WAR AND VIOLENCE IN "GODZILLA X KONG:

THE NEW EMPIRE"

Written by:

Cintia Barokah (2021101018)

The Study of English Contemporary Literature
 I. INTRODUCTION
The Study of English Contemporary Literature is one of the courses at STBA LIA Yogyakarta
that offers learning to enrich students' knowledge of the dynamic and diverse world of literary
fields in English. In addition, this course studies various forms of literature, including short
stories, poetry, drama or plays, and even songs, from different parts of the world over the past
few decades. The course is designed to immerse students in the study of complex contemporary
literature, giving them the opportunity to engage deeply with texts and reflect on pressing issues
in today's world through literary works and their own personal experiences.
One of the essential aims of the course is to equip students with the ability to identify and
interpret thematic elements present in contemporary literature. Through the study of a variety of
genres, students are expected to develop a nuanced understanding of the cultural debates and
critical approaches that shape contemporary literary discourse. The standards of competence set
for this course ensure that, on completion, students will have a comprehensive knowledge of the
types of contemporary literature, the cultural contexts in which they appear, and the critical
methods used to analyse them.
Furthermore, there are several literary works discussed in this course including video
poetry ‘We Keep Searching’, Flash Fiction ‘Sorry Dan, But It's No Longer Necessary For A
Human To Serve As Ceo Of This Company’ By Erik Cofer, Short Story ‘Grow A Day Older’ By
Dewi Lestari, Several Slam Poems: ‘Say No’ By Megan Valley And Olivia Gatwood, ‘An Open
Letter to Black People’ by Omar Holmon and & Anthony Ragler, ‘Elementary’ by Yamazawa,
Brand New Script by Jennie Webb, and last but not least the new film ‘Godzilla x Kong: The
New Empire’. Therefore, in this response essay, the writer chooses to respond to the drama
'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' from the perspective of war and violence. The writer
chooses this film because it is a contemporary literary work that discusses sensitive and
significant issues that are interesting enough to discuss further, especially in relation to the hotly
discussed issues of war and violence.
"Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" (2024) is the latest thrilling installment in the
Monsterverse franchise, bringing together the legendary titans Godzilla and Kong in an epic
confrontation. As humans delve into the ancient origins of these colossal beings and the
mysteries of Skull Island, the narrative intertwines their fates with that of humanity's survival.

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This essay explores the themes of war and violence in the film, examining how the epic battles
and historical conflicts reflect broader philosophical and societal questions about power,
survival, and coexistence.
Furthermore, ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ presents an opportunity to explore
how contemporary literature reflects and critiques the complex nature of conflict in the modern
world. The battle of the titanic and the underlying themes of power struggles and survival
strategies offer a profound commentary on the human condition and the dynamics of society. By
analysing the film through the lens of war and violence, we can gain insight into the cultural and
psychological dimensions of conflict as depicted in contemporary literature, thus enriching our
understanding of the text and the real-world issues it reflects.
In conclusion, the study of ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ within the framework of
Contemporary English Literature not only aligns with the objectives of this course, but also
enhances our critical engagement with contemporary issues. This essay will discuss the thematic
elements of war and violence in the film, exploring how these motifs are articulated and what
they reveal about the landscape of our current society. Through this analysis, The writer aims to
demonstrate the relevance and impact of contemporary literature in fostering a deeper
understanding of the complexities of war and violence in today's world.

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 II. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ is the latest film in the Monsterverse franchise, depicting a
clash between the legendary titans, Godzilla and Kong, in an epic battle while humans uncover
their intertwined origins and their connection to Skull Island's mysteries. The new installment in
the Monsterverse puts the mighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal deadly
threat hidden within our world that threatens the existence of their species and our very own, as
well as diving deep into the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond. Delving straight into the
origins of Hollow Earth, this film will explore the ancient Titan battle that brought man and
monster together forever. The war start with the beacon from the iwi. The iwi sent out the
memoar as SOS for Godzilla. In the beginning, Hollow Earth lived in harmony with the surface
world. The Titans were the guardians of nature, and the great apes became the protectors of
humanity. But a great evil threatened the peace. A powerful and ruthless ape, desprate to conquer
the surface wall, led his tribe into war against the one they call the monster who made a star
karter. The war with the apes nearly destroys Godzilla. But after a great battle, he impresioned
the apes in a fiery realm of Hollow Earth. Their false king remains obsessed with reaching the
surface. The iwi call him the Star King. Trapped within their subterranean robe, the scarcic
harness of terrible power. The ancient titan, Shea. He controls her with pain. Her power covered
the earth in the last ice age. Human brought Kong down to Hollow Earth. Kong has been looking
for others like himself and going deeper into Hollow Earth and getting closer to their prison of
the Star King. The iwi have known about Star King, and that's why they have been calling for
help. Moreover, that's why Godzilla's changing. The iwi believe that at the end of the world, one
of their own will return, An awakened moslem, defender of the iwi and ancient ally of Godzilla.
They believe that their savior will be an iwi from Skull Island that is "Gia". Only a iwi from
Skull island can awaken Mothra. Moreover, Mothra is the key to Godzilla protecting thiss place
and its pathways to the surface.Additionally, there are several scenes in this film from the
perspective of war and violence.
First, start from the scene, Kong has been looking for others like himself. However, when
Kong found them, what he received was violence. They were quick to attack Kong for no clear
reason at all. Of course, there is no justification for their behaviour. They even use physical force

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to injure Kong. In general, the possible causes of this kind of keroyokan are extremism, learned
behaviour from their leader, racism or retaliation. Then there was a battle between the apes and
Kong. In the end Kong wins the battle, he asks the little apes to take him to their place.

(Source:Loklok)
Next, The next scene dealing with war and violence is the battle between Kong and the
Star King. The iwi tribe call him the Star King. He was a great evil that threatened the peace. He
led his tribe to war against the one they call the Monster who made a Star Carter. He
impresioned the apes in a fiery realm of Hollow Earth. There is no justification for his behaviour
too. The cause of his conducting the war was Power-hungry leadership. No one physically helps
Kong. this is because they are afraid of the power that the Star King has.

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 (Source:Loklok)
The third scene is related to violence. It turns out that the power that Star King has to lead
his tribes comes from violence. He has terrible power by hurting the ancient Titan, Shea. He
controlled her with pain. His power covered the earth in the last Ice Age. Shea became a victim
here. As a result, The Star King used that power in the wrong way. His behaviour also had no
justification. In addition, his behaviour was horrible because he forced and physically harmed
Shea to get what he wanted.

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 (Source:Loklok)
Finally, from the Film we know that, in the beginning, Hollow Earth lived in harmony
with the surface world. The Titans were the guardians of nature namely Godzilla, and the great
apes namely Kong became the protectors of humanity. However, a great evil threatened the
peace. There was an evil ape, power-hungry leadership, the Star King. He harnesses incredible
power with violence. he controls Shea with pain. As a result, Kong needs Godzilla's help.
Together, Godzilla and Kong fight the evil powers of the Star King. With the help of the little
ape, good successfully defeats evil. Additionally, this film teaches the writer that war and
violence can happen because of a cause. This cause can be a desire for something, either for
oneself or a group. But sometimes this desire is not good for everyone. If someone is selfish and
does not think about others, they are wrong. Because in life, we should think about others as well
as ourselves.

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 (Source:Loklok)

III. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, from the perspective of war and violence, ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New
Empire’ presents an opportunity to explore how contemporary literature reflects and critiques the
complex nature of conflict in the modern world. The battle of the titanic and the underlying
themes of power struggles and survival strategies offer a profound commentary on the human
condition and the dynamics of society. First, start from the scene, Kong has been looking for
others like himself. However, when Kong found them, what he received was violence. The next
scene dealing with war and violence is the battle between Kong and the Star King. Because no
one physically helps Kong, they are afraid of the power that the Star King has. The third scene is
related to violence. It is because The Star King controlled the ancient titan, Shea with pain. The
last scene show the war between the good and evil. Together, Godzilla and Kong fight the evil
powers of the Star King. In addition, this film teaches the writer that war and violence can
happen because of a cause. This cause can be a desire for something, either for oneself or a
group. But sometimes this desire is not good for everyone. If someone is selfish and does not
think about others, they are wrong. Because in life, we should think about others as well as
ourselves.