Oxonmoot 2024

Tolkien’s legendarium features numerous over-sized creatures (trolls, dragons, stone-giants, ents, eagles). Precedence can be found in the folklore, medieval literature, and paleontology with which Tolkien was familiar, as well as the popular media of his time, including H.G. Wells’ The Food of the Gods (1904) and King Kong (1933). Publication of LOTR (1954-5) coincided with the start of the kaijū movement in popular culture, featuring giant, sentient creatures demonstrating agency and intention, rather than being merely mindless brutes. Starting with the re-release of King Kong in 1952 and the original Godzilla (1954), kaijū films continue to dominate a portion of the popular culture market and impact audience expectations for the depictions of giant creatures. In light of the June 2024 limited re-release of Jackson's remastered film adaptations, I examine Jackson's Shelob, Balrog, and Watcher in the Water, alongside their representions in the novel, through the lens of kaijū theory