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User:Hunter Kahn/List of fictional locations in the Godzilla films

< User:Hunter Kahn

This is a list of fictional Earth locations depicted in films of and tied in with the Godzilla series. Like most fictional universes, the world of the Godzilla films has been enriched by fictional locales ranging from small Pacific Islands to galactically distant nebulae.

Islands

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Odo Island

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Odo Island, a southern Japanese fishing village, is where the monster Godzilla receives his name. This island, probably part of the Izu Islands, is featured in the original Godzilla and referenced in a few subsequent films. Gojira was an antiquated legend of the Odo islanders.[1][2] In "the old days", according to an elder, when the fishing was poor the villagers sacrificed young virgins to appease the sea monster's hunger.[3][4][5] When ships began inexplicably sinking off the coast of Odo Island in 1954, the natives performed a purification ceremony, one of the last remaining examples of the old traditions, in a village temple.[6] Odo is the first location where the kaiju is known to have come ashore, as Godzilla attacked the island during a howling gale, then returned to menace its inhabitants the morning after, before returning to the sea en-route to Japan. Paleontologist Kyohei Yamane elected to name the giant monster "Gojira" after the legend.[1][2]

Infant Island

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The Polynesian Infant Island was a primary setting for the films featuring Mothra. The island first appeared in The Glowing Fairies and Mothra (1961), the story that inspired the film adaptation Mothra (1961),[7] and Infant Island served as one of the main settings for the film as well.[8] The island was the site of Rolisican nuclear tests prior to 1961,[9][10][11] when the Kinu maru ran aground on the island leaving four survivors. These men reported an encounter with natives on the (presumed uninhabited) island who drank an unknown juice to prevent radiation poisoning.[12] The island was later discovered to be home to two minuscule priestesses called the Shobijin and a giant egg, worshiped and called "Mothra" by the natives.[13] The Shobijin sing several songs in the film, including one named for the island called "Daughters on Infant Island".[7][14] Mothra would eventually hatch into a giant caterpillar, metamorphose into a giant moth, and continue this cycle through several subsequent films.[13] Though earlier Mothra films depicted her as having originated on Infant Island, later movies referred to her as the last of a line of prehistoric moths who had defended the Earth, and later settled on the Island after a battle long ago.[8] Infant Island is a setting in other films like Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964),[15] and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964),[16] and is mentioned in the 2003 kaiju film sequel to Mothra, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. and seen in the 1992 kaiju film, Godzilla vs. Mothra, which is not a sequel.[citation needed] The island is also referenced in the American film Godzilla: King of the Monsters,[17][18] in which a photograph of two twin women are shown at a place identified as Infant Island.[19][20] The photo is dated 1961, the year the original Mothra film was released.[21]

Ishirō Honda, director of the original Mothra film, had intended for the Infant Island set pieces to be more elaborate, but budget constraints forced him to scale back those settings. For example, Honda wanted to film an elaborate scene showing how the island's inhabitants survived a nuclear blast, but was instead limited to a short scene set in a bland cave overgrown with moldy plants.[12][15] Hondo said the island was "supposed to be more graphic and realistic", but that the "business people" behind the film did not believe this was important, and he expressed regret in not pushing for more elaborate scenery.[15] Honda also directed Mothra vs. Godzilla and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, both of which included featured Infant Island as a setting, but budget limitations were even more severe for those films, resulting in further scaled back island scenes.[15][16] In their biography of Hondo, writers Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski said of the Mothra vs. Godzilla setting: "Infant Island looks nothing like the lush place glimpsed in Mothra; instead it's a threadbare set of artificial rocks, with unconvincing whale and turtle skeletons on the beach."[15]

The mythic and peaceful setting of Infant Island in the original serves as a contrast to the real world,[22] which writer Yoshikuni Igarashi described as "a synecdoche for the ideal that the authors wished Japan to be – a nation that is capable of providing a critical perspective on contemporary international politics from the unique experience of surviving nuclear devastation".[23] The modern world is shown to have an adverse impact on the more natural and mystical Infant Island, particularly through the devastation brought about by nuclear testing.[24] The contrast between Infant Island and modern society is further punctuated by the fact that the expedition to the island, which is initially presented as a scientific venture, is in actuality a capitalist enterprise led by a man seeking to exploit the island for financial gain. Igarashi said in this way, "the modern world, punctuated by the dark secret of capitalist greed, is contrasted with the mythical underground world of Infant Island.[25]

Faro Island

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Faro Island appears in the film King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) as the home of the giant gorilla monster King Kong.[26][27] This creates narrative inconsistencies,[28][29][30] because the film implies that the events of the film King Kong (1933) have occurred, but that film was set on Skull Island, a location which is never mentioned in the King Kong vs. Godzilla film.[29] Likewise, in the later film King Kong Escapes (1967), King Kong is living on Mondo Island, not Faro Island.[30] Located in the South Pacific,[31] the island is the home of two species of a medicinal red berry, which the company Pacific Pharmaceuticals barters from the island natives. King Kong, who is worshiped like a god by the natives, is subdued and captured by Pacific Pharmaceuticals during an expedition to the island.[32] Faro Island's natives associate Kong to the frequent lightning on Faro, as Kong is later seen to draw power from lightning.[28] These natives were of a more stereotyped and comical appearance than those of Infant Island, and, in contrast to Infant Island, Faro Island serves only as an origin for Kong, and is not seen (and only briefly mentioned) for the duration of the film after Kong's capture.

The scenes on Faro Island were filmed on an indoor sound stage. Writer Steve Ryfle said the setting "pales in comparison" to the Skull Island scenery featured in King Kong,[33] though he said the most impressive composite shots in the film are those on Faro Island, particularly scenes when King Kong crashed through a rampant as natives flee around his feet.[34] Cultural critic Nagayama Yasuo has noted Faro Island is one of several examples of Toho monster films being set in South Pacific locations. Writer Yoshikuni Igarashi argued this is because, by the 1960s when Faro Island was introduced, Godzilla films had become allegories for aspects of Japanese culture, such as consumerism, and that the South Pacific represents "the innocent past that Japan can appropriate".[31]

Letchi Island

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The tiny Letchi Island is the setting of Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966), in which the terrorist organization Red Bamboo uses the island as the secret location of a heavy water factory for the development of nuclear weapons.[35][36] It is also known as Devil's Island in some translations.[37] Letchi Island is the home of Ebirah, a giant lobster-monster, which the Red Bamboo use to attack incoming vessels to keep their activities isolated from the outside world. The organization also uses Ebirah to attack and eat any of the enslaved island natives who attempt to escape.[38] The island also turns out to be home to a hibernating Godzilla, which had apparently settled underground there after his second battle with King Ghidorah. The protagonists of the film awaken Godzilla so he can fight Ebirah and destroy the Red Bamboo organization.[36] Letchi Island is ultimately destroyed when Godzilla destroyed the Red Bamboo's base of operations and trigger a series of low-level explosions that culminate with a huge nuclear explosion.[39]

Sollgel Island

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In the film Son of Godzilla (1967) the United Nations secretly send a team of Japanese atmospheric scientists to tropical Sollgel Island to test theoretical methods of weather control. They conduct experiments attempting to freeze the island and induce snowfall, but instead trigger a radioactive storm and heatwaves that disturb monsters living on the island, including Minilla, the son of Godzilla.[33][37] These experiments cause huge praying mantis-like monsters called Kamacuras to grow to enormous proportions, which attack Manilla, resulting in Godzilla coming to the island to fight them and defend his son.[37] Due to unexpected interference to their equipment, the team inadvertently causes a radioactive storm during their first experiment, which causes intense heat and excelled growth in the insect inhabitants but no noticeable change in the island's flora. Additional experiments by the scientists result in the cooling of Sollgel Island's jungle environment, covering it in snow and forcing Godzilla and Minilla to hibernate until the island becomes tropical again.[33]

Monsterland/Monster Island

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Main article: Monsterland and Monster Island

Lagos Island

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Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) presents a version of Godzilla's origin that occurred on Lagos Island, the last of the Marshall Islands engaged by U.S. forces in World War II. In the film, writer Kenichiro Terasawa discovers the island was defended by the only Japanese garrison to survive the onslaught, and that a dinosaur that had been inhabiting the island interrupted a battle there between Japanese and U.S. forces.[40][41] Terasawa theorizes that the dinosaur, called "Godzillasaurus",[42] was later mutated by the nuclear testing by the United States at Bikini Atoll in 1944,[43] as well as nuclear weapons testing on Lagos Island itself in 1954,[40][41] resulting in the creation of Godzilla.[40][41] The film also features humans from the year 2204[44] known as the "Futurians" who time travel back to Lagos Island to prevent Godzilla from rising and attacking Japan.[33][45]

Adona Island

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Long a dump for radioactive waste, Adona Island came to broader attention when a scientific team uncovered a half-buried human-sized egg and subsequently encountered Rodan and Godzilla in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. As a consequence of the high levels of radiation on Adona, the egg, which had been of the species Godzillasaurus, had mutated in such a way that the hatching Baby was more a baby Godzilla than a dinosaur.

Birth Island

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After Godzilla and Baby Godzilla swim off to sea at the end of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II they settle on an uninhabited Pacific island, called Birth Island in the following two films (by the start of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah the island has vanished, as underground uranium deposits on the island caused Godzilla's radioactive energy to go unstable and destroy the island in the process). In Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, the island is home not only to Godzilla and Little Godzilla, but also to Akira Yuki, who has devoted his life to killing Godzilla, and to members of the T-Project, whose goal is to control Godzilla via telepathy.

Kiganjima Island

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In Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, the G-Graspers propose to lure Godzilla towards Kiganjima Island before attacking it with the Dimension Tide, an experimental satellite-based weapon that fires miniature black holes. During the operation, a swarm of Meganula attack Godzilla and feed off on its energy. The Dimension Tide is fired, wiping out majority of the Meganula, but failing to eliminate Godzilla.

Countries

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International relations are central to the plot of almost every Godzilla film, from the indirect blame placed on the U.S. for awakening the beast in 1954 (Godzilla), through the role of Interpol in thwarting Black Hole Alien invasions (Terror of Mechagodzilla), to the spectre of Japan's own war crimes manifested in Godzilla (GMK). Occasionally a film will feature a fictional country, often in place of an unnamed but easily inferable real-life country (or bloc of countries).

Rolisica

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In Mothra, greedy businessmen, led by Clark Nelson of Rolisica, kidnap the Shobijin for the purpose of making money off their performances. Mothra hears the girls' telepathic cry for help and goes searching for the girls in Japan. When Nelson and his associates flee to Rolisica, Mothra, upon becoming an adult, flies to New Kirk City and ravages the metropolis looking for them.

Rolisica is widely interpreted as a stand-in for the United States and the Soviet Union, with New Kirk City – featuring a Manhattan-like skyline and several suspension bridges – obviously standing in for New York City, Soviet-styled military uniforms, and its population being clearly of European descent. In the Japanese version, Rolisican characters often speak English with American accents. A significant portion of the film Mothra depicts diplomatic relations between Rolisica and Japan, particularly over two issues: their claim that Infant Island had been searched and verified to be uninhabited before their nuclear tests were conducted; and the Rolisican government's position on Nelson's ownership of the Shobijin.

The country was not mentioned in the two kaiju films Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. which are sequels to the film Mothra.

Selgina

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In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), Selgina is said to be a small Himalayan monarchy. The country's Princess Salno leaves her homeland to escape to Japan from a group of assassins who are trying to kill her. While she is on a plane, she becomes possessed by the spirit of a Martian and jumps from the airplane before it explodes. Miraculously, she is later found in Japan unharmed.

Seatopia

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By 197X (1971 in the English-language version), the underwater kingdom of Seatopia has lost a third of its ocean floor to earthquakes caused by nuclear tests conducted by the surface world, ravaging their once-opulent cities and leaving their people in crisis. According to their grandiloquent leader Antonio, Seatopia must finally and reluctantly fight back to take back their safety from the people of the surface. They beseech their god Megalon to attack the surface world and deploy their own human agents to sabotage the powerful robot Jet Jaguar. When the agents' plans are thwarted and Megalon proves ineffective against Jet Jaguar, Seatopia requests the help of Gigan from the Space Hunter Nebula M aliens, though both monsters ultimately succumb to the combined might of Jet Jaguar and Godzilla.

The film Godzilla vs. Megalon introduced the Seatopians during the space alien-themed 1970s (see 1972's Godzilla vs. Gigan and 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla). Though human and not extraterrestrial, their shadowed origins, alliance with the Nebulans, and apparent goal of world conquest are more in keeping with the several alien races from the Godzilla films than with the usual diplomatic roles assigned to fictional countries.

Saradia

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The Republic of Saradia is an Arab Middle Eastern nation from the film Godzilla vs. Biollante with a desert climate with large petroleum deposits, wealthy due to its oil wells and exports and possibly a member of OPEC. It is generally recognized as a stand-in for any of the Middle Eastern oil-exporting countries, in particular Saudi Arabia. Through its bioengineering program Saradia nurtured hopes of harvesting its deserts and becoming an agricultural exporter. One asset to this program was Dr. Shiragami, a displaced Japanese geneticist.

In 1984, following the appearance of a new Godzilla, Saradian agents obtained a Godzilla skin sample from devastated Tokyo. With the self-reproductive properties encoded in Godzilla's cells ("G-cells"), Shiragami intended to develop desert-sustainable food crops. This program was foiled when the American terrorist organization Bio-Major destroyed the Saradian laboratory housing both the skin sample and Shiragami's daughter and assistant Erika. In 1989 Shiragami was recruited by the Japanese government to develop anti-nuclear energy bacteria (ANEB) from another sample of G-cells.

Two major enterprises of Saradia maintain a presence in Japan: the Saradia Oil Corporation, which exports petroleum from the state; and its espionage program, for which the Oil Corporation serves as a front. A prominent Saradian spy is SSS-9, the assassin who had pillaged the original skin sample and later a vacuum flask of ANB from Bio-Major agents.

Planets

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Planet X

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Planet X was first revealed in the 1965 film Invasion of Astro-Monster as a mysterious planet located in the umbra of Jupiter, home to the Xiliens. Its surface is barren, inhospitable, and lacking in water, so the Xiliens built their cities in a series of caves beneath the surface. It appeared that Planet X was ravaged due to the constant attacks of the space dragon King Ghidorah, but this turned out to be nothing more than part of a ploy by the Xiliens to conquer Earth to steal its water.

Kilaak

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Kilaak is said to be a small planet that exists between Mars and Jupiter. Little is known about this planet except that its inhabitants, the Kilaaks, have found it uninhabitable and so attempt to take over Earth as their new home.

M Space Hunter Nebula

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M Space Hunter Nebula is the home world of the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens. A planet that was once host to an advanced humanlike race, M Space Hunter Nebula was devastated by pollution brought on by this race, which eventually led to their extinction; the M Space Hunter Nebula Aliens arose from cockroach-like organisms that were able to survive the adverse conditions on their homeworld, but sought to invade Earth and take it by force as conditions on M Space Hunter Nebula continued to worsen. As a result of their adaptations to M Space Hunter Nebula, the Nebulans cannot survive in Earth's comparatively cleaner atmosphere without taking the bodies of fallen humans as 'flesh suits', though this allows them to masquerade as humans to avoid detection.

Black Hole Planet 3

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Black Hole Planet 3 is the home world of the Black Hole Planet 3 aliens, also known as the Simians, who first appeared in the 1974 film Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. A planet in orbit around a black hole, Black Hole Planet 3's days were numbered, so its aliens launched a full-scale invasion of Earth with Mechagodzilla to take the planet as their own.

Organizations

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Godzilla Prediction Network

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The Godzilla Prediction Network is a research center facility for doing scientific studies on Godzilla and other giant monsters. This organization was featured in the 1999 film Godzilla 2000: Millennium.

G-Grasper

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Featured in the 2000 film Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, G-Grasper is a section of the Japan Self-Defense Forces dedicated to the elimination of Godzilla.

Anti-Megalosaurus Force

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In the 2002 film Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, the Anti-Megalosaurus Force (AMF) is a special division of the JSDF established in Chiba Prefecture in 1966 to defend Japan from monsters such as Godzilla.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b Murguía 2016, p. 97
  2. ^ a b Ryfle, Steve (2005). "Godzilla's Footprint". Virginia Quarterly Review. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  3. ^ Sinacola, Dom (November 5, 2019). "Criterion's Gorgeous Godzilla Box Set Is a Testament to Our Ability to Get Used to Anything". Paste. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  4. ^ O'Hehir, Andrew (April 18, 2014). "The original "Godzilla": Still king of the monsters". Salon. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  5. ^ Lambie, Ryan (July 19, 2013). "Godzilla: the most melancholy giant monster film yet made?". Den of Geek. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  6. ^ Bogue 2017, p. 169
  7. ^ a b Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 174
  8. ^ a b Mithaiwala, Mansoor (May 28, 2019). "Mothra Explained: Godzilla 2 Monster Origin & Powers". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  9. ^ Feinblatt, Scott (July 28, 2019). "Blu-Ray Review: Mothra". Vents Magazine. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  10. ^ Hawley, Anthony (October 31, 2019). "Godzilla, the Most Enduring Monster of Them All, In 15 of its Most Glorious Forms". Hyperallergic. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  11. ^ "There's A Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Easter Egg No One Is Talking About". CinemaBlend. June 4, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 178
  13. ^ a b Kaye, Don (June 3, 2019). "Mothra: celebrating Godzilla's queen of the monsters". Den of Geek. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  14. ^ Prange, Stephanie (April 26, 2019). "'Mothra' Hatches on Steelbook Blu-ray July 9 From Mill Creek". Media Play News. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 211
  16. ^ a b Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 216
  17. ^ Grebey, James (June 4, 2019). "All the Godzilla: King of the Monsters Easter Eggs, Explained — Including That Post-Credits Scene". Vulture. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  18. ^ Moran, Sarah (June 1, 2019). "Is [SPOILER] Dead? How They Can Return In Godzilla 3". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  19. ^ Brown, Tracy (June 3, 2019). "'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' director explains that Mothra Easter egg". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  20. ^ Moran, Susan (June 6, 2019). "Mothra's Ridiculous Fairies Were Made Canon In Godzilla 2 (Seriously)". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  21. ^ Valdez, Nick (June 2, 2019). "Godzilla: King of the Monsters Includes Special Mothra Throwback". Comicboko.com. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  22. ^ Igarashi 2006, p. 92
  23. ^ Igarashi 2006, p. 89
  24. ^ Igarashi 2006, p. 94
  25. ^ Igarashi 2006, pp. 91–92
  26. ^ Burns & Blaisdell 2018, p. 51
  27. ^ Gonzales, Dave (October 17, 2016). "10 Essential Godzilla Movies". Geek.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  28. ^ a b Morton 2005, p. 125
  29. ^ a b Gramuglia, Anthony (January 31, 2020). "The Original Godzilla Franchise Timeline Is Really Confusing". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  30. ^ a b Haar, Pete Vonder (August 17, 2011). "Cinema Slap Fight: King Kong Vs. Godzilla". Houston Press. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  31. ^ a b Igarashi 2006, p. 82
  32. ^ Morton 2005, pp. 118–120
  33. ^ a b c d Ryfle 1998, p. 83
  34. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 85
  35. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 133
  36. ^ a b "Godzilla: A look at the film over the years". Los Angeles Daily News. May 13, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  37. ^ a b c Hughes 2014, p. 27
  38. ^ Fischer 2000, p. 219
  39. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 137
  40. ^ a b c Kalat 2010, p. 187
  41. ^ a b c Jacob 2019, pp. 239
  42. ^ Debus 2009, p. 272
  43. ^ Lucas, Tim; Lucas, Donna (1996). "Godzilla explained: The Lagos Island Tyrannosaur". Video Watchdog. No. 2.
  44. ^ "MOTHER". www.tohokingdom.com. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  45. ^ Jacob 2019, pp. 239–240

Bibliography

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Godzilla Category:Godzilla (franchise)

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