The Kaiju Film

A Critical Study of Cinema's Biggest Monsters

Jason Barr (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

212 Seiten

2016
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-0-7864-9963-2 (ISBN)

Artikel merken

The Kaiju (strange monster) film genre has a number of themes that go well beyond the “big monsters stomping on cities” motif. This examination of kaiju considers the entirety of the genre. The author examines how kaiju has crossed cultures from its original folkloric inspirations and how the genre reflects national values to audiences.

The Kaiju (strange monster or strange beast) film genre has a number of themes that go well beyond the "big monsters stomping on cities" motif. Since the seminal King Kong 1933) and the archetypal Godzilla (1954), kaiju has mined the subject matter of science run amok, militarism, capitalism, colonialism, consumerism and pollution.

This critical examination of kaiju considers the entirety of the genre--the major franchises, along with less well known films like Kronos (1957), Monsters (2010) and Pacific Rim (2013). The author examines how kaiju has crossed cultures from its original folkloric inspirations in both the U.S. and Japan and how the genre continues to reflect national values to audiences.

Jason Barr is an associate professor at Blue Ridge Community College. His work has appeared in African American Review, Explicator, The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, and The Journal of Caribbean Literatures, among others. He lives in Weyers Cave, Virginia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction: A Genre Apart

Toward a New Definition 8; The Field of Study 18; Background

the Genre 21; The Impact on Cultures

1. The Japanese Origins of the Kaiju

Yokai 26; Bunraku 28; Kabuki 32; Noh

2. Disasters, Manmade and Natural

Nuclear Disasters 37; Natural Disasters 49; Terrorism 52;

Pollution

3. International and Domestic Politics

The End of Empires 70; Internal Politics 76; Modern International Relationships

4. Science and the Weapons of Mass Destruction

Science as Destroyer 106; The Japanese Self-Defense Forces

5. America and Kaiju

Violence 123; American Size and Might

6. The Body, Gender, and Kaiju

Women in Kaiju Cinema 156; Body Horror

7. The Role of Nostalgia

Conclusion: What’s Next?

Filmography

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	29.02.2016
Zusatzinfo	filmography, notes, bibliography, index
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	299 g
Themenwelt	Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Film / TV
ISBN-10	0-7864-9963-X / 078649963X
ISBN-13	978-0-7864-9963-2 / 9780786499632
Zustand	Neuware