How do I analyse this piece of American World War Two propaganda?

In this famous piece of anti-Japanese propaganda, ‘This Is The Enemy’, the message to the American public of the early 1940s seems obvious at first reading, and yet contains layers of meaning. We will first interpret the artistic devices used, before exposing the underlying political message. At first glance this poster brings to mind the art work of classic horror B-movies, using stark contrast in light and shadow and a garish colour scheme. These tropes grab the attention of a passer-by and easily evoke a sense of menace and fear before the viewer has even grasped the image's full content. A terrified young woman is shown fleeing a ghastly attacker, her would-be assailant mere inches away. That the woman is positioned in the lower left-hand of the frame, her face only visible enough to convey her fearful screams, allows the villain to dominate the image. The woman is beautiful despite her terror and the figure that stalks her is - again using B-movie tropes - a hideous monster.

Such posters were produced during the early 1940s to encourage support for the United States' entry into World War Two. This depiction of Japan the barbarous savage looming over America the innocent and helpless victim would chime perfectly with the message coming from both government and press following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Presenting a Japanese figure not just as an enemy soldier, but as an apelike fiend, would help to underscore that this was not an opponent that could be reasoned with and that therefor military force was the only option. That the beastly figure of Japan attacks from behind, under cover of dark, further communicates that this is no ordinary enemy and that the normal rules of war have been suspended. Alongside the depiction of the enemy without, such dehumanising imagery also aided the argument for the internment of Japanese-American civilians as an enemy within.