as screenwriter David Chaskin stated that the film was made just after AIDS and that the notion of insecure men about their sexuality was actually, a little scary. Robert Englund even mentions how the sequel rocked the boat in Europe, as many understood the homoerotic subtext and how Freddy represented self-hatred in the gay community. On top of that, Mark Patton, who played the lead role of Jessie Walsh, was gay and brought pieces of himself into the character. The premise of "Nightmare on Elm Street 2" surrounds Jessie Walsh, a teenage alien who has nightmares about a man taking control of her body. Kruger, in turn, wants Jessie's body to be able to appear in reality so that he can continue his work of killing the children of Elm Street. There are a multitude of overt examples of homosexual subtext, with one example being when Grady mentions to Jessie that their coach Snider is queer and regularly visits S&M bars, in addition to this, there are many ongoing themes in the film, such as parental shame, seduction and fear of what we are becoming as people. All these themes were subtexts, but why only subtexts? Will Haze had been charged with running film and distribution for America, an organization created primarily for the purposes of public relations for the studios and to protect against outside influences such as the Catholic Church. In the 1930s, Haze gave birth to the Motion Production Code, which would allow the industry to self-regulate, but by 1934 the code became stricter thanks to pressure from outside influences like the Catholic Legion of the decency. The Catholic Legion of Decency had an A to C grading system, with A being acceptable, B being morally wrong, and C for condemned. With organizations like the Catholic Legion of Decency on the industry's back, it was agreed that the film industry would follow this code. This, in turn, prohibited nudity, open-mouthed kissing, profanity, references to abortion and sexual perversion, which were simply coded so that homosexual relationships were prohibited from being shown on the big screen. This caused the writers to blur the lines, using subtext as a way to approximate a gay film. Horror also had an episode like this, for example, "Dracula's Daughter" featured a vampire who was coded as a lesbian, but this was never said openly due to the censors. In the late 1960s, the Haze code was replaced by the first version of the modern rating system we know today. Same-sex relationships were "allowed" but were still subject to subtext or portrayed as monsters and villains, so having a character like Jessie in "Nightmare on Elm Street 2" who was coded as gay and sympathetic was a act of defiance to this code. Jessie may be scared and confused about his sexuality, but he's not inherently the monster the old Haze Code would have him be. Jessie's struggle with her emerging sexuality is symbolically represented by Freddy Kruger wanting her>