Reading through Colour theory I came across this article by Sarah Boxer of the New York Times where she discusses the various beginnings and original philosophical thought around the use of colour and how various people throughout time have perceived it.

The quote that really dragged me in was ‘‘the feminine, the oriental, the primitive, the infantile, the vulgar,” so basically everything “bad” in the views of the common society.

This article gave a bunch of extra sources that I could have used for my research however honestly I just didn’t have time to track these books down and really read through all of them, so the article served as a secondary source for me. I think this is relating the use of colour to low society and black and white to high society which is a complete juxtapostion to Patti Bellantoni’s book. The subject of lines rather than use of colour is seen in cinema and art through out history yes, but only because they were working with what they had. The introduction to colour into cinema changed the whole landscape, and I think that everyone is aware of that. Even if Ozu kept filming in black and white after technicolour had come into play, is this “higher” culture than Kurosawa who filmed in colour?

I think this article gives a really interesting insight into the argument against using colour, and therefore colour theory in a way that brings history to the forefront. The word Colour is even considered a dirty word. Think about as Boxer mentions, in the Middle East its considered a slight or insult. She goes on to talk about how colour has always been slighted as it escapes words and descriptions. I understand this first hand as trying to explain shades and meanings behind colours for A4 is quite difficult as we all have different connotations for different shades of the same colour.

I think the article is worth a read, especially for “chromophobes” considering the fact that we deal with the art of cinema and cinema in black and white is used for stylistic purposes these days rather than the norm. If we are to film something in black and white, is this making a stronger statement than I am for making a colour theory film? Or are they the same statement? One is over used due to history, and one has become the norm so how can diffuse the war between line and colour?

https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/28/movies/vivid-color-in-a-world-of-black-and-white.html