Socium

This study investigates the cognitive reframing of collective trauma and the reconstruction of social identity in post-war Japanese cinema, focusing on the 2023 film Godzilla Minus One. Following mass casualties, survivors frequently experience survivor guilt and a crisis of meaning. While the traditional Japanese wartime cultural script of Gyokusai glorified state-mandated death, this research explores the ideological shift toward Ikiru, the individual obligation to live. Utilizing a qualitative thematic analysis integrated with a social cognition approach, this study examines scenes triggering survivor guilt and therapeutic resolutions within the film. Semi-structured interviews with five exploratory informants were conducted to assess audience meaning-making. The findings reveal that technological artifacts, such as the ejection seat, function as therapeutic cultural scripts that grant psychological permission for post-traumatic growth. Audiences cognitively reframe the protagonist's survival not as an act of cowardice, but as a triumphant redefinition of heroism. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how popular cinema acts as a therapeutic space for negotiating cultural trauma, offering a new perspective in social and clinical psychology on how modern audiences process historical guilt and rebuild collective identity.