Godzilla’s growth
Godzilla Artwork from: http://www.desktopbackgrounds.me/
We’re all pretty excited because the new Godzilla movie is out. I wonder if he’ll be a good or an evil Godzilla? I know he has been each before. He’ll certainly be destructive.
I wonder how tall he will be? I know that he always has to stand above the buildings of the city that he is destroying. I’ve heard that in this movie he’s in Las Vegas, Honolulu, and New York.
The first Godzilla movie was made in Japan in 19541. Godzilla destroyed Tokyo (which he has destroyed a number of times since that first movie.) At that time the tallest building in Tokyo was the National Diet Building. It was 65 meters (215 feet) tall and Godzilla was able to peak above the building.
1. Considering the angle that we might be viewing the before and after pictures below, about how tall do you estimate Godzilla to be?
National Diet Building (65 meters/215 feet) - where Japan’s legislators meet – real building (left) and after Godzilla (right)
2. In the 2014 Godzilla movie, he destroys San Francisco. The Trans Am Pyramid building is apparent in both pictures below. About how tall does Godzilla appear to be in this 2014 movie?
2014 Godzilla destroys San Francisco. Trans Am Pyramid Building (260 meters/853 feet)
3. Godzilla was supposedly only 50 meters tall in the first Godzilla movie, (1954) yet he was able to peak above the National Diet Building. Does that make sense based on the picture?
4. In the 2014 movie Godzilla is supposedly 350 feet or about 106 meters tall in the. Does that make sense based on the San Francisco picture on the previous page?
We did some research on line and found numbers that differed a bit from what he looks like. We’ll use these numbers to try to study his growth. We found these numbers that we’ll use for analyzing Godzilla’s movie data. First year of this size Years since 1954 Height in meters 1954 0 50 1962 8 50 1964 10 50 1965 11 50 1966 12 50 1967 13 50 1968 14 50 1969 15 50 1971 17 50 1972 18 50 1973 19 50 1974 20 50 1975 21 50 1984 30 80 1989 35 100 1991 37 100 1992 38 100 1993 39 100 1994 40 100 1995 41 100 1998 44 55 1999 45 55 2001 47 50 2002 48 55 2003 49 55 2004 50 100 2014 60 106
5. Create a scatterplot of Godzilla’s heights during these various years. Let 1954 be year zero on your x-axis.
140
120
100
80
60
40 Height of Godzilla in meters
20
0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Years since 1954 when the irst movie was made.
6. Describe the relationship between Godzilla's height and time since first movie. Do you see a trend in Godzilla’s height through the years?
7. The 1998 film, Godzilla, (made by Roland Emmerich) was not reviewed well. There were two more sequels planned but those movies were scrapped because of the negative criticisms of the first movie in the series. One reason for the negative reviews by critics was Godzilla’s height. What do you notice about Godzilla’s height in 1998 as compare to the 2014 movie? Why might that height have been okay in the 1950’s but not in modern day?
8. With the box office success of the 2014 Godzilla, reports are that a sequel is on the way. Use the data that you plotted to predict Godzilla’s height in future movies or TV series.
1The1954 Godzilla movie was written and directed by Ishirō Honda and produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka.
Source: http://www.policymic.com/articles/76357/the-scary-way-godzilla-has-evolved-through-the-years-in-one-chart http://www.abcactionnews.com/entertainment/movie-review-chilling-godzilla-reboot-upholds-legacy-of-the-original-1954-film http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_(1954_film) http://www.factfiend.com/godzillas-designed-just-tall-enough-peer-buildings/ http://www.vox.com/2014/5/12/5707934/the-amateurs-guide-to-godzilla http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/Godzilla http://www.vh1.com/celebrity/2014-05-13/cities-destroyed-by-godzilla/ http://www.tohokingdom.com/articles/movie_lists/godzilla_listing.htm Brought to you by Yummymath.com