5. The Use of Color in Film

As I’ve stated time and time again, movie makers utilize so many tools to reach their goal of making the perfect movie.  Sometimes, we don’t even notice the tricks they’re using right in front of our eyes.  Today I want to shed some light on the use of color in film.  Believe it or not, a lot of directors and filmmakers use human psychology, and reactions towards color to force our minds to react a certain way, or feel different moods.

Probably two of the easiest films I could use for this subject is The Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan.  Now when I say The Wizard of Oz, a lot of you are probably thinking,” umm Kayla, there’s A LOT of crazy colors in that movie that could mean anything.”  I know, but just hear me out.

The first example of manipulation by color in The Wizard of Oz is the switch from black and white, to color when Dorothy enters Munchkin Land after leaving Kansas.  Obviously she’s entered a whole new type of world with magic, and fantastical beings.  Take a step back though, and examine the colors closely.  What is Dorothy wearing?  Her blue and white checkered dress is very pale.  Pale colors are not power colors (duh).  She is completely over powered by all the bright reds, and greens, and yellows of Oz.  The ruby slippers are her weapon though, both in the plot, and the color battle.  Red is kind of a grown up color.  Red is sexy, bold, loud, adult.  In this film, Dorothy is learning a life lesson, and growing up.  These red slippers are aiding her in that.  Now, lets look at the other colors.  The yellow brick road is an iconic part of The Wizard of Oz.  The color yellow stands for caution, and sometimes instability.  No one really knows where the yellow brick road will lead, and which way is the correct way.  It’s just kind of unsettling.  Then of course there are the colors of the magical people.  Glinda is a nice, welcoming pink.  Pink can stand for love, something soft, or innocence.  Glinda is the witch of the North, so why wouldn’t she be dressed in all white?  White is cold, and not very friendly.  Glinda had to immediately be seen as “the good guy”.  Then of course there is the green Wicked Witch of the West.  A person with blue, or bright orange, or purple skin would seem just as odd and creepy, so why did they choose green?  Historically, human beings have a bit of hostility toward the color green.  Dangerous reptiles are green, food that has gone bad is green, green can be a lovely color, but not in certain contexts.  Now these colors were used this way in The Wizard of Oz, but they can also have different meanings if used on different characters in different scenarios.

What color comes to mind when you think of the character Peter Pan? Green of course.  Peter Pan is almost always depicted as wearing green.  Green can also symbolize youth.  There are certain expressions about someone being too young for a job, or too young to be speaking out, they are said to be “too green”.  Peter Pan is the spirit of youth, so it would be fitting that green would be his color.  Red comes up again in this film as Captain Hook is seen sporting a red coat.  Red, once again stands for power, adulthood, and in this case, danger.  The bright red that Captain Hook wears reminds us of blood.  Of course, red isn’t always used this way, a warmer red, or an orange red mix can be seductive, or just loving.  However, in the case of Captain Hook, it’s a threatening contrast to Peter’s green.  Yellow can also be seen in Peter Pan.  The fairy dust that Tinker Bell produces is yellow.  The children when being taught to fly are showered in golden fairy dust.  What makes it different to the cautious yellow brick road is that it is a golden yellow.  Gold is warm, and can symbolize light, idealism, and of course, power.  When the golden fairy dust comes out, something magical and good is about to happen. All of these colors are technically the same colors used in The Wizard of Oz, but they carry very different meanings in Peter Pan.

Hopefully this whole idea wasn’t too abstract.  For more on this subject, you can easily search the internet for more articles, and I definitely recommend the book If It’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die, The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling by Patti Bellantoni.  Thanks for reading, and once again, if you have any suggestions for future posts, please tell me in the comments, or go to the Flicks on Fleek  Facebook or Twitter page.

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