Discussion: All-Out Attack!
Discussion
Separate the class into groups of 4-5 students, erring on the smaller size. Assign the following questions to the class and allocate 15-20 minutes for these small groups to discuss. As groups discuss these topics, move among groups and evaluate the content/quality of their discourse.
Discussion Questions
- Spend a few minutes in your group discussing your opinion of All-Out Attack.
- Where can you find representations of the "victim's history" in the film?
- What does the monster, Godzilla, represent in the movie? How is this similar or different to the original Godzilla?
- What is the role of women in the film? Has it changed from the original Godzilla?
- What connections can you find between All-Out Attack and Grave of the Fireflies?
- What is the message about nuclear power, if any, in this film?
Now, have the small groups choose a single member to act as a representative of their micro-discussion. Then, give the groups 3 minutes to write a question for the class that relates to one of the previously discussed questions. During this time, go from group to group and check their question.
Next, bring the group representatives to the front of the room or arrange all chairs in a circle to facilitate a class-wide discussion. At this point, the group representatives will take turns asking their questions to the class and seeking the other students’ opinions. Give full control of the discussion to the students at this point. The role of the instructor is to evaluate participation and the quality of the discourse. If at any time the students are wandering away from the main topics, interject and course correct them. The following Focal Points are important to cover:
- It has been nearly 50 years since the original film in the series, and All-Out Attack bases its premise on being the only other film in the same continuity as the original. However, whereas the first film was a commentary on nuclear power, All-Out Attack takes a different stance on the war. Here, Godzilla represents the anger and frustration of the unquiet souls of those who died in the Pacific War. A key point here is that this includes the dead Japanese, but also all the dead of the other countries involved. This is a fact that is evident in the Japanese version of the film, but is removed from the English subtitles.
- To make Godzilla seem more sinister and evil, the pupils of his eyes were removed and the spikes on his back were made more jagged.
- There are still references to nuclear weapons. In the film, a school teacher sees the mushroom cloud generated by Godzilla's nuclear breath. In the Japanese version of the film, she says "Atomic bomb?" but it is not translated that way in the English subtitles.
- Yuri is an analog to the women of the original film. In 1954, women were the ones to call for complete transparency about the Godzilla crisis. In All-Out Attack, Yuri is the only one to make sure that the Godzilla crisis is publicized. Again, women are working for the truth while the government/men work for secrecy.
- It is important to note that the Guardian Monsters do not fight to protect the people of Japan; they are protecting the land of Japan. Hence, there are casualties due to the "protector" monsters.
- King Ghidorah is utilized as a "heroic" character here for the first time on film.
- In Mothra's films, she is often accompanied by two miniature twin females. While absent from this film, there is an homage to them in the twins shown in the shopping arcade as Mothra flies overhead.
- Baragon first appeared in the film Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965); a joint production between America and Japan.
- The final scene in the film is a key one. At the bottom of the ocean lies the beating heart of Godzilla, which serves as a reminder that if we again forget about the war and its victims, Godzilla will return to punish us. This is not unlike the ending to Grave of the Fireflies, which saw the spirits of Seita and Setsuko gazing down on modern-day Japan, longing to be remembered.
Homework
Assign the following reading as a homework assignment. Readings are available on repositories such as JSTOR:“Godzilla and the Japanese Nightmare: When "Them!" Is U.S.” Chon Noriega. Cinema Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Autumn, 1987), pp. 63-77.
Assign the following quiz. This quiz can either be assigned as a take-home open book test or given at the beginning of the next class period. Correct answers are highlighted.
1. Noriega asserts that the concept of ___________ defines a dynamic in Western culture that extends to the psychoanalytical, anthropological, and historical. According to this dynamic, the individual and/or society project "what is repressed (but never destroyed) in the self" in order to define or delimit a self.
a. Otherness
b. Replacement
c. Body Horror
d. Metamorphosis
2. In 1954, America exploded its first H-bomb. Unfortunately, it was discovered that ___________ was/were also accidentally exposed to the blast.
a. a small village of people
b. a Japanese fishing boat and its crew
c. Russian war ships
d. a Japanese submarine
3. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was the first American film to deal with the topic of ___________.
a. over fishing
b. environmental pollution
c. Japanese Imperialism
d. nuclear testing
4. Godzilla, the character, is portrayed as _________ in the franchise.
a. a hero
b. a villain
c. a natural disaster
d. all of the above
5. TRUE or FALSE: The Godzilla franchise provides a reinterpretation of the past that allows Japan to examine repressed anxieties within a historical context.
a. True
b. False
Download a printable PDF version of this quiz here.
Prepare
In preparation for the next class, assign the viewing of Godzilla Resurgence.
