Customer Reviews

Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

An excellent analysis and history of a great movie icon. Godzilla on My Mind is an impressive, well written discussion of the impact Japan's (and the world's) favorite rampaging movie monster has made on the film industry and pop culture in general. The author thoroughly reviews all aspects of the Godzilla phenomenon (the Godzilla films are the longest series of movies in history -50 years old !!!)and tries to answer the question "Why do people love Godzilla so much?". It is an entertaining and affectionate look at a cherised character. A must read for any Godzilla fan.

I didn't consider myself a Godzilla fan. I liked the icon and the destruction Godzilla represented, but I didn't consider myself to be all-knowing about him. But he interested me nonetheless, and I decided to pick up this book and boy was I startled by the sheer amount of knowledge this book contains! If you want to start loving Godzilla, this is what you got to read first!

The six chapters are broke down as following: "Chapter I: The Birth Of Gojira" talks about the first movie and the establishment of an icon. "Chapter II: The Godzilla Franchise" explains everything there is to know about the tewnty six sequels to the original Gojira. "Chapter III: Understanding the monster" tries to analyse why Godzilla is so appealing and why everyone knows him. "Chapter IV: The Making Of An American Icon" explains why, of all places, Godzilla made a name for himself in America, and why he is cemented in American culture. "Chapter V: A Personal Godzilla" analyses the fans of Godzilla, why they love him, and just how much they love him. And finally, "Chapter VI: Godzilla's Spawn" talks about the moviemaking trend started by Godzilla, from the equally loveable Gamera to the american-made Godzilla.

Quite frankly, I never was so interested by a book that didn't feature a story. It is written with a lot of insight and might make anyone who reads it a Godzilla fan. Now, where can I find those movies?

This is a really great fun read written by a lifelong fan of THE BIG-G. As a Godzilla fan myself, I find this book to be an insightful overview of not only the films but also of the times when these films were made. Tsutsui covers his subject with style and humor, informative without being academic. This is both a FRIENDLY read and a WELL WRITTEN history of Godzilla and his affect on pop culture then and now. Buy this book. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Godzilla On My Mind is a wonderful celebration of the movies, the myths and the magic of Godzilla. Professor Tsutsui writes with both candor and passion about the "monster" so many of us love, exploring the connection so many fans have made with Godzilla over the years. It is clear that he loves Godzilla, yet he is able to look with a keen mind and critical eyes at the movies themselves, as well as the cultural phenomenon that has swept over the world.
His style is clean and engaging, even when he swims in the "deep waters" of "what it all means". At it's core, "Godzilla" is far more than a man in a rubber suit thrashing about on a set of miniature buildings in a series of "kid's movies". Tsutsui teaches without "preaching" as he explores the cultural differences between what Godzilla "means" in Japan, as well as in America and other nations.
Even if you are a casual fan, you will find much here to enjoy. If you want to learn more about the "king of the monsters" this is the book for you.

I've known about this book for several years now and have heard nothing but bad things about it. Well I finally decided to take the plunge and rent this from the local library and see if the negativity was deserved and I'm sadden to report that yes it was. The author claims to be a Godzilla fan but has no qualms with calling the films cheesy and mocking the fans. He comes off as a closet fan who doesn't really want people to know he likes Japanese monster movies. I especially didn't care for his comments on attending the popular G-Fest where he seemed almost ashamed to have attended it.

As for the layout of the book I really had to struggle to read through it, Mr. Tsutsui's writing seemed to drag on and on despite being a short book I felt like I was reading one of my college textbooks. In fact there where several occasions where I'd stop reading and look up at the page number to see how far I've read only to find out it's been a couple of pages.

Another negative I found with this books he kept referring to several of the Japanese men and women who worked on these films by last name then first name. Example Akira Ifukube became Ifukube Akira. Was this done intentionally or was he generally confused about the name of the person he was referencing? If it's the latter then how come American names weren't referenced in the same matter?

I really wanted to give this book the benefit of the doubt and ended up coming out disappointed. He did touch on some interesting things and made me recollect to a simpler time of being a child going into stores that sold VHS tapes seeing a Godzilla flick I didn't have yet and bugging my parents to purchase it for me. That's what the book gets two stars. Because it touches on interesting aspects of the character but ultimately falls flat. Avoid this book but if you're curious check to see if you're local library has it.

Wish my professor of Film Art had had the insight that this author has into the Godzilla legend.

Our son has been fixated on Godzilla for a few years now. This book was part of his 12th birthday present. Never has he been so interested in a book in his life. He actually brought it to school the next day. He has been reading some of it every day. Great book.

I have always been a fan of the Godzilla movie series, so when I heard that there was finally going to be a book that dealt with the series in a bit more depth than websites do, but with none of the ridiculous pseudo-intellectualism that has infected such subject matter as the homoerotic sexual dynamics The Three Stooges or capitalist theory's relevance to Gilligan's Island, I was pleased. And even more so when I actually read Godzilla On My Mind, by William Tsutsui, a history professor at Kansas University. It is a well-written, and not too reverent look at the phenomenon of Godzilla- from its start as the semi-serious Japanese film Gojira through its many incarnations and latest filmic forays- twenty-eight films and counting, plus merchandise galore. It contrasts sharply with just such a weighty academic tome predecessor as David Kalat's 1997 A Critical History And Filmography Of Toho's Godzilla Series.

The best aspect of Tsutsui's book is that he brings a personal love of the monster and films to his book. He is not assuming some pose, and this makes his book accessible in the best way, even as he brings many insights to things that I, as a Godzilla fan, have not encountered in the many online fansites for the big green galoot. This book works as a Valentine to fans of the monster and films, and a nice introduction to people who have just heard the name Godzilla, or even the suffix -zilla, and wondered where it came from, or what it was about. In fact, Tsutsui devotes a lengthy section to -zilla's dominance as a descriptive suffix. This is something that has not, as of this piece's writing, ever even been addressed online, but underscores the range the book covers, even as it reads breezily, relating anecdotes from Tsutsui's childhood love of the beast to those of the typical geeks that attend Godzilla conventions to those of the filmmakers and both the legendry behind the film series, and the mythology within. Perhaps the most interesting point the book addresses is on page 206, when at a school to give a talk about Godzilla, Tsutsui was asked a question by a child that he never encountered before, nor has ever been properly dealt with in the writings on Godzilla: `Did Americans enjoy seeing all those Japanese people die?' Tsutsui says he was taken aback by the question, its relevance, and the fact that it had never been addressed before. Hopefully, the next bulky Godzilla tome will address that question....A few bad online reviews of the book have pointed to things as typos, or Tsutsui's insistence that Godzilla's sex is unknown as flaws, but these are obviously nitpickings by Godzilla fans that were disappointed that Tsutsui was not as fawning as they are in their love for all things big and green. Also, many of the online Godzilla fansites were miffed that Tsutsui did not bow down to them as the unassailable self-appointed experts they think they are. This sort of reverse snobbery from geeky fans of sci fi tv shows or films is well known to Star Trek, Star Wars, and even James Bond fans, and it is somehow comforting to know that Godzilla has spawned as ridiculously puerile and devoted a following as the above mentioned franchises. My only complaint is that the book didn't address one of the central symbols throughout the film franchise, and other Japanese monster films- that of the little Japanese boy who wears a baseball cap and sees nothing but good in the monster. But, I recognize my biases where others do not see theirs.

Yet, Tsutsui takes it all in stride in his excellent little book. He many times chimes in humorously on the subject he writes of, such as when, on pages 194-195, after detailing the ridiculous names some of the films were accorded in their European incarnations he exasperates: `Is it any wonder that we admire the Old World for its castles, chocolates and wine rather than for its monster movies?' Is this book a must read, or a life-changing entity? No, not in the least. But this is no more than Godzilla should be. It's a fun, engaging, and surprisingly well written and insightful book. Would that one could say as much for the rest of contemporary American literature.

Fantastic read! Such a delightful book could only be written by someone with both a passion for the subject and an unmatched grasp of historical research methodology.

Like an eagle high atop the mountain scanning for prey or the Hubble Telescope looking for new stars in galaxies far, far away, Dr. Tsutusi used his electron microscope-like eyes to critically examine and analyze this vast subject. Breaking it down like M.C. Hammer, he prepared a thorough analysis for the both the casual couch potato reader as well as the leather-elbowed tweed jacket university type. One wonders what we would have done without such though provoking masterpieces such as this. I think this will be worth your time. Enjoy!

...or maybe not. Associate Professor William Tsutsui attempts to detail and explain the alluring popularity of watching a guy in a latex suit tearing through a mock-up of a Japanese metropolis. While he succeeds in the former (relating the history of both the series and the merchandising it spawned) Tsutsui stumbles in the latter. The author himself admits that, as a subject, Godzilla is far too complex (what with being reinvented from bad guy to good guy and every point in between with each new film) to pigeon hole with a quaint, easy to understand theory - which does more to explain Godzilla's enduring popularity over the years, the continents, and differing generations than any critical theory could ever aspire to. Whether adored as a city smashing monster (Gojira, 1954) or dismissed for being a cute n' cuddly Barneylike defender of The World via Japan (Godzilla Versus Gigan, Megalon et al) it can be safe to say that Godzilla will live on for at least another generation, or two. For a fan like me, the book didn't really offer any information about The Big G that I did not already know, but it was nice to read someone with an opinion similar (but quite different) to my own, but some might wonder if a blog turned book is worth investing in. It is better suited for fans to share with non-fans, with the disclaimer "This book attempts to explain just what it is about Godzilla and his movies that I adore so" attached. Recommended for the Kaiju Curious, the fans will be buy it regardless.