On Transnational Transmedia Genres, or How Giant Japanese Monsters Save the Earth

When a dark lizard arose from the depths in the 1954 film Godzilla, it transformed a little-used character type into a globally popular genre. Today, kaiju (or giant monsters) can be found in professional movies, independently-made streaming videos, and even VR attractions at theme parks. Not all kaiju films are made alike, however. This talk traces the development of kaiju cinema in Japan and the United States to show the intentional, and unintentional, consequences of each nation’s media industrial practices on the kaiju genre.

Dr. Amanda Kennell researches modern Japanese media as an Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Notre Dame. She has published a book about Japanese adaptations of Alice in Wonderland, Alice in Japanese Wonderlands: Translation, Adaptation, Mediation (University of Hawai’i Press, 2023), as well as articles on ownership in contemporary media, fine artist Kusama Yayoi, and anime director Kon Satoshi. She is currently examining how contemporary media affect spatiality, temporality, and humanity’s treatment of the environment.