History and Pop Culture

[Matthew Hurwitz]

I found the connection between History and Pop Culture that was discussed in the lecture fascinating. In particular, the way in which pop culture, in this case the Godzilla movies, can be a way of venting societal pain and frustration that cannot, or will not, be talked about openly. It made me think about how I can incorporate more popular culture primary source materials into my lessons, looking more at what ordinary citizens were reading or watching, and not just focusing on official documents. It also made me think in paritcular about Godzilla and how that character has (or hasn't) been translated into a "mainstream" Hollywood blockbuster by American studios. Without the cultural history and baggage that goes with the Godzilla character in Japan, the American movies have turned the character into a somewhat generic monster action movie, stripping out all of the orignal deeper meaning to them, and replacing the Japanese fears and societal issues with American fears and issues. It's interesting to look at clips from both the American and Japanese movies, and compare how each side interprets the same character through their own cultural lens.