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.

Not Forgotten

Above, by Archie Waugh.

A Day In Infamy Remembered

Above, by Archie Waugh.

This generation's Pearl Harbor occurred ten years ago this coming Sunday. The memory of that day is forever etched into the minds of those alive that day, just as the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941 and the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963 with earlier generations.

Above, the World Trade Center in New York under attack.

The day started out routinely. I was working for a security patrol company and as a temp at Farmers Insurance Company. I was working the two jobs as I was about to make my first trip to Japan in October. I had purchased my passport only days before September 11, 2001.

On the morning of September 11, I was getting ready for work at Farmers while I perused the Dave Schutz Adventures of Superman message board. On the board, I noticed some postings about some sort of incident in New York.

Reading further, I found that airplanes hit the World Trade Center. I then went over to Newsmax.com and saw multiple bulletins posted. While reading, I turned on my Sony Watchman television set that sat on my computer printer. It was then I saw the horror unfold.

I watched for several minutes until I had to drive to work. I was heading out of the house when my mom called me to tell me about the attacks. Following the telephone call, I grabbed my police scanner and headed out the door. Through the scanner, I was able to pick up radio broadcasts. I had the scanner turned on all day on my desk at work.

At Farmers, two televisions were rolled out and were kept on all day. One of the workers had a cousin in New York who worked at the World Trade Center. As the day went on, he became more frantic as his cousin hadn't been heard from. Eventually, a family member heard from her. She reported that she left the WTC minutes before the first plane hit to go to the bank. When she returned, she saw the damage to the building and pieces of body parts scattered on the ground. She wasn't allowed back in the building. She spent the rest of the day trying to get home.

Above, the Pentagon being hit by an airliner is captured by a security camera.

As the day progressed, the news got even worse. Reports came in that the Pentagon was also attacked and a plane crashed in Pennsylvania (it was bound for Washington, D.C.)

Jessica, my roomie, told me the other day that she was living in the Bronx (roughly 30 miles away) at the time of the attacks. From there, she could see and smell the smoke from the WTC.

Almost two months later, I took my first trip to Japan. When I arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on October 31, National Guardsmen were still stationed in the airport terminals.

We are still feeling the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Airport security
has been greatly tightened (often bordering on civil rights issues) as have security in government and private industry facilities.

Thankfully, we have not been attacked again due to the work of our servicemen and servicewomen as well as out intelligence agencies. Although we have not been attacked since, to lower our guard would be folly.

It can happen again.