Kaiju Fandom and 9/11

While we're reflecting on September 11, 2001 today, many things have come to mind. Some of these are in the relationship between 9/11 and kaiju fandom in the days and weeks following the attacks.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, some speculated that 9/11 would spell doom to kaiju fandom. Some thought that images of collapsing buildings at the claws of giant monsters would be "too disturbing" for people to handle by reminding them of 9/11. In fact, some previously-scheduled television screenings of Godzilla movies were canceled allegedly for this reason.

Others, including news reporter talking heads, remarked that images of fleeing crowds of people from the massive debris clouds from the collapsing twin towers reminded them of giant monster movies (as in "life imitating art").


Another thing that comes to mind were the reactions of some people to a little banner J. D. Lees included on the top of the cover of G-FAN #53 (see image at right). The words on the banner read, "We Stand With America" and were flanked by the Canadian (G-FAN is published in Canada) and U.S. flags.

In letters to the magazine in following issues, several writers took issue with the inclusion of the banner for varying reasons. (Remember, emotions were at a fever pitch following the initial shock of the attacks.) Some felt it "inappropriate" to "inject politics" into a monster fan magazine and others felt that they read the magazine to "escape" from real-life. Lees wanted to express a little jesture of Canadian-U.S. international solidarity with the banner. The negative reactions by a few were a surprise.

Fortunately, as time went on, cooler heads prevailed and fans were still able to continue to enjoy their giant monster movies, and still do. People aren't as dumb as some media harpies try to portray them to be. People know the difference between fantasy special effects films and reality. If this weren't the case, then Cloverfield could not have been made (successfully, I might add), especially since the action in the movie takes place in New York City.

Thankfully, fandom of giant monster movies is still alive and well.