DISQUS

Sig · 1 year ago

Seems to be a dramatic, rhetorical, or perhaps simply rhythmic device. Or it could be structured thusly to place the most relevant information at the end of the sentence, keep that semantic and contextual tie to the next sentence. The Godzilla vs. Monster Zero sentence is supposed to introduce and explain what the title pertains to, but structured in this way, the title is placed in such a position to carry on -- like a baton in a relay -- into the next sentence.

I don't necessarily see it as condescending -- a bit pretentious, perhaps, but not even necessarily that. I do agree, though, that "the 1966 Japanese film Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" is a much better construction with the dramatic/contextual structure intact; "a Japanese film of 1966" is...awkward at best. I think a more...vociferous defender of the language would simply call it wrong.