Rhetoric Commons^™

The Rhetorical Significance Of Gojira, Shannon Stevens

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

This project tackles the 1954 Japanese film Gojira, known to most Americans as Godzilla. By examining the strong emotions expressed in the film’s narrative, we can begin to understand better the experience of the Japanese survivor of World War II. Specifically, by studying the way the primary emotional responses to a war experience (guilt/anger, pain/suffering, and powerlessness/fear) are represented in the film it is possible to see how Gojira functions rhetorically to provide for the Japanese people a safe venue for post-war expression and healing.