GODZILLA VS. THE WORLD (Univ. of Texas Press)

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tbeasley
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GODZILLA VS. THE WORLD (Univ. of Texas Press)

Post by tbeasley »

Steve Ryfle (Japan's Favorite Mon-Star, Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film) has another book on Godzilla in the works.
From memories of Hiroshima to the nightmare of Fukushima, GODZILLA VS. THE WORLD: THE POLITICS OF JAPAN’S DISASTER MONSTER is a forthcoming book examining the geopolitical themes of the Godzilla series, covering selected films including Ishiro Honda’s GODZILLA (1954) and Hideaki Anno’s controversial SHIN GODZILLA (2016).
https://www.facebook.com/godzillavstheworld/
Last edited by tbeasley on Sun Oct 18, 2020 7:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Major sssspielberg!
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Re: Godzilla vs. The World

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

Sign me up, that Honda book is a great read.
I'm very excited to learn about the political undercurrents of Godzilla vs Megalon
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

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UltramanGoji
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Re: Godzilla vs. The World

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Interesting but worried about the Shin section because Ryfle and co. have famously misinterpreted the film’s message in the past.
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tbeasley
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Re: Godzilla vs. The World

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Major sssspielberg! wrote:Sign me up, that Honda book is a great read.
I'm very excited to learn about the political undercurrents of Godzilla vs Megalon
I thought this was funny in another thread...
szmigiel wrote:Tired of nuclear bomb tests, undersea people send a monster to destroy the only country to ever have nuclear weapons used on them.
UltramanGoji wrote:Interesting but worried about the Shin section because Ryfle and co. have famously misinterpreted the film’s message in the past.
Yeah they have a good set irony blinders when it comes to that - the Honda book has detailed passages on Honda's films being perceived as nationalistic upon release and the authors go out of the way to prove the opposite (which I certainly agree with). But history kind of repeats itself (or rhymes?) when them finding G2014 and Shin militaristic or whatever.

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Major sssspielberg!
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Re: Godzilla vs. The World

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

tbeasley wrote:
I thought this was funny in another thread...
szmigiel wrote:Tired of nuclear bomb tests, undersea people send a monster to destroy the only country to ever have nuclear weapons used on them.

I'm fucking dead.

As for the Shin/Nationism/militarism issue.... The reason it's one of my favorite films of the past decade is how up-front it deals with everything Japan had thrown at it relating to 3/11. I don't think Hollywood would ever produce a film so unafraid to dig into a tragedy like that if one ever occurred on American soil. But I digress.
My point (and my opinion) is to simply read Shin Godzilla as "muh nationalism" really misses what makes it such a powerful film, which is a shame from a guy as smart as Ryfle. However it seems like that's just the take a lot of older fans seem smitten with.
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Re: Godzilla vs. The World

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I love Steve Ryfle but I was hoping he would update, expand and rerelease Japanese Favourite Mon-Star. Still the best English language book written on Godzilla in my humble opinion.
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Re: Godzilla vs. The World

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Shhh! The Octopus wrote:I love Steve Ryfle but I was hoping he would update, expand and rerelease Japanese Favourite Mon-Star. Still the best English language book written on Godzilla in my humble opinion.
I think I heard something about that happening a few years ago when the Honda book was released but I could be wrong.
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Re: Godzilla vs. The World

Post by Angilasman »

Shhh! The Octopus wrote:I love Steve Ryfle but I was hoping he would update, expand and rerelease Japanese Favourite Mon-Star. Still the best English language book written on Godzilla in my humble opinion.
I agree with this. An updated version of this book would be invaluable. It would be my go-to book for anyone who asked about being better informed on the series.

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Re: Godzilla vs. The World

Post by tbeasley »

Ryfle has this to say back in 2011...
Driscoll: It has been about ten years since the release of your book, and six Godzilla films have been released since then. Have you considered updating Mon-Star, or publishing a supplement book? With another new American Godzilla movie in the works, the timing seems right…

Ryfle: I’d like to update the book. It would have to be considerably rewritten and revamped, rather than just expanded to include the newer films. I’d look at it as an opportunity to fix some things that were done incorrectly in the original edition. The book has been sold out for several years—the original print run was only 10,000 copies—but you can still get a new copy from the publisher’s print-on-demand service. It’s rather outdated, though, as you know.

Driscoll: I really hope your new book comes together! What are some improvements you would like to make if you get the chance? Other than the information about the newer movies, what sort of content updates would you consider?

Ryfle: I would correct factual errors (there are a couple that are even more embarrassing, in my opinion, than what you cited in your Toho Kingdom review) and add new interviews and other material. I’d delete content that is now outdated or unnecessary due to the proliferation of information available online. Also, I'd probably cut the chapter on the Tristar film in half and make room for other, more interesting material.

I’m not happy with the tone of the writing in some parts of the book; it’s rather immature and sophomoric in places. And of course the layout and graphic design is a joke, even by 1990s standards. So, my goal would be to rewrite, streamline, update, expand and expound. Who knows if it will ever happen, though.

https://www.tohokingdom.com/interviews/ ... -2011.html

An update with the clear, crisp layout of the Honda book would be great.

Added in 4 months 23 days 23 hours 18 minutes 4 seconds:
PROJECT UPDATE: One might think that all this staying at home is good for writing, but the truth is that it's challenging to write a book during a pandemic, when you're concerned about life, health, well-being, finances, etc.--not just your own, but those of your friends and family too. Nevertheless, work continues on this project and we're happy to report that the publisher has assigned an ISBN number to the book, as well, which give GODZILLA VS. THE WORLD the stamp of real-life authenticity. We still don't know exactly when the book will be finished and published; like so many other businesses, publishing has been upended by the pandemic and many books have been put on hold indefinitely. We'll keep you informed as to our progress on this Facebook page. Thanks for your interest, as always.
https://www.facebook.com/godzillavstheworld/

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