Godzilla (1954) Movie poster: Semiotic analysis

 Godzilla(1954)

Movie poster analysis:

ゴジラ/Gojira/Godzilla title and the credits: The font used for the movie title is a custom one, made for the movie specifically. It was designed to signify 2 things, immeasurable size, and power. The font was designed to be much thicker and bolder than most Japanese text, like those used for the rest of the poster for the cast and credits which are comparably much thinner. This signifies Godzilla’s size, as a kaiju, he was large, larger than any other movie monster at the time. A bright red was chosen as the colour for the title. The colour red can signify many things that apply to Godzilla, among them danger, violence, fire, war, but most importantly, power. Godzilla’s sheer power over those that he terrorizes is what represents him in this movie. The entire movie is based on the effects of the atomic bombs on Japan, which the monster replicates. He is power incarnate, an unstoppable force. Finally, the position and colour of the text were also interesting, much of the cast and credits are placed at the bottom of the poster and the colours were less noticeable like white, yellow and light orange. This could signify that Godzilla is above them in both size and power.

Colour and hue

The poster is bathed in a harsh red light, emanating from Godzilla’s atomic breath. This red light surrounds primarily one thing, Godzilla himself which again represents his power. The rest of the poster is dark and gloomy, representing the hopelessness of the situation the characters are in.

Godzilla’s Scales:

Godzilla’s scales have a lot of symbolism to them too, first of is their coloration: pitch black. From head to toe, it is the only colour present, safe for the white of his eyes. The colour black here symbolizes power again, but also the very thing left in his wake, Death. The destruction he causes results in the mass dying and suffering of the masses, anywhere he goes, death will follow. The texture and patterning of his skin are also important, the bumpy texture is based on those suffering from the effects of radiation which hints at his origin being a consequence of hydrogen bomb testing. 

The Eye:

Every part of Godzilla is that of a monster, except for one: His eyes which stand out from his dark coloration. They were designed to be somewhat human-like, not only is this a little unsettling but the similarity to the eyes of his victim is because, in a way, Godzilla is also a victim in this movie. An animal mutated into a titanic monster by the very ones he would by choice or by a force beyond his control, slaughter by the thousands. 

Composition and actions of the characters:

Godzilla is shown to tower over the cast and the city they live in, they are very literally under his feet with the remnants of what was once towers and homes reduced to rubble. He is positioned above all man-made things, except for the planes he is shown tearing apart with ease. This supports what the fonts and colour scheme is trying to suggest. Everything beneath him will be left with nothing but pitch black death after falling to his power, and any kind of man-made resistance will too fall to his size and power. The cast can do nothing but look fearfully into impending doom, all but one. The character at the bottom right corner is Dr. Serizawa who in the end was the key to defeating and killing Godzilla, but his position directly under the king’s foot also reveals his fate in the end, death alongside the monster he helped destroy.