Godzilla is an ancient reptile monster resurrected and given superpowers by nuclear fallout. Because of the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Godzilla came to be seen as a symbol of nuclear weapons. Some have seen Godzilla as a metaphor for the United States, a sleeping behemoth that arouses exact horrific retribution on Japan. Godzilla's portrayal as an antihero or a lesser menace who saves humanity is one example of how the tone of the film series shifted as it progressed. Later films focus on various topics, from natural calamities to the human condition to the indifference and contempt with which Japan treats its imperial heritage.
Godzilla, or Gojira, combines the Japanese terms for gorilla (gorira) and whale (kujira) since the creature was once characterized as a cross between a gorilla and a whale due to its size, strength, and aquatic origin. According to an episode of the Japanese television documentary series Project X entitled "The Birth of Godzilla," special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya met Toho contract actor Shiro Amikura in the Toho Studios cafeteria and nicknamed him "Gojira," combining the Japanese words for gorilla (since he thought Amikura looked like a Gorilla) and whale (since Amikura told Tsuburaya that whale meat was his favorite food). In a 1998 BBC documentary on Godzilla, Kimi Honda, the widow of the 1954 film's director IshirÅ Honda, dismissed the employee-name story as a tall tale, believing that Honda, Tanaka, and Tsuburaya gave "considerable thought" to the name of the monster, stating, "the backstage boys at Toho loved to joke around with tall stories, but I don't believe that one."
