Essay: Blade Runner and Mothra vs.Godzilla

Wrote this for school this semester. Ehhh, it turned out decent. 

DOWN WITH WORD LIMITS

2000 IS NOT ENOUGH

FIGHT THE POWER

Blade Runner and Mothra vs. Godzilla: Expressions of Economic Paranoia

            Since the inception of film, directors have been using this versatile medium to express religious, political and moral beliefs, and to convey specific emotions and feelings to their audiences. Some films overtly critique governments or dictators and have explicit allegorical messages, and others are more vague and subdued in their expressions. Two films that can be seen as expressions of fear and paranoia regarding rapid economic expansion in Japan are Ridley Scott's 1982 film Blade Runner and Ishiro Honda's 1964 "kaiju-eiga" Mothra vs Godzilla. These films were made in different decades by different directors in two very different countries and contain varying subject matter, but each one distinctly expresses fear that rapid economic growth in Japan may not have a positive effect on their respective countries. Both of them use techniques of "Othering" to portray another culture as alien and unknown and warn against the perils of rapid industrialization and economic growth.

            Ridley Scott's film Blade Runner takes place in a futuristic, dystopian version of Los Angeles. While this setting may seem familiar to the film's Western audiences, the famous city where it is set is much different than it appears in the real world. The theme of rapid industrialization and economic growth is established in one of the very first shots of the film, a landscape shot of the massive, sprawling city of Los Angeles in 2019. Huge smokestacks reach up into the sky, higher than any other buildings, and spew bright flames into the air. These smokestacks are symbols of development, progress and production, and in these shots they look quite fearsome and dangerous, depicting industrial development as something that can eventually become frightening if allowed to get out of control. Many of the early scenes of the film depict a futuristic Los Angeles that appears to be overrun with Japanese influence. Most notable are the scenes where protagonist Deckard is flying around the city, being taken to the police so they can enlist his help in finding some escaped "replicants" or synthetic human beings. In these scenes, the ship Deckard is in is shown flying through the dense, heavily populated city. Long shots show the ship cruising past a skyscraper that is almost completely covered by a giant television screen showing a close-up of a Japanese woman's face. She is clearly acting in an advertisement, and appears to be dressed in traditional Japanese attire. She is only shown from the shoulders up, but it can be seen that she is most likely wearing a kimono. She is also wearing the white, pale makeup characteristic of Japanese culture and her hair is tied up with flowers in it. The screen that the woman is on occupies a large portion of the frame when it is shown and it is clear that Scott wanted the viewer's eye to be directed to this part of the screen, despite the fact that Deckard's ship is also travelling through the shot. This massive, explicitly Japanese (the screen shows Japanese kanji text instead of English words) advertisement placed squarely in the heart of one of America's largest cities shows that in the world of Blade Runner Japan has become a very powerful nation and their culture has expanded, gaining a foothold in the United States.

            In her essay "Innovation: Japan Races Ahead as U.S. Falters", writer Constance Holden says that Japan "now sees herself at the threshold of a new era of advanced technology" (751). This essay was written in 1980, just two years before Blade Runner was made, when Japan was experiencing a massive economic boom due to their increased production of advanced technology. This contributes to Scott's portrayal of Japan as a country that is very advanced and one that has culturally crossed over the United States. He defamiliarizes Los Angeles by bringing in huge advertisements in the Japanese language and creating an atmosphere of extreme multiculturalism and claustrophobia. In the decade in which this film was made, there were concerns that Japan could become more powerful and technologically advanced than America, and Scott's film reflects this real-life paranoia by portraying a future where Japan has a huge presence in America and there are synthetic humans that are capable of escape and murder. In the film, it is also shown that Asian people work on and help create the synthetic humans. An Asian man who creates eyes for the replicants is in one scene in the film, and he is shown using chopsticks to pick up the eyes that he is working on. This "disturbing commodification of biotechnology" (Yu 54) show how the replicants (and main antagonists) of the film are created, by people from the East. This portrayal of the Japanese as a mysterious Other who creates machines that have minds of their own and the ability to kill furthers Scott's expression of Japan-related paranoia and his representation of them as an Other to be feared in Blade Runner.

            Ishiro Honda's film Mothra vs. Godzilla also expresses fear and uncertainty over rapid Japanese economic expansion and contains fearful depictions of a mysterious Other, but it does this in different ways and from a completely opposite perspective. Instead of viewing Japan as the Other, a country becoming more and more advanced that will eventually overtake and occupy America, Honda's film views Japanese economic growth from within Japan, and expresses concern that industrialization can go too far. In this monster film, a giant egg is discovered after a typhoon and is eventually revealed to have come from the beast Mothra. The egg is brought ashore and very quickly sold to Japanese businessmen. This is the first instance of Honda's film portraying industrialization as negative. In an early scene in the film, the news reporter from whose perspective the majority of the film is shown confronts the man who purchased the egg. The businessman is immediately portrayed as an unreasonable man, telling everyone to back away from his egg. When journalist Ichiro Sakai tells him that he does not think that the egg can be considered private property and he should not have been permitted to buy it, he simply says that he will share it with the public, as long as they pay him to see it. In buying the egg and using it for his own financial gain, the businessman is exploiting nature that he has no right to buy, as the egg rightfully belongs to Mothra. Jarome Shapiro notes that the industrialist "is very Western in his desire to contain or control nature, rather than live in harmony with it" (182). This is interesting, because in an inversion of Ridley Scott's representation of Japan in Blade Runner, Honda depicts Japanese economic growth as something negative that is caused by Western attitudes toward nature and development encroaching upon Japan.

            Westernized attitudes toward economic expansion is not the only thing in Honda's film that is portrayed as an Other. Godzilla is also a mysterious force that appears to be bent on dismantling Japan, a "violent, yet sympathetic, force in nature" (Shapiro 185). Interestingly enough, Japan's only defense against the destruction of Godzilla comes from the very egg that is taken over by those who seek to use it for monetary gain. This symbol of nature that is being corrupted by industrialism for the sake of corporate growth hatches into two Mothra larvae that spray silk fibers out of their mouths and bind Godzilla until he is forced to retreat back into the ocean. This battle can be seen as nature correcting itself and restoring a natural balance. Godzilla came to destroy humans and their created cities, and the Mothra larvae were sent to stop him and protect the natural order of things. If the businessmen who initially bought the egg had been allowed to have their way with it, it is possible that the egg may not have hatched into the monsters that saved the island from Godzilla and he would have been allowed to rampage endlessly, causing untold destruction.

            While Godzilla is a very distinct Other in that he is a giant creature resembling nothing in the natural world, Mothra is portrayed as an Other quite differently. In similar fashion to Ridley Scott's transposition of the modern city of Los Angeles to a fictionalized, futuristic one that is almost unrecognizable, Honda's film takes a common insect (a moth) and blows it up to massive size, creating a massive, mysterious beast out of a small, harmless creature. This defamiliarization of an organism that is already known to people in the real world creates an Other that is much different than Godzilla, who is also much more mysterious in his purpose. Godzilla exists to destroy, but Mothra's role in the film is that of a guardian. Yet another group of Others in this film are the native people that inhabit the island where Mothra lives. These people appear to know a great deal about what goes on in the outside world and say that Godzilla is the Japanese people's own fault, their consequence for "playing with the devil's fire", an obvious reference to nuclear tests and experimentation. This can be seen as another critique of Japanese industrialization and economic growth having negative effects, as the leader of the tribe of natives talks about how their island used to be a beautiful, green place before the experiments began. Nuclear experimentation was a controversial subject at the time, just as biological engineering and cloning are both now and when Blade Runner came into existence.

            Blade Runner and Mothra vs. Godzilla are two films that appear very different on the surface. The only immediately apparent similarity between them is the fact that they are both easily recognizable as films in the science fiction genre. However, despite the different countries of origin and being made almost two decades apart from one another, they both contain very interesting commentary on the rapid economic growth that was occurring in Japan between 1964 and 1982. Each of these films expresses paranoia and fear related to Japanese industrialization in different ways, and from different cultural perspectives. In addition to this, both films have their own ways of "Othering" specific cultures or monsters in their respective universes, making them appear mysterious or dangerous. Ridley Scott and Ishiro Honda each made a film that is distinctly different from the other's, but both of these works contain similar subtexts in reference to Japan.

Works Cited

Holden, Constance. "Japan Races Ahead as U.S. Falters." Science. vol. 210. Nov 14,         1980. pp. 751-754. Web. Apr 4 2015.

           

Shapiro, Jerome. "When a God Awakes: Symbolism in Japan's Mysterious Creature           Movies." World and I. vol. 13.5. May 1998. pp. 182. Web. Apr 5 2015.

Yu, Timothy. "Oriental Cities, Postmodern Futures: Naked Lunch, Blade Runner and       Neuromancer." MELUS.  vol. 33. pp.45-71. 2008. Web. Apr 4 2015.

Essay: The Wolf Among Us

Here's an essay I wrote last semester for a cool English course I took called Gaming & Narrative Theory. It got me an A so I guess it must be somewhat decent.

The Wolf Among Us, Player Choice and Dynamic Character Adaptation

            The Wolf Among Us is an episodic adventure/mystery video game released in 2013 by American independent game publisher Telltale Games. It is an adaptation of the Fables series of comic books, which takes famous characters from well-known nursery rhymes, films and stories and brings them together in one universe, a hidden community known as "Fabletown" in the  heart of New York City. The video game adaptation of this centers around protagonist Bigby Wolf, who is better known as the "Big Bad Wolf" from the Little Red Riding Hood and Three Little Pigs fairy tales. The Wolf Among Us has an interesting portrayal of Bigby. Despite the fact that he is the antagonist in the context that the person playing the game knows him in, he is very much the hero of the game. In this essay, I will argue that the player's perception of Bigby and other characters in the game is altered and defined by their previous knowledge of them in other texts, and that The Wolf Among Us is a legitimate adaptation of these characters. In her book Beginning to Theorize Adaptation, Linda Hutcheon defines an adaptation as "an announced and extensive transposition of a particular work or works" (7). The Wolf Among Us fits quit well into this definition, as it brings characters from a multitude of other works in several different genres and media together in one cohesive game universe.

            When a character is adapted into a new medium or text, they inevitably bring their reputation and previous actions with them in the mind of the person experiencing the new text, and this concept certainly affects the  perception of the character of Bigby in this game. Hutcheon writes that adaptations have an "overt and defining relationship to prior texts" (3). While her book is primarily concerned with film adaptations of works of literature, this certainly holds true in video game adaptations such as The Wolf Among Us. Bigby is defined for the player by his history in the fairy tales that he originates in.

            In The Wolf Among Us, Bigby Wolf is the sheriff and chief law enforcer of Fabletown. He uses his brute strength and skills of investigation to solve crimes and keep the residents of Fabletown safe and under control. This portrayal is extremely interesting given the previous portrayals of Bigby in the material his character is adapted from. In Little Red Riding Hood, The Big Bad Wolf is the antagonist of the story and primarily exists to deceive and try to eat Little Red Riding Hood. Having this previous knowledge of Bigby causes the player of the game to be cautious of him at first, knowing that in his background he is a villain who cannot be trusted. This is alluded to in the game as well. The characters inhabiting Fabletown all remember the events that occurred in not only their stories of origin but those of the others as well, and these events often create a reputation or image for these characters that affects the way that the other ones think of them. For example, a talking pig named Colin is often found at Bigby's apartment, and makes several appearances throughout the game. It is revealed that this is one of the Three Little Pigs from its eponymous tale, and in that particular story the Big Bad Wolf (Bigby) is clearly the antagonist. In this fairy tale, the Wolf destroyed Colin's house. In the context of The Wolf Among Us, this has happened previously and Colin often appears at Bigby's apartment because he is homeless as a result of what Bigby has done to him in the past. Colin is bitter about these events and he serves as a reminder to both Bigby and the person playing the game that he has done immoral things in the past and does not fit into the definition of a hero that most fairy tale stories subscribe to. However, it is made clear that Bigby feels remorseful about his past wrongdoings because he allows Colin to stay at his apartment. Interactions like this reveal a lot about Bigby and his character in The Wolf Among Us. It is easy to see him as a villain because of the evil deeds he has done in other works, but in this game he is quite clearly struggling with his nature and attempting to become a good "person".

            Whether or not he accomplishes this goal is entirely dependent on the person playing the game and the choices they make. Like all of Telltale's games, The Wolf Among Us is almost entirely driven by choice. An extremely high degree of control is given to the character over Bigby's actions. This ranges from small things such as choosing what he says in conversations and which questions to ask suspects, to far more profound and lasting choices such as whether to kill or spare lives or who to implicate in criminal investigations. A good example of this is at the end of the game where Bigby finally uncovers the culprit behind the killings in Fabletown. He (the player) is presented with two options: kill the criminal mastermind immediately, or take him into custody so he can face a fair trial for his crimes. Choices like this offer the player opportunities to "write" Bigby and decide what kind of character he is. It is made clear throughout the course of the game that Bigby has a very poor reputation among the other Fables. He is known for his violent temper and propensity for extreme methods that are morally questionable, but tend to yield results.

             This reputation can affect the person playing the game in one of two ways. One, it can drive them to do things "Bigby's way" and use excessive violence to achieve his goals. An example of this is early on in the game when Bigby is attempting to locate a person he has reason to believe is responsible for a murder and is attacked by Grendel, another literary figure originating in the English epic poem Beowulf. After subduing Grendel using his lycanthropic powers (Bigby is usually humanoid but has the ability to turn partially or fully into his wolf form to become stronger), Bigby is presented with the option of letting the defeated Grendel go or ripping off his arm. Interestingly, Grendel has his arm ripped off by Beowulf in the poem he originates in. This is a deliberate homage to the poem that makes the encounter with Grendel more enjoyable for players who are familiar with Beowulf.  In pivotal moments such as this, it is entirely up to the player to decide who they want Bigby to be. Doing things Bigby's way means violently pulling Grendel's arm off in plain sight of several other fables and further increasing his reputation of unfeelingly committing unnecessarily extreme acts of violence. Based on Bigby's historical context and his characterization in other works such as Little Red Riding Hood, this seems like the logical course of action, and what his character would unquestionably do in any other work of fiction. This illustrates how Bigby's past in other works of fiction affect the player's perception of him in this game. The fact that it is simple for the player to know what Bigby is expected to do and what he would likely normally do in situations such as these means that they may be likely to play the game in this way to bring consistency to his character. What is interesting about The Wolf Among Us, however,  is that the player is given the opportunity to deviate from this path and make Bigby perform acts of compassion and mercy.

             This is the other way that the inclusion of a strong element of choice in The Wolf Among Us affects the person playing. While Bigby's origins in famous fairy tales affects the player's perception of him to a certain degree, the choices in this game actually allow the player to change Bigby and make him a better person. Naturally there is no way to change who Bigby was in the past in the diegesis of the game and in other works, but if the player makes choices that are compassionate or helpful towards other people, they can begin to change the perception of Bigby within the game. A good illustration of this is the character of Snow White. She is one of the main characters in The Wolf Among Us, and originates in the famous film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow is one of the leaders of Fabletown and works very closely with Bigby in upholding the law. As her name suggests, she is by far the most innocent and pure character in the game, and often acts as Bigby's moral compass. This purity is established in the game, but can also come to the player by knowledge of Snow's character in the film she originated in. In the game, she keeps a very close watch over Bigby and often pleads with him to resist his nature and think before he acts. This can motivate the player to use Bigby to commit moral actions in an attempt to gain Snow White's approval. Despite Bigby's failings and misdeeds in the past, Snow offers him the opportunity to reform and change his reputation with the people of Fabletown. This concept of redemption extends outside the game to the person playing, because the player can turn Bigby into a strong, moral hero, which also changes the player's perception of him in light of his past evils.

            Uri Margolin addresses this dynamic nature of fictional characters such as Bigby when he says that "the properties ascribed to characters need not even form a logically consistent set, let alone one conforming to actual world regularities" (68). This means that Bigby does not need to be entirely consistent in all of the texts in which he appears, because he is a constructed character in a fictional world. Thus, while Bigby has been evil in the past, and can continue to be if the player chooses to make him so, he does not necessarily need to be this way in The Wolf Among Us to be the same character as he is in Little Red Riding Hood. Margolin goes on to say that "any given character may be amenable to a whole range of individuations, all of which are nonetheless compatible with the original" (69). In accordance with this, Bigby Wolf is an "individuation" of the Big Bad Wolf literary figure from the fairy tales from which he was adapted. This character has undergone immediately recognizable changes and adjustments from the original Big Bad Wolf, but remains an iteration of the same character simply because the game explicitly says he is and makes reference to his past in other well known works of fiction.

           

            Strengthening this argument for Bigby's legitimacy as an adapted character, Margolin says that the "later texts and the original must be related to each other both historically and intentionally"  and that the authors (in this case programmers) "must intend their readers to recognize the original version" (69). The Wolf Among Us is absolutely related to the other texts from which it adapts its characters. It would be nearly impossible for the game's writers and developers to accidentally place all of these characters in one universe with the backstories and personalities they have, so it is safe to assume that the adaptation of Bigby and everyone else in The Wolf Among Us is intentional. It is also clear that the game's writers intend for the players of the game to recognize the characters within it, because ample context and history is given for a large number of them. An example of this in the game is one short section where the player (controlling Bigby) is tasked with reading through a picture book full of depictions of the other Fables with the goal of locating and identifying an unknown woman who was murdered. While flipping through the book, the player can highlight and focus in on pictures of several of the other characters in the game, and with each there is a brief verbal description of them in the diegesis of their original fairy tale. This deliberate inclusion of references to the original texts the characters are adapted from is for the sole purpose of linking these characters back to their original texts, and reinforcing the sense of familiarity that they may already have in the mind of the player.

            When viewed using adaptation and character theories, The Wolf Among Us is a very interesting game. Being a video game adaptation of a comic book series that is in fact an adaptation, it contains a sort of "double layer" of adaptation. However, despite making a journey through three different media (some characters such as Snow White have come from films into comic books and now to video games), the characters in this fictional universe are still extremely recognizable iterations of their original forms, and contain more than enough shared characteristics with their source characters to be easily identifiable as the people or creatures that the game introduces them as. Bigby himself is shown as a human being in the game, but the way that the other characters react to him and the details revealed about his past before the events of the game make him unmistakably the famous Big Bad Wolf of fairy tale fame. Linda Hutcheon writes that an adaptation is "a derivation that is not derivative- a work that is second but not secondary" (9). This is description that applies especially well to The Wolf Among Us as a standalone text. While it borrows characters from other works, it does so in a manner that makes them new and different and uses them to create an original storyline. This game is "second but not secondary" in that it comes after the works that it draws from chronologically, but is in itself a creative work of original imagination. These characters are formed by their identity in previous works, but all come together to create an original narrative that is an effective and fascinating in its portrayals of already famous characters.