Kong, Godzilla and the Living Earth

Gaian Environmentalism in Daikaiju Cinema
Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4766-8721-6
Verlag: McFarland

Buch, Englisch, 277 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 427 g

During the 2010s, science fiction's immortal adversaries Kong and Godzilla, representing our psychological paleolithic conflict per Carl Sagan's "dream dragons" analogy, made comebacks in American cinema. The blockbuster Kaiju resurged onto the silver screen, depicting these solemn protectors of an Earth plagued by mankind's technological hubris, folly and fury. With Earth's future inevitably hanging in the balance, their climactic 2021 staging settled a score between the two giant monsters, resolving Toho's classic 1963 film King Kong vs. Godzilla.

As formidable creatures emerging from Time's Tomb and bowels of Mother Earth, metaphorical Kong and Godzilla are considered here in light of New Millennial environmentalism's stark reality. This book, nostalgic in tone, scours the meaning of Kong and Godzilla as planetary saviors—Titanic protectors of a theoretical "living Earth" Gaia—defending the globe from a prehistoric plague of adversaries symbolic of a self-destructive Medean entity.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Debus, Allen A.

Fachgebiete

• Technische Wissenschaften Umwelttechnik | Umwelttechnologie Umwelttechnik
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Filmwissenschaft, Fernsehen, Radio Filmgattungen, Filmgenre
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umwelttechnik

Über Autor(innen)

Allen A. Debus, a retired environmental chemist, has long been infatuated with dinosaurs, paleontology, science fiction, Godzilla and King Kong. He's authored several books addressing prehistoric creatures—both real and fictional—in popular culture, and attends Chicagoland's Wizard World and G-Fest. He lives in Hanover Park, Illinois.