Monster Metaphors


In light of the recent 9/11 inspired Cloverfield, The Guardian has a run-down of other monster movies with real life echos:

The Host
Even the smallest monster on this list is still bigger than the combined mass of acting "heavyweights" Orson Welles, Marlon Brando and John Candy. The family-level, anti-pollution eco message the film delivers is more poignant than a thousand coulda-been- a-contenders.

King Kong
The first monster superstar. A metaphor for the unknown, supposedly savage corners of the world, he's a lover and a fighter who has outlived all his original, puny human co stars.

Godzilla
Despite a succession of increasingly silly sequels, towering radioactive lizard Godzilla provided a thrilling and cathartic way for the Japanese to face the horror of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Pulgasari
Kim Jong-Il kidnapped a South Korean director and forced him to make this film to show the world that capitalism - in the form of a metal-munching beast - was a bigger monster than he was. Not sure that that was the right way to go about it.

Cloverfield
The 9/11 monster. Decapitating the statue of liberty seals his freedom-hating credentials. Its unprovoked attack and mass destruction of property are clearly bad things, but its penchant for going after good looking people is something we can all get behind.

Comments

Popular Posts