World War II.
The Cold War.
What do these two wars have in common?
The Rise of the Nuclear Age.
Along with them, came the expression of our deepest horrors.
The first to be created was none other than Godzilla, a sea monster that would rise and attack Tokyo. This idea was created by the Tokyo Armed Forces radio station WVTR in 1947. While dance music was playing on the evening of May 29th, it was interrupted by a horrific report by the Tokyo armed forces that a sea monster had risen from the waters of Tokyo Bay and was approaching the city. This caused Japanese citizens to panic, and as time passed, the armed forces continued to update listeners on the creature's arrival. The monster, by the description given by the radio station, was like that of a dragon. It smashed buildings, derailed trains, and kept proceeding downtown to commit more destruction to the city. Troops were battling the monster but there was no apparent way to defeat it. Everything they tried failed to defeat the monster. Many warnings were given to the Tokyo residents to stay indoors and keep loved ones in. Even to keep their phone lines clear in case of emergency.
At a frantic pace, the reports kept coming. It was like a war movie being played and heard on the radio, terrifying listeners throughout the city. The roars, shrieks, and screams of the beast. Their fellow residents running and screaming for their lives on the streets. This was all broadcast to the indoor residents, terrifying them even more. Soon, after holding the audience sitting on the edge of their seat in utter fear, Cpl. Jim Carnahan of Chicago congratulated the Armed Forces Radio Station for its 5-year run of success. This revealed that all that was reported about this attacking sea monster was nothing more than a hoax.
From this traumatic Godzilla Hoax, thanks to Japan's Armed Forces Radio staff stationed in Los Angeles, came the uproar among the Japanese people and its military and police. It was a panic that had now imprinted in their minds, scarring them with the fear of the dragon-like sea monster. Even the military and police were told to stand by and be on high alert as the program went on, making them watch out for the disaster to emerge. This even affected the US Armed Forces members and their families as they too listened to the broadcast. Fear was everywhere, and it was all for nothing except for a lame way of celebrating the 5th anniversary of a radio station.
From this experience emerged the Godzilla (aka Gojira) franchise. The first film was released in 1954. I don't know if this was revenge toward the U.S. Armed Forces or not, but the rise of Godzilla in the films came about due to nuclear testing. This idea emerged as the Japanese watched in horror as the U.S. committed nuclear testing in the Pacific and as they suffered from the nuclear attacks that were made upon them in Hiroshima and Nagasaki near the end of WWII. But from this radio broadcast in 1947, it was the seed that gave bloom to Godzilla, a terror of destruction and death among all. However, it could also just be the fear the Japanese had of us that they needed to project their fears into cinema.
Now to Twin Peaks. But we'll fast all the way forward to The Return. It is clear that from either the nuclear bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the atomic bomb testing in New Mexico, our Queen Entity of Evil, Judy, emerged. She is another horror to emerge as a consequence of such actions of destruction. And from her vomit during her arrival came the nefarious BOB that would haunt and terrorize Twin Peaks and Ghostwood Forest, especially devastated by the death of Laura Palmer. The death of Laura Palmer seems to resemble the death of innocence and goodness in Twin Peaks, in parallel to the death of the American government's goodwill to the world and its citizens. Judy and BOB are like the punishment given to us by ourselves. For our flaws of war and for us going to extraordinary lengths to achieve dominance as a superpower. Sacrificing our good nature and peace as a government and country as a whole. Deputy Chief of the FBI, Gordon Cole, has a black-and-white photo of the atomic explosion in his office, making it seem like it is still a worshipped achievement by the American government, more than disgraced.
I don't know if this was what David Lynch and Mark Frost were going for in this iconic TV series, but it does make a good impression of what the U.S. has become and the horrors it has more yet to come.
Both Godzilla and Twin Peaks are based on a greater evil against our own evil as a human race. With the invention of the atomic bomb, we cursed ourselves with more suffering than good.
Thank you for reading this article. Feel free to share your thoughts, theories, and debates in the comment section below. If interested, there is Twin Peaks... From Another Place group on Facebook, Reddit, and Discord to join. Also, feel free to check out my Twin Peaks: Chasing A Blue Rose fanfic series prequel, Twin Peaks: The Birdwatcher (my other TP: CABR novels to be published here soon, though you can still find them on Archives of Our Own as well), published here and on Archives Of Our Own. Thanks again!!
Thanks again. See you in the trees.
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