T w e n t y S i d e d

The two 1933 King Kong movies introduced, or at least emphasized, a key concept for a new genre of movie: the GIANT monster. But despite his size, Kong very definitely fit into the type of monster movie that had been a staple of early FX movies practically from the beginning of the technology. Quite possibly the first thing filmmakers thought of when contemplating “what ELSE can we make movies of?” was dinosaurs. The idea that giant fossilized bones belonged to ancient giant reptiles had only been proposed around 1842, fifty years prior to the invention of “moving pictures.” But as thrilling as these early fantastical depictions of dinosaurs were, the humans that encountered them were awed more by the discovery than the threat to life and limb. Dinosaurs could be killed or driven off with guns and spears. Likewise, Kong was defeated by machine guns (I mean, you can argue it was technically the *fall* that killed him, but you get it.) So at least on the surface of the story, Kong was just another animal to be overcome. It wasn’t until the years following World War Two that an elevating influence was added to the giant monster formula, creating a new threat.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Crossroads and Random Collisions”

Paige Francis He/him

If the end result is Godzilla, whom I would argue has made the most money of any giant movie monster and has generated by FAR the largest amount of screen time, we should probably look at the beginning. I’m going to leave off some of the more technical “this particular concept likely came from this very early German sci-fi film” details, although I find film history and its interaction with speculative fiction fascinating and informative. There are a handful of important films (and real-life events) that informed Gojira, although the true primogenitor of the genre is, of course, 1933’s King Kong.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “A Socialogist, a Paleontologist, and a Nuclear Physicist Walk Into a Bar…”

Paige Francis He/him