Mission Impossible III

The moral positions of the scientists in “Fat Man and Little Boy” and “Gojira” are pretty similar. In “Fat Man and Little Boy”, we follow the scientists involved the the Manhattan Project. After the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, American scientists are instructed to find out how to create and use an atomic bomb. At first the scientists are excited by the intriguing concept. In the beginning, the task is thought of to be impossible, however, as they begin to make progress, they start to realize that what they are trying to do is very possible. This causes many of the scientists to recognize the potential dangers of the bomb. When knowing the destruction power of their creation, they question whether or not it is humane, even when at war, to release such havoc. They didn’t know if they should just put their morals aside and do their research, or refuse to work on the project completely. While many had internal conflict, there were two main sides; one side thought it wasn’t morally right to use a weapon of such mass destruction, and the other side thought it was necessary to win the war. Both sides were very defend-able and that is what made the disagreement so hard to settle. In the end, it was established that, in order to save the lives of the people in their home country, the use of the atomic bombs was paramount.

In “Gojira”, the moral positions started out in a similar way. After Godzilla’s destruction of Tokyo, the people were willing to do anything to kill the monster. A scientist named Serizawa had a weapon called, “The Oxygen Destroyer”, that disintegrates oxygen atoms, causing organisms to die from rotting asphyxiation. This weapon, like the atom bomb, was extremely powerful and lethal, and the scientist questioned whether it should be used, or even known about. Like the scientists in “Fat Man and Little Boy”, the scientist that created this device eventually allowed it to be used to kill Godzilla, but he didn't tell the government how to make or use it. He plants the device himself, kills Godzilla, then kills himself, taking the secrets of his creation to his grave.

The moral positions of the scientists in both movies start out, and end the same. They are intrigued at the thought of a new, “impossible” weapon. They eventually make it but realize that maybe it is better if it had never existed. It is questioned whether the weapon should be used, but after a severe attack, its use is deemed necessary. The only difference is that the atomic bomb is still being experimented with today. The weapon in Godzilla, and the research on it, was destroyed forever after its use.