Godzilla

About

Godzilla is a fictional Japanese giant monster most-well known as the main subject of the 1954 Japanese science-fiction film with the same name, as well as dozens of other films, video games, comic books and television series. The amphibious reptilian character has been since credited with pioneering the Kaiju subgenre in Japanese sci-fi films and it is one of the most internationally recognizable symbols of Japanese pop culture.

History

Godzilla first appeared in the 1954 Japanese science fiction film Godzilla, in which a giant reptilian monster destroys parts of Japan after being mutated by nuclear radiation.

Several sequels were made during the Shōwa period of Japan from 1954 to 1975, including Godzilla Raids Again, King Kong vs. Godzilla and Mothra vs. Godzilla. During the Heisi period of Japan from 1984 to 1995, the timeline of the series was revamped starting with The Return of Godzilla and ending with Godzilla vs. Destoroyah after seven films. In 1998, the American remake of Godzilla was released. From 1999 to 2004, the films Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack and Godzilla: Final Wars were released.

Online Presence

On May 10th, 2006, YouTuber gojirasan uploaded a montage dedicated to Godzilla films from the past 50 years (shown below, left), which garnered more than 2.92 million views and 1,700 comments in the following eight years. On September 1st, the Godzilla Wiki^[3] was launched. On August 4th, 2007, YouTuber JMlovesGreenday uploaded a computer animation video in which Godzilla fights the giant ape monster King Kong (shown below, right). In the next seven years, the video gathered upwards of 4.15 million views and 2,100 comments.

On February 4th, 2009, a Facebook^[2] page titled "Godzilla" was launched, which accumulated more than 96,000 likes in five years. On March 20th, YouTuber Sic's Space uploaded a music video featuring clips from Godzilla films accompanied by the track "Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult (shown below, left). In the first five years, the video gained over 2.48 million views and 1,300 comments. On July 25th, 2010, the Internet humor site Cracked^[1] published an article listing several factoids about the Godzilla franchise. On April 14th, 2011, YouTuber The Angry Video Game Nerd posted a video in which he reviews several games in Godzilla franchise (shown below, right).

On June 27th, 2013, YouTuber VenturianTale uploaded footage from the indie sandbox game Garry's Mod featuring custom Godzilla 3D models. In the first four months, the video received over 960,000 views and 5,000 comments. On July 9th, YouTuber CinemaSins uploaded a video criticizing the 1998 American remake film Godzilla (shown below, right), garnering more than 1.22 million views and 5,600 comments in the next three months.

#GodzillaForGeorge

On March 6th, 2019, roughly two months before the release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the 2019 Godzilla film, the Transit Drive-In Facebook ^[4] page posted about a campaign to allow a terminally ill Godzilla fan to see the film before he died. The campaign, which was started by the New York drive-in movie theater, the Transit Drive-In, aimed to reach the film's producers before George Root III died of stage 4 cancer. The post received more than 820 reactions, 130 comments and 500 shares in two days (shown below).

That day, Buffalo News^[5] published an article about the campaign. Twitter^[6] user @SlimerJoel tagged several of Godzilla: King of the Monsters producers and the caption, "Let’s do this." Additionally, they included the hashtag "#GodzillaForGeorge." The post received more than 160 retweets and 350 likes in two days (shown below, left).

Throughout the day, others shared their support for the campaign (shown below, center).

The following day, it was reported that Root had died. Twitter user @bobconfer wrote,^[7] "It's too late. George's wife just announced on his Facebook that the lovable fellow passed away this morning. Kudos to Rick Cohen, @TheBuffaloNews, @allwnynews, and everyone on social media for giving it the college try to have George see the film. RIP, George. #GodzillaForGeorge" (shown below, right).

Several media outlets covered the story, including Uproxx,^[8] CosmicBook.com^[9] and more.

Related Memes

Godzilla Bukkake

Godzilla Bukkake is a series of image macros in which a photograph is covered by water or a white substance of some kind, joking that the giant monster has ejaculated.

Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny

Godzilla is prominently featured in the flash animation music video "The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny", in which several real celebrities and fictional characters compete in a brawl to the death.

Search Interest

External References