Godzilla vs. the Egghead: Negotiating the Cultures of Fandom and Academe

Abstract

Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters (2004) was my attempt to write an intelligent but accessible study of an enduring film icon for non-academic audiences. Although the volume has sold far better than any of my traditional scholarly monographs (by a factor of ten) and was praised in the New York Times as a “cult classic,” it generated very mixed responses from both the Godzilla fan community and professional historians. This article explores the rewards and challenges of being a “scholar-fan,” an academic studying a personal obsession in pop culture as well as his fellow fans. I discuss the path I took to writing Godzilla on My Mind and the ways that the book departed from standard scholarly conventions. After reviewing the volume’s reception by a generally bemused academic community, I consider how both committed Godzilla admirers and more casual fans reacted to the book, the former often with suspicion, resentment, and hostility, the latter frequently with enthusiasm, relief, and a sense of validation. Despite jibes in fan blogs and flippant comments in academic journals, I conclude that writing for popular audiences and embracing the “scholar-fan” subject position can be gratifying and valuable intellectually.