In defense of dark humor?

Swimming against the tide, Slate's Jack Shafer writes, "If you didn't make an immediate connection between Japan's nuclear disasters and Godzilla, the mutant product of atomic radiation and the star of dozens of films, you're a better man than I." It may be uncomfortable to admit it, but Shafer is not wrong. He thinks dark humor in times of crisis might be a form of catharsis. Anyway, read the rest of his bold column here. Writing for the New York Times, Peter Wynn Kirby provides a more erudite assessment of Japan's Godzilla films and its obsession with nuclear disaster.