This would in effect make a successful first strike impossible.” This “Nuclear Triad” as it existed at the time of the film’s release in 1970 is often depicted in a triangle (Figure 3.3). A major purpose of the nuclear triad is to reduce the possibility that an enemy could destroy all the nation’s nuclear forces in a first-strike attack by retaining a second-strike capability, a viable threat that increases nuclear deterrence. The triad refers to the three categories of nuclear delivery vehicles: land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and strategic aerial bombers.

As described by the Defense Logistics Agency on their website, “The United States’ strategic nuclear arsenal has been based on the ‘nuclear triad’ system since the 1960s. The triangle also has significance for Colossus’ role in monitoring and controlling America’s nuclear defenses. I believe the triangle with a C inside it also represents the mountain with Colossus residing within it-something we learn in one of the film’s early scenes, when Forbin describes the project in great detail during the White House press event that follows Colossus’ activation (Figure 3.2). The choice to use an isosceles with a base longer than the sides seems to strengthen that interpretation, leaving the mark firmly planted in place, conveying that the computer is something that will stand the test of time, as it operates “completely without human aid.” It is viewed as strong, immovable and balanced. On a basic level, a triangle seated on its base with the point up is a very stable shape, not easily toppled. There are several reasons I could see for a triangle being used. The logo consists of a large white C for Colossus, tightly framed by a black isosceles triangle (Figure 3.1). In this section, I’ll look at the Colossus logo, carefully analyzing its construction and teasing out its possible meaning as a symbol for the project. Forbin's Colossus would take the capacity for total world annihilation through use of nuclear weapons out of the fallible hands of humans.Īnd finally, using the word figuratively, a colossus is also someone or something to be greatly admired and respected… if only those that created Colossus knew the dark turn that would take. And like that colossus built by the Rhodians in 280 BC, the film’s colossal computer was thought by its creators to reperesent freedom and an end to war. The name Colossus was an interesting choice for a number of reasons, and I think its origins are worth some mention here before we move on to the various design aspects of the identity.įor starters, it was the name of a real machine: the world's first large-scale programmable electronic digital computer, the prototype Colossus Mark I and its improved predecessor Colossus Mark II, which were used by British codebreakers to help read German encrypted radio during World War II.Īs for the word itself, Colossus has its roots in antiquity, used to name giant statues like the Colossus of Rhodes-one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. On Forbin’s white cleansuit, we see the logo for project Colossus. When he reaches a large control panel, we are introduced to the computer by name-COLOSSUS spelled out large in a logotype that is extruded from the top of the panel (Figure 2.2). Forbin walking the halls of a massive supercomputer complex, pausing in places to activate its various systems with a remote control device (Figure 2.1).

The korean colossus