Disaster films have long been popular in Japan, and this could be explained by the historical background of the country. Japan is historically vulnerable to natural or man-made catastrophes – typhoons, earthquakes, wars, and so on. Therefore, those disaster films actually reflect the history of Japan and express the Japanese’s fear of catastrophes in real life. However, in many of these films, the disasters are often overcome eventually. For example, in the movie Gojira, although the monster Godzilla is extremely devastating, it is beaten down in the end. This implies that although the Japanese are terrified about the disasters, they are still optimistic and believe that they can overcome the catastrophes. Given that typhoons and earthquakes still strike Japan in recent years, I think that while people are enjoying these films, they should be acknowledged that such life-threatening events are really happening in Japan and appreciate the faith of the Japanese.
Wai Ki, Chan 3035933957
You have summarized some views that emerged in the reading. I wonder what the other thoughts about apocalyptic movies are? How do you balance different views of the genre?