Searching Reality in Virtuality: Fantasy as A Way Out for Twenty-First-Century Japan

Japan’s fantasy movies are well known for their creativity and superior quality. The country’s science fiction, horror, disaster, and monster films are genres enjoyed by audiences worldwide. Godzilla, for example, is one of the best-known monsters on screen. The monster film kaijū eiga, (in Japanese) gained popularity in the 1950s, and has been a means for the Japanese to “actualize” their war with others after surrender in World War II. Monster films can therefore be considered a political-cultural product that reflects and heals Japan’s fear and anxiety toward its enemies by imagining/defeating foreign intruders within an unrealistic setting. In the twenty-first century, however, Japanese fantasy movies have actually become increasingly realistic. For example, many of these films touch upon controversial issues affecting people’s lives, including rich-poor disparity and social justice. These issues are partly triggered by the burst of the bubble economy that sees Japan trapped in a prolonged recession. Moreover, when natural disasters strike the country, the situation deteriorates as incapable leaders fail to take appropriate action.