Saturday, March 10, 2007

Red and white or plain all over.









Red seems to change everything


Red is the national color of Wales, which is where my Great Grandparents on my Fathers side came from. Just this week I saw a lot of pictures of the very house and village where one of them lived.

Something about black and white pictures seem peaceful. Mostly they seem to be about yesterday. On the other hand Red and Black are associated with anarchism, war, and danger, as well as attitude. Sometimes Red seems to be an indication of being liberal. The Liberal party of Canada uses this color.

Color seems to add value if the right colors are picked. Food sold for take-out in white containers do not seem to have the same ‘perceived value” as does food sold in black containers. Plastic utensils in white seem to be of less quality and value as black ones. Put Red on a menu and it presents a higher perceived value. Sometimes it is just a choice but something about Red seems to be powerful.

In the movie, Pleasantville, the characters were at fist look, wholesome and safe, and just what we all would want to escape and be with. After you got to know them a little better then seemed sort of empty. Lacking in much meaningful thought, started to be what the black and white represented. It was interesting to see how different a little time in ”Black and White Land” changed in what one felt as you watch this move. Feeling is what changed. Seemed as though feeling was Red. Red cheeks with a kiss. Red faces with some thought.


We remember the good old days and often it is sort of brought to life with a black and white picture. Perhaps like the movie showed the more you would look into the memory the more it would be lacking. Memory seems to just be a print out of an event. The event is full of choices. The choices were where the value resided.

What about thought, choice, struggle. All Red. What about agency? Nothing safe about making choices. The easy choice is no choice. Seems like for a tempting as a black and white existence might me that we need to have some Red in our lives.

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