On-The-Nose Godzilla

I have a confession to make. I didn’t like Godzilla Minus One. I don’t like Godzilla at all. I don’t like most anime (movies or TV shows). I don’t like most of the Japanese visual media I’ve seen.

There are some exceptions, to be sure. But on the whole, I am not a fan. And for a single, specific reason—what I’ll call “on-the-nose storytelling”.

It’s funny, I’ve felt this way for years. (Again, with some notable exceptions). I just didn’t know why. I would watch acclaimed films, popular anime, and successful franchises. At least, I’d try. But I consistently struggled to get through it. Always aware that something was rubbing me the wrong way. Never quite able to put my finger on it.

Then two things happened in close succession. First, I listened to a Podcast about Star Wars: Episode 1 (the show is Writer’s Blockbusters…I highly recommend it!). Second, I watched Godzilla Minus One.

Everything clicked.

I’ve seen/heard “on-the-nose dialogue” defined in two related but different ways. One is when characters state the obvious. Another is when characters say exactly what is on their mind. There is clear overlap here. But these are not always the same thing. I’ll briefly discuss each in reverse order.

Saying Exactly What’s on Your Mind

While there are people out there who claim to say exactly what’s on their minds, I question how many there are and how often they do it. More important from a writing perspective, I think what makes this type of dialogue so off-putting for me is that it ignores the realities of being human.

There are times when we struggle to understand what we’re feeling and why. There are times when we purposefully say the opposite of what we mean—think sarcasm. There are times when we withhold information or share incorrect information because we want to shape perception or deceive. All these are examples of how real people behave. Nowhere here are people saying exactly what’s on their mind.

It seems to me that characters who always say exactly what’s on their minds are more akin to robots than people. Robots with emotions, maybe. But robots nonetheless. Fully informed. Acutely aware. Perfectly articulate. Word processors on legs.

I don’t think these make good characters . . . unless your character are in fact robots.

Stating the Obvious

“Look! It’s Godzilla!”

Need I say more?

But all joking aside, I think the worst manifestation of this is when the movie or episode shows me something, only to have a character explain what I just saw a moment later. This is unnecessary. I think it shows no respect for the audience.

On-the-Nose Storytelling

Which brings me to my point. For me, I think the fatal flaw in Godzilla Minus One and other anime I’ve seen is the apparent need to make everything explicit. Verbally. Through dialogue. This leaves little room for subtly. No space for subtext.

A friend of mine pushed back on my criticism of Godzilla Minus One, stating that the movie wasn’t about the monster. To this I agreed, stating that there was no way to miss that. The movie beat us over the head with it. And that’s exactly the problem. The movie substituted feeling for dialogue. Drama for exposition.

But what are your thoughts?