At the turn of the 20th century, new advances in technology shocked the world and connected us more than ever. Rapid expansion of the railroads gave manufacturers access to a wealth of raw materials and before long the popularization of automobiles and the combustion engine made travel more accessible to more people all over. The Wright Brothers’ first flight in Kitty Hawk in 1903 would lead to mankind’s access to the skies, and with it, access to some of the last untouched places on earth. Paired with the development of film, small portable cameras, and recording equipment, an interest in anthropological expeditions boomed to bring strange sights and reports of native customs to audiences around the globe. Adventures to pre-industrial tribes were popularized in pulp novels and magazines, and influenced film and television for decades to come. Taking more than a few queues from 1933’s King Kong, it is in this wondrous, curious, and exploitative vein that brings us Ishiro Honda’s 4th kaiju installment: Mothra. (His 3rd after Godzilla and Rodan being Varan The Unbelievable… a story for another time).

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