A new book exploring the kaiju phenomena and its various profound themes is now available from publisher McFarland and Co. Dubbed as “a new tome analyzing and appreciating the fantastical cinema of giant monsters,” They Come from Planet Earth!: The Themes of Kaiju Cinema from English author Nathan Lunn aims to dive into the thematic allegory scattered throughout the kaiju genre. Through this analytic lens, Lunn’s goal with this new book is to connect a variety of giant monster films from all around the world, demonstrating how these great stories featuring massive creatures of unfathomable nature have captivated audiences and developed the art of cinema across a century of movie history. In other words, Lunn is showcasing that these kaiju films all have collective themes that transcend borders, language, and decades. This is fairly common knowledge for seasoned veteran fans, but it is important to note that there is still a very-much permeating belief in our pop culture osmosis that kaiju films, especially from the Godzilla series, don’t get heavy thematically, unless it is the original 1954 film, 2016’s Shin Godzilla, or the new, critically-acclaimed Godzilla Minus One.
Author Nathan Lunn commented further on the goals and nature of They Come from Planet Earth!: The Themes of Kaiju Cinema, stating “[This book is] vital reading for a genre constrained by such an impactful cultural stigma. Writing of this kind is fundamentally important, ultimately serving to revise cultural perspectives and alter the very ways of appreciating and approaching the films themselves so that their allegorical (and often somewhat subtly hidden) moral messages and thematic intentions, repetitively and empathetically imparted, will no longer continue to find themselves preaching to an ignoring, wholly misinformed audience. There is a new way of watching the kaiju film, and it is taught in this book.”
©McFarland & Co.
The book’s official solicitation adds further emphasis:
“Kaiju are massive. They’re everywhere you look, nowadays, but so often, the true cultural
and historical importance of their genre is shrunken beyond the boundaries of their immense
size. They Come from Planet Earth! looks to reverse this diminishing attitude to restore the
genre and its giant stars to their former vast glory.”
An early review from Booklist praises Lunn’s work:
“[An] essential analysis of the history and themes of kaiju films… for the sheer wealth of
information and all the keen insights, Lunn’s history is indispensable for genre fans.”
It’s also interesting to note that the book explores all kaiju cinema, diving into the highs and lows of the genre, and the various themes that can be found within. This research, according to the book’s official press release, does not simply end with recounting the iconic, heavily-praised films of Ishiro Honda or Takashi Yamazaki. Instead, Nathan Lunn dived into nearly everything he could find and watch while working on the book, even citing The Asylum’s Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus as an example of one of the over 200 films reviewed during the four-year research and writing process. They Come from Planet Earth! also collects the work of noted kaiju scholars Jason Barr, David Kalat, Brooke McCorkle and Sean Rhoads into “digestible and informative blocks of thematic intent,” and as a whole, provides readers with an accessible introduction to those who want to learn more about the kaiju genre, but may be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of monster movies out there. Additionally, this project aims to reach those wanting to learn more about giant monster films after watching some of the heavy hitters like Minus One, but don’t know how truly vast and evergreen the genre really is.
Image courtesy of Nathan Lunn.
They Come from Planet Earth!: The Themes of Kaiju Cinema is now available from McFarland & Company. Fans can pick up the book on various bookstores, such as Amazon UK, Amazon US, Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and Bookshop.org. For more information on the book, please follow publisher McFarland & Co, as well as author Nathan Lunn on his social media channels.
