It’s been nine and a half years since Gareth Edwards‘ Fatzilla reboot, and to this day the vast majority of critics and commentators are still refusing to even mention the fact that Godzilla began as a relatively svelte fire-breathing dinosaur back in the early 50s, and that he gained weight as a gesture to an increasingly obese American population that manifested in the 21st Century.
When Godzilla premiered in May 2014, Edwards, something of a beef-bod himself, either denied it or pretended that the obsese Godzilla thing was an invention…a purely subjective observation that smacked of fatphobia or, if you will, an anti-body-positivity mindset.
Will voices in the entertainment culture ever admit the obvious? Will crusty old conservative Kurt Russell toss off an obesity joke or two in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Apple + streaming, 11.17). He would if he was producing or co-writing, but he isn’t so he won’t.
Posted on 5.27.19: I don’t care if my repeated mentions about Godzilla having become a total fat-ass sound obsessive, but why do I seem to be the only critic-columnist on the planet earth who’s even mentioning this obvious fact?
Five years ago Japanese film enthusiasts were fat-shaming Godzilla, and for good reason. Compared to the original Toho Godzilla of 1954, Gareth Edwards’ super-reptile was definitely Raymond Burr in the mid ’60s. But the new Godzilla is flat-out obese — a kaiju Orson Welles. And no one, it seems, wants to even take note of this. Not even in passing. Not even as a joke.
The reason (and I’m not kidding) is that critics and think-piece writers have sensed that the monster’s expanding belt size is a subliminal gesture of kinship and comfort to the obese community, which of course reps a significant portion of the moviegoing public, and no film writer wants to be accused of fat-shaming. Because in today’s p.c. environment a fat-shamer is indistinguishable from a racist or a homophobe.
I’m no shamer, but I am saying “is anyone besides myself going to look this thing in the eye or what?” All I’m doing is saying (a) “look at him” and (b) “why do you think that is?”
You can bet that if the new Godzilla had ignored the 2014 precedent and reverted to the relatively lean-and-mean physique of the 1954 Toho version, reviewers would be mentioning this left and right. Because they’d have nothing to fear for saying “wow, Godzilla’s been working out…he’s back in shape!” Because that wouldn’t be…well, I guess it would be received at fat-shaming in some corners.
“When Using The Word ‘Fat’ was Permissible,” posted on 6.19.07.