Monsters, catastrophe, and destruction of cities are often seen in Japanese films especially during the post-war period after the 1940s. It seems that there is an aesthetic of destruction in Japanese popular culture. This makes us wonder why the Japanese are reimaging the horror scene of atomic bombs and radiation as a way to address the deep-seated anxieties and unsettle legacies after they have gone through so many natural and man-made disasters. According to the author of the reading, the darkness shown in Japanese film is able to distract the audience from the horror they’ve gone through. What’s more, the destruction scene might normalize what is psychologically unbearable. In this way, monster movies have become a therapeutic restaging of World War II. Besides the destruction and numbing of the audience, the monsters in the films are often defeated by the protagonists. At the end of the films, the audience might feel relief because the disasters are finally stopped by the unity and collaboration of Japanese people. Reconstruction and regeneration of the urban landscape give the audience hope of new life. That’s why the darkness of Japanese sci-fi films often ends in an optimistic way. It is the disaster that brings love and hopes to the suffering country that has gone through so much historically.
Fantastically summarised and well-articulated on Tsutsui’s argument. Well done.