Godzilla 1998: A Rose by any other Name?

Posted on by Colin McMahon

Recently, I have heard a common comment made about the 1998 film, Godzilla, which boils down to this: “If this movie wasn’t called Godzilla, it would be pretty great!” The opinion is depicted in the below video, in part as a defense of 1998 remake. 

Now I have already stated some of my thoughts on this film years ago and I really don’t have too much desire to rehash here. To sum up: I don’t care for it. That’s just my opinion, it is no more valid or objective than anyone else’s. I don’t mean to belittle those who enjoy this film – heck, I’m glad someone does! 

So why am I writing this? Well, at one point in the video, the speaker brings up that the sole reason many people dislike this film is because it is called “Godzilla.” For the record, he’s not wrong. I have been to numerous G-Fests and have heard variations of this dialogue a lot. Like a lot a lot. It was even the reason for the older post I linked you to above – I wrote a whole article about how the 1998 film is nothing like the 1954 original and should not be used as an introduction to the Godzilla mythos. 

That said, would I like this film if it was called say The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms or Reptilicus or Skippy the Super-Sized Iguana? No, I would not. Well…maybe that last one…

Continue reading Godzilla 1998: A Rose by any other Name?

Masculinity in Jackson’s Kong

Posted on by Colin McMahon

My post examining racism in the 1933 King Kong gave me a new appreciation for Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake, and the changes he made to remove or at least minimize the unconscious prejudice of the movie. So much so that I decided to pop in the Blu-ray and give it another watch. While I’m a fan of Jackson’s version, I won’t deny the film definitely has bloat. It’s a massive movie, clocking in at over three hours if you watch the extended edition (yes, there is an extended edition).

That said, I always find that there’s a lot more that I like in the film than dislike and, even after numerous viewings, I’m still catching new things. This time – well I picked up on a greater thread that I hadn’t noticed before. Oh sure, I’m seen pieces, but I never realized just how much was there. Way too much to be coincidence, that’s for sure.

Now – I still don’t know what everything means or even how much I think it works. But that’s the benefit of having a blog. I can write out my thoughts and see if they make sense. And who knows, maybe someone will tell me this was all obvious and I was very late to the party. Let’s look at masculinity in Peter Jackson’s King Kong.

Continue reading Masculinity in Jackson’s Kong

Godzilla vs. J.K. Rowling

Posted on by Colin McMahon

Recently, you (like me) may have been surprised and saddened by how much once-beloved rags-to-riches Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been attacking trans people through uninformed and often hateful rhetoric on the internet. Now I don’t know if it’s a case of she can’t communicate well online (not like Twitter is a platform of incredible social discourse) or if she’s just a bigot and frankly I don’t care. Her actions are emboldening hateful people and she’s causing damage to an already oppressed group of human beings – that’s what matters.

But to counter that, I was even more surprised (but delighted) by this:

This charming stop-motion short was tweeted by the official Godzilla Twitter page, along with the message along with the message “Happy Pride.” So, whereas J.K. Rowling surprises with bigotry, the LGBTQ community and its allies can count Godzilla as a friend.

Continue reading Godzilla vs. J.K. Rowling