Final answer:
American audiences interpreted Godzilla differently than Japanese audiences primarily because of their different historical experiences and cultural perspectives.
Step-by-step explanation:
American audiences interpreted Godzilla differently than Japanese audiences interpreted Gojira primarily because the two audiences had very different historical experiences.
Godzilla was originally released in Japan in 1954 as Gojira, which was a response to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The movie served as an allegory for the horrors of nuclear war and the destruction it can cause. However, when it was released in the United States in 1956 as Godzilla, it was heavily edited and dubbed, removing many references to the bombings and nuclear war and focusing more on the monster's rampage. This change in interpretation was reflective of the American audience's different historical experience with nuclear weapons.
The two versions of the movie were in different languages, but this was not the primary reason for the differing interpretations. The main factor was the historical context and the cultural significance of the bombings in Japan.
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