In the French film, Blue, the color blue is used to represent freedom and liberty. Many times throughout the movie there are somewhat obvious examples, but other examples where you have to look into deep into the symbolism to see how they connect with the theme. The director allows us to somewhat use our imagination to figure out what he is trying to portray. By using the color blue, we can interpret how freedom and liberty play a big role in the movie.
In the beginning of the movie, we see a young girl in the back seat of a car with a blue candy wrapper in her hand. Soon after the start of the movie, the main character, Julie, gets into a car accident with her husband and her daughter. Her husband, Patrice, a famous composer and her daughter, Anna, both die in the crash. After the accident, Julie tries to commit suicide by swallowing pills, while still in the hospital. She stays in bed after the accident, which enables her from attending her daughter and husband’s funeral.
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The first time that the color blue is prominently shown, she is sleeping outside when all of the sudden, a blue light shines and loud classical music begins to play.
The frame zooms in and out on Julie and eventually the music stops and the light goes away. As soon as this happens, an interviewer appears and she asks her if she wrote her husband’s music. This part is important because it brings up two of the main parts of the film; the color blue and that question. The blue light and loud classical music was showing the relevance of the thought that the music may not have been composed by her husband like we, the viewers, had originally thought. Not only does it show the relevance, but it’s the first example of the color blue representing freedom. If it is true that she wrote her husband’s music, someone else thinks so too, and she is free from having that
secret. The next time we see a lot of blue is when she walks into the blue painted room. In the room there’s a blue, crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. She grabs it and rips some of it down angrily. Julie ends up selling her beautiful home, moves into an apartment, and sells all of her belongings. A little later in the film, we see that she brought that same chandelier with her. This hint of blue shows that although she is selling everything she owns and leaving everything she knows behind by moving, she is unable to let go of every single aspect of her old life. This is contradicting to what she has done with everything else, she is purposely bringing the beauty of her old life with her because she can’t let go of the good parts of her life. She is free of everything that she left behind, but not what she decided to bring with her. We see the blue folder that we saw earlier with the things that Olivier, a man who worked with Patrice, took out of the desk. In this blue folder, we later find out that there are pictures of Patrice, Julie’s husband, and his mistress. Julie meets this woman and finds out that she is pregnant with her late husband’s child, a boy. She ends up offering up her house to them because she thinks that if her husband wanted to be with this woman, she should have the house that he lived in. The creators of the movie decided to make the mistress’s baby a boy because the usual color that people think of with a boy is the color blue. The baby is representing freedom because Julie no longer has the burden of not knowing that her husband wasn’t faithful to her and she can now be free from that. As Julie was sitting in her living room, she noticed a blue candy wrapper as she cleaned out her purse. This was the same type of candy wrapper that her daughter had in the car in the beginning of the movie before the car accident. She ate it as fast as possible and then threw the trash from it into the fire. By doing this, it represents the end of the innocence of her life that she once had. The way she use to view things has now completely changed, taking away the simplicity of what she used to know. This is a way to show freedom, but not necessarily in a good way because she no longer has her daughter, the person who was so innocent. Another part in the film showing freedom is when a witness of the accident tries to return Julie’s necklace that she lost that day. She meets the teen at a coffee shop where he gives the necklace back to her. He told her that he heard her husband say something right after the accident. She explained that it was related to a story that he would tell that made them laugh about a woman taking a laxative for a cough. She lets the boy keep the necklace before she leaves. By Julie doing this, she is becoming free from the past even more. That necklace was special to her at one point and for her to give it away says something about the person she is becoming. Although this doesn’t have anything to do with the color blue, it is significant because it gives more evidence that Julie is transforming herself and letting go of the past. After she moves into her new apartment building in Paris, a large, bright blue swimming pool is introduced into the film. Throughout the film it is used as a cleansing method for Julie. When something bad happens, she dives into the pool in the next scene. This is used to represent a rebirth and a type of therapeutic baptism for her. An example of this is when she jumps in after she finds out that her husband was having an affair. Not only that, but she met the woman and found out that she was pregnant. In that situation, she jumped in to rinse off the stress of that happening. She used this as a way to start over, or to become free from that event. Another example is when she is swimming, comes up, hears the loud music, and then she almost looks like she is trying to drown herself. When she does this, she is trying to rinse out the music that she hears in her mind that continues to follow her around. The music is a constant reminder that she is hiding the truth that she wrote the music that her husband took credit for. All throughout the movie, there is classical music that follows her around. This music is in her mind, constantly following around. She gets interrupted with the music many times at very random points. This piece of music that is played is her husband’s piece that she had destroyed earlier in the film. It is played when there is some type of importance to what is happening or what is about to happen that will change something big in the way that the movie goes. She is trying to become free from the secret that she was writing the music, but the music was also a method of therapy for her. In the end of the movie, she writes notes for the piece in blue pen. This shows that the blue ink represents freedom, not in the aspect that it follows her, but that it is freeing for her that she can now have this music as hers rather than saying that it is her husband’s and giving him all of the credit for something that she did. Throughout this movie there are many things that represent freedom with the color blue. From obvious things to things that may not be so easy to catch if you don’t think about them, the messages still manage to become apparent. Julie is healed by her music and is able to finally move on from the lies that she didn’t know while her husband was alive, and the old life that she once had. Although it may not be easily interpreted, the color blue illustrates freedom and liberty in a very uncommon way that many directors have never done before.
Native American’s find symbolism in many everyday items and colors are no exception. They believe that yellow is a conflicting motif, on one hand it denotes happiness, joy, and contentment but on the other hand it is the color of cowardice, deceit, and hurt. Michael Dorris, the author of A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, coming from a Native American background, most likely considered this while choosing the title for this bestseller. It is overflowing with hidden meanings for the color of yellow, especially in Rayona’s section.
Throughout the film, Stranger than Fiction, director, Marc Forster conveys idealistic concepts through the use of symbolism and imagery. Alluding to René Magritte's Son of Man, the green apple was a prevalent symbol in the film -- often being held or eaten by Harold Crick. It exemplified the idea that the beguiling sight of that which is hidden by what is visible was sought after by Harold. This motif is portrayed when Harold abruptly stopped everything in pursuit of determining how he would die after hearing the narrator express that a small act “ … would result in his imminent death” (Stranger than Fiction), therefore becoming enmeshed in his efforts to see what is hidden by what is visible. In doing so, Harold disregarded the miniscule feats that could potentially change his fate, and only focused on that which he had no control over. Forster
The bond of brotherhood is a prize to be cherished by those who know this bond. There is no better friendship than that of siblings, no matter how far apart geographically two brothers may be; they are always brought together by the bond in their heart. Even when brothers do not see eye to eye or have an argument, they will still be brothers and be a part of each other and their lives. The story, Sonny’s Blues, by James Baldwin uses many literary devices throughout this story such as his use of symbolism, his use of the setting and his use on tone to demonstrate the theme in the story, which is the strength of the bonds of brotherhood.
Often we associate the colour blue with sadness, sorrow, and depression. However, it is also widely associated with calmness, peace and relaxation. One of the group members noted that each instance in which Grubar mentions the blue couch reflects some of these emotions (Chuck, 2016). At first, Grubar “collapse[s] onto the blue couch” right after her fall in the driveway. A few of the students associated the colour of the couch to the despair and sadness Grubar felt after her fall and struggle to get inside the house. After her visit to the hospital and being told that her recovery would take several weeks, she emotes that she is “marooned on the blue couch” again representing her helplessness and melancholy. The group agreed that the emotion associated with the “blue couch” appeared to change at the end of her story. At the end, as Grubar sits and contemplates, her emotions seem more calm and stable. Although the colour of the couch plays an important role on the interpretation of the authors emotions the couch itself could also be a symbol of her cancer. The group agreed that the couch was a constant in the story just as her cancer is a constant in her life, regardless of her remission. Therefore, the “blue couch” could represent Grubar’s change in the way she perceives her life with
Several passages found throughout "Sonny's Blues" indicate that as a whole, the neighborhood of Harlem is in the turmoil of a battle between good and evil. The narrator describes Sonny's close encounters with the evil manifested in drugs and crime, as well as his assertive attempts at distancing himself from the darker side. The streets and communities of Harlem are described as being a harsh environment which claims the lives of many who have struggled against the constant enticement of emotional escape through drugs, and financial escape through crime. Sonny's parents, just like the others in Harlem, have attempted to distance their children from the dark sides of their community, but inevitably, they are all aware that one day each child will face a decisionb for the first time. Each child will eventually join the ranks of all the other members of society fighting a war against evil at the personal level so cleanly brought to life by James Baldwin. Amongst all the chaos, the reader is introduced to Sonny's special secret weapon against the pressures of life: Jazz. Baldwin presents jazz as being a two-edged sword capable of expressing emotions like no other method, but also a presenting grave danger to each individual who bears it. Throughout the the story, the reader follows Sonny's past and present skirmishes with evil, his triumphs, and his defeats. By using metaphorical factors such as drugs and jazz in a war-symbolizing setting, Baldwin has put the focus of good and evil to work at the heart of "Sonny's Blues."
Looking at landscape art, especially when painted by one of the masters, many have undoubtedly pondered: what would it be like to live there? Shapes and attention to detail are, of course, important in a painting. However, it is color that draws the eye and inspires the heart. Oscar Wilde, an Irish poet and dramatist, spoke well of this when he noted that, “Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways. (qtd in “color”)”. Vincent Ward had a similar understanding of this impact when, in 1998, he directed the movie What Dreams May Come. Looking at this film, one can easily imagine being inside a living painting. The use of color to emphasize the emotional state of a character or event is common in films; nevertheless, Director Ward goes even farther in using color to represent the actual characters themselves. Red is the shade chosen to signify Annie and likewise, blue is used for Chris. Both of these, as will be shown, are accurate in defining these fictitious people. However, it is the profound use of purple in this film that is the true focal point. When mixing red and blue paint, one would find that, after being mixed, they cannot be separated. Likewise, this is true of the life and love these characters build and share. Purple represents the many ways in which Chris and Annie are melded, and joined.
From fairy tales to mythologies, fables to romance to even the simplest short stories of a third grader’s book, almost all of them often comprise a scheme of Heroes vs. Villains, and Good vs. Evil. Similarly, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne also contains many of the same situations and characters with their own symbolic meanings that allow them to express strong and demanding feelings through the symbols that they carry. Hester Prynne, whom appears as a sinful woman, a shame to the society, is created to represent the goodness of the story. Ironically, her husband, Chillingworth, who initially appears to be an intelligent and honorable man, is created to symbolize a daemonic evil. He is symbolic of the hidden sin and immorality that exists within the Puritan society. As an honorable and intelligent man who fatuously enslaved himself to the Devil’s work, Roger Chillingworth revolves his life from kindness and intellect into endless obsession of revenge, eventually leading him to self-destruction.
Why are colours important when trying to symbolize what is taking place in the mind of the setting and the characters of literature? Tennessee Williams have once said “ Symbols are nothing but the natural of drama the purest languages of play.” Tennessee William has exactly used symbolism and colour quite effectively in his play A Streetcar Named Desire. An impressive story about fading southern belle Blanche Dubois and her failure into insanity. A Streetcar Named Desire consists many symbolism and knowledgeable use of colour. This helps the audience to connect scenes and events to the themes and issues that Williams presents within the play, just as desire and death, and the conflict between the past and present of America. The significance of colours is a central theme in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire; the author uses colours to reflect states of mind, make further commentary on particular characters, and what sorts of things specific colours represent.
The colors of the Flag may be thus explained: The red is for valor, zeal and fervency; the white for hope purity, cleanliness of life, and rectitude of conduct; the blue, the color of heaven, for reverence to God, loyalty, sincerity, justice and truth.
From well-respected Director Craig Ross, the film Blue Hill Avenue is a story about four tight knit friends living in the streets of rough a 1980’s Boston. The main characters of the film are Tristan, E Bone, Simon, and Money, these four characters grow up together hustling the streets. After finding a way to make money the four characters go from small time hustlers to big time dope dealers under the guidance of their supplier, Benny who is the main villain of the film. Through the adventure of the storyline, these four friends highlight the characteristics of what it is to embrace traditional masculinity and what it is to be a man.
The most prominent color in this painting is blue; it is used in the walls, the doors the articles of clothing hanging on the wall hook and some of the items resting on the nightstand. The other prominent color is green, used on parts of floorboards, the window, a part of one of the doorframes, parts of the hanging paintings and the empty vase on the nightstand. Brown is the only ...
Brave came out in 2012, however, it is the first movie in the list. The setting is during mythical medieval Scotland, where Merida, a young girl, has to become a princess. She wishes to continue her own path and make a destiny of her own. Her mother, Queen Elinor, wants her to behave more like royalty, and teaches her tedious royal obligations. Merida rebels, and runs away to the wilderness where she first encounters the “wisps.” ***EBSCO – EXPLAIN WHAT THE WISPS ARE!!!***
There seems to be a certain part, a certain role that every male plays in this novel. Whether it be the kind, loving, hardworking father such as Mr. Macteer, or the lowdown no good evil men, like Cholly Breedlove, Soaphead Church, Mr. Henry, and the rest of the little hellion boys in the local school. In the novel, the role that most of the male characters seem to play is dark, evil, and despicable. Is there a reason for this? Is Tony Morrison sexist, biased toward women? What are the male characters' roles in the story? The answer to these questions lie in one simple statement: The function of the men in this story is to act exclusively evil, in order to produce other character's development.
Symbolism was a major literary element that is developed throughout The Color Purple. A model or image of God in the novel was a truly disturbing and yet a touching dedication to the female spirit and its search for equality, acceptance and independence. The meanings of names, clothes, quilting, occupations, power, and colors are only a few examples of the symbols used by the author to develop the characters of the story. No matter how hard and long Celies looks, it seems impossible to find love and happiness for herself. The purple color itself symbolized love while religion was often seen as offering a path of transformation-a way that leads through to happiness. In The Color Purple, Alice Walker used the symbolism of the letters to God,
The mother, Pauline, who is supposed to look after her own children, prefers to take care of the white children of her employers instead of her own. The father, Cholly, who is supposed to look after his children and support them with love, rapes his own daughter and kills her innocence. Pecola calls her mother with Mrs. Breedlove instead of mother. Each member of the family lives separately from the others; no one cares for the other. There is no living thing in the house except for the stove.