zslane

In 1954, Godzilla was an avatar of mankind's disregard for the power of atomic weapons, and served as a manifestation of the Japanese anxiety still lingering from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 2008, Clover wasn't really an avatar for anything of social consequence but was simply a manifestation of the American anxiety still lingering from 9/11. Moreover, the Clover "franchise", such as it was, doubled down on anxiety and paranoia and never strayed into the "rock 'em sock 'em" monster battles territory that made kaiju movies so enduring in Japan. In short, the Clover movies just weren't fun to watch. Consequently, Abrams' attempt to construct an American kaiju failed to launch thanks to a misguided understanding of what kaiju fans want from kaiju movies. Pacific Rim got it right, I think, but felt only vaguely "American" as the monsters looked more like Japanese designs merely rendered with a Cloverfield-like realism. That leaves Kong as inheritor of the "American kaiju" mantle, especially when you consider that being a primate very distinctly sets him apart from the Japanese tradition of lizard/dinosaur-based kaiju. To Legendary Pictures it must surely have seemed like a perfect choice.

Well then your memory of the '90s is very different from mine. The fact that one could fill an entire bookshelf with World of Darkness books is testament to the profound success White Wolf enjoyed. Hero Games should be so lucky as to have even a tiny fraction of that success today. Moreover, I will go on record as observing that the WoD setting had as much to do with the whole brand's success as the game's presentation and overall playing ethos did (annoying player base notwithstanding).

I tend to think so. We've had other "East vs. West" cultural moments, for instance Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris (Way of the Dragon). Seems to be a thing that crops up now and then. Well, Kong isn't a kaiju until you make him one. The Japanese turned him into one in 1962, and now Legendary has done the same. Kaiju have resurfaced in Hollywood lately with movies like Godzilla and Pacific Rim, but alas America doesn't have a native kaiju to bring to the table. But we do have Kong, and so he gets pressed into service. Quite understandable.

I see a lot of "I hated all that vampire stuff" ranting there, but the truth is that White Wolf produced an extremely popular line of TTRPGs, and any publisher who wants to know how to present and produce successful TTRPG product lines would do well to learn from their success. It was not just about being in the right place (culturally) at the right time. It was also about how they executed their vision and turned it into products that made White Wolf a publishing juggernaut.

Is it also maybe an age thing? I mean, I grew up watching Godzilla movies as a kid. I can't imagine anyone who grew up in the 60s, 70s, or 80s America who did not know who Godzilla was or think of him as a pop culture icon regardless of his nation of origin. But maybe millennials don't have the same connection to the character that 'boomers do? I seem to recall that trailers for the previous two Legendary Godzilla movies did not trend very high on social media, or generate the kind of media buzz WB was hoping for. I was surprised by this since this adaptation of the character is so good that I couldn't believe it didn't have a lot more people excited about it. But then Kong gets added to the mix and all of a sudden the trailers rocket to the top of social media trend lists. I don't believe for a second that Americans in general don't have the same awareness of Godzilla that they do of Kong. I believe they are equally famous giant monsters, occupying pretty much equal mindshare and pop culture prominence, so I don't understand why one would be less subject to indifference than the other.

Am I the only person who gets the distinct impression that American audiences at large did not get terribly excited for these new Godzilla movies until Kong was added?

Vampire: the Masquerade demonstrates otherwise, I feel. It had 13 bloodlines, 13 disciplines, and a ton of history/lore. And yet it became an instant sensation. It isn't about the amount of content or detail, but about how it is presented (and productized).

I also agree. Such a book is what I call a campaign setting book and, ideally, it would have stuff built out for immediate use in an easy-to-read format, with possibly a reference section in the back giving the cost breakdowns in case GMs want to modify any of it and still know the point costs. "How To" genre books exist in plentiful supply already. What we don't have are interesting campaign settings with deep, ongoing product support. And that's what the system desperately needs, IMO.

Right, so if Gojira, which had plenty of adult themes and somber gravitas, was popular with kids then it made no sense for Japanese tv producers to take a super light, goofy "only kids will like this" direction for later movies.

Did the first Gojira movie appeal to kids?

It seems that every movie studio has to learn the same lesson--sometimes over and over again--for themselves. They all seem to think that making movies which "appeal to kids" is equivalent to making movies "just for kids", thereby turning off the rest of the potential audience. "All ages" does not mean "little kids only", but few movie executives/producers seem to grok that.

I think I would still brand any 6e "dark vigilante" campaign supplement under Champions rather than Action Hero, but it's all pretty immaterial since I doubt any of it will happen.

In terms of "unfolding", as dmjalund puts it, I would revamp Dark Champions for 6e and call it Action Hero, and then put out a Danger International campaign book, providing a complete espionage campaign setting.

If we accept daikaiju as essentially meaning "as big as Godzilla", then Kong was daikaiju in his second film appearance. This upcoming movie has more in common with that 1962 movie than any of the remakes of the original King Kong movie that came later.

2017 Legendary Pictures Kong was already much, much bigger than 1933 Radio Pictures Kong, and was described as a juvenile of his species back in 1973. In the nearly 50 years since the events of that movie, he has clearly grown to full size. At least they made a reasonable effort to explain the size equivalence in 2021. But honestly, if Kong's size is a sticking point for you then I don't know how you can enjoy any daikaiju movie.

Indeed. I submit that nearly every movie ever made which is regarded as "highly entertaining" only plays on a surface level to mainstream audiences, and that the more thoughtful themes and elements within are largely lost on them. That doesn't change the fact that those movies still have those elements and are better for them. In fact, I would further submit that those deeper elements contribute to the general public's enjoyment whether they realize it or not.

Oh, I'd also love to see the 6e Vehicles book get revived and completed.

The Fantasy Hero 6E PDF it is both cheaper and easier to use (than the hardcover). You can search the PDF for things, which is a real plus for books of that size. And since you already have the full game system rules, FH6e is going to give you far more useful material than Fantasy Hero Complete.

Some people have become so addicted to bingeing television content that they get upset when a new streaming show is released weekly instead of all at once. I feel that most of this is just First World Problems whinging. However, there's a case to be made that the weekly release format is incompatible with the actual narrative structure of many shows, especially if they are serial rather than episodic in nature. Back in the old days, before the streaming era, tv shows were released weekly (or daily in the case of soap operas and game shows) regardless of the narrative structure of the show. Most of the time this wasn't a problem since serialized stories weren't the norm. It didn't matter if you remembered what happened in the previous weeks' episodes because little to none of it was going to be relevant to the new episode anyway. But I feel that as serialized storytelling becomes more prevalent, weekly releases become harder to justify. Here's what I think is a good rule of thumb: If your show needs to have a "Previously on..." segment at the beginning of every episode, just to help people remember what they saw in previous weeks, then it should probably be a Netflix-style all-at-once show. If your show doesn't need that, then weekly release is perfectly fine since chances are it isn't employing a serialized narrative that audiences need to keep up with. Lastly, for those who feel Disney/Marvel should have released WandaVision all at once (I'm looking at you, Grace Randolf), well, had they chosen to do that you'd still be waiting for it since the visual fx aren't all done yet.

I don't know if radiation is theorized as their primary form of sustenance or if it is only meant to be the rubber science magic that explains their huge size, longevity, and any superpowers they might have (like atomic breath). I suppose if magic radiation can do the former it can also be the latter. *shrug*

Right, and if we are willing to give that implausibility a pass, as we must, then we should also wave the food source problem through the gates as well.

These things have the Square Cube law to deal with (i.e., ignore) and food source insufficiency is what you focus on?

This isn't your grandfather's Kong. This is Kaiju Kong. 40 feet ain't gonna cut it anymore.

There's a popular theory out there that Mechagodzilla is in this movie in some form. Maybe this rampaging Godzilla is a "replicant Godzilla", mecha- only in the same sense that Replicants are "androids".

Personal theory: Cap's shield is endowed with Plot Device powers. Which would be fine if it only appeared in a single plot line and then was gone, like most Plot Device powers/objects. But it is a persistent object, used in story after story, and so the Rule of Internal Consistency becomes an overriding concern, or at least it should be if the writer(s) want to be respected and regarded as competent. The Rule of Cool only goes so far before it becomes a tool for farce. For instance, I'm sure there are lots of people out there who think it would be "cool" to see Chewbacca pick up a lightsaber and fire blaster bolts from it, but that would make me cringe so hard it would break my face.