The Nuclear Future and Politics in the Postwar Asian Screens: A Comparative Close Analysis of Four Chinese and Japanese SF Films from 1954 to 1963

• Author / Creator

  Zhang, Zhounan

• In this thesis, I undertake a comparative analysis of the portrayal of the power of the nuclear and its envisioned future in four seminal Chinese and Japanese Science Fiction films from 1954 to 1963. These include Shisanling shuiku changxiangqu 十三陵水库畅想曲 (Ballad of the Ming Tombs Reservoir, d. Jin Shan, 1958), Xiaotaiyang 小太阳 (The Little Sun, d. Wang Minsheng, 1963), Gojira ゴジラ (Godzilla, d. Honda Ishiro, 1954), and Sekai daisenso 世界大戦争 (The Last War, d. Matsubayashi Shue, 1961). This comparative study reveals a dualistic perspective on the power of the nuclear in Chinese and Japanese SF films, portraying it as a double-edged sword. While Chinese SF films Ballad of the Ming Tombs Reservoir and The Little Sun highlight its utopian potential for social and human advancement, the Japanese SF films Godzilla and The Last War offer a complex view that weighs the destructive potential of nuclear weapons alongside its possible positive capacities.
  Chapter One examines two Chinese and Japanese SF films from the mid-to-late 1950s, Ballad of the Ming Tombs Reservoir contrasts ancient China’s oppression with a nuclear-powered utopian commune in the socialist future, artistically reflects struggles against natural forces and imperialists through a symbolic construction site. Meanwhile, Godzilla sentimentality constructs a poignant narrative, offering a nuanced reflection on the fearful threat of the power of the nuclear in Japan. And Chapter Two delves into the early 1960s, when Chinese SF milestone The Little Sun envisions a hyper-technological China, portraying a utopian dream that symbolize advancements towards a borderless world. Conversely, The Last War revisits the traumatic Hiroshima experience and warns against nuclear devastation, similar in sentimentality to Godzilla, further enhancing the sense of vulnerability and victimization in postwar Japan.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Chinese
  • Japanese
  • Film
  • SF
  • Postwar
  • Politics

• Graduation date

  Spring 2024

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-67k9-d850

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.