Color and B & W

Black and White film and color has been used together to create an immersive experience like those found in The Wizard of Oz (1939, Fleming) and Lady Vengeance (2005, Chan-wook). However, they have as much power when used separately. “Sometimes, these color decisions are made to communicate something to the audience about the story that isn’t obvious on its surface.” (The Last Detail) From the shadows alluding to a dangerous beast in Cat People to the complex relationship between talent, muse and ego in Mo’ Better Blues.

MO BETTER BLUES (1990, LEE)

Color Theory

The main colors that open this movie, some would say, are “primary colors” or bauhaus-esc with Red, Blue and Yellow (the brass instruments are somewhat yellow). As this short video explains, as does the bauhaus style, the use of a neutral color to connect and that allow the tetradic color scheme to shine are black and white (popular with bauhaus) along with grey and browns being heavily used in Mo’ Better Blues. 

The use of secondary and, occasionally, tertiary colors, also featured in the opening and throughout the film, are important to note since I believe it symbolized the blending of the values the primary colors represent in this film. Also, an odd thing I found out in this rabbit hole of color was that some films layer red and green lights to create yellow. Which is interesting since it is layered and not mixed…creating what many consider to be a “primary” color which would be hard to create without the color, yellow, to start with but light reacts differently compared to the tangible. 

“...individual filmmakers have a specific point of view which can sometimes be expressed through color, whether that use of color has an organized principle of thought behind or not.” (The Last Detail) I believe there is a somewhat pattern of colors being associated with the actions, feelings and purpose of the characters in that particular scene. 

Blue - an individual’s: muse, heart, focus, occupation/job

Red - an individual's: ego, self interest, lust

Yellow - an individual’s: talent, ability

Purple - blend of muse/job and ego

Green - blend of ability and occupation/job

Orange - blend of ego and ability

Black/White/Gray/Brown - usually worn by characters when they are interacting with characters wearing the above colors. They are responding or defensive to the character in color rather than creating or being on the offensive in the scene. 

Opening Performance Backstage

The band is mostly in secondary colors whereas Shadow has a red shirt. It foreshadows him and his self-interest being a major part to the plot.

Backstage

Bleek is in a mostly green suit and tie. He is focused on the band's performance tonight as the leader. Giant’s is in a brown suit, green shirt and tie with red details. He is focused on managing the band but of course this man’s ego must be involved. Shadow is in a yellow suit. He knows he is just as talented as Bleek. It explains his frustration at his ability to lead the band. Lacy is wearing the most red showing he is the most self-interested one in this scene. His girlfriend is in the back where no one except the band is supposed to be. An argument occurs between the band to remove her. 

Bleek’s Creative Process

He is wearing a green tank. His focus is so strong he is blocking out Clarke so he can continue creating music.

Band Practice

Notice how Giant and Shadow are the ones with the most color and Bleek and the other characters follow the Black/White/Gray or a mostly dark pattern with a splash of red. While Bleek did write the song they are about to practice, this scene is focused more on Shadow’s frustration at being a talented musician that is part of a band being mismanaged by a self-serving Giant. The others in mostly neutral colors are either reacting to or defending Giant or Shadow, supporting the scene.

Bleek and Shadow

This scene is somewhat iconic for Indigo and Clarke showing up to the club in the same red dress. Both women arrive to support their self-interest in their fantasized futures with Bleek. Notice however, both Bleek and Shadow in Black and Gray/White suits. They are there simply as a response to the women being there. Trying to play defense and prevent the women creating a “scene” due to the awkwardness. 

Clarke and Shadow

Shadow is wearing an army green jacket over an orangeish-red shirt. The green jacket he is wearing shows approaching the interaction leading with his ability as doing well with his job as a musician. The shirt to me shows him seeking a route to his lust for his own band highlighting him and his talent. 

Clarke’s jewel toned, blue, red and yellow shirt with a more warm/orange leaning lip and nail combo compared to her initial introduction. She possesses the focus, talent and ego needed to become a singer with her shirt. The orange lip and nails suggest her talent and self-interest is focused on during this exchange.

The orange connecting them, you can see how their talent and egos can benefit the both of them if they choose to partner.

Giant

His black and white suit contrasts with the green hat. He is introduced as a man who is doing his job managing the band.

His patterned shirt is mostly yellow, orange and green. His ego is focused here in his ability to make a successful bet. The green foreshadows his gambling will affect his ability to do his job.

Patterned suit with yellow, red and black. Not a fantastic combination for this character. It shows him placing a bet he has no money for. Lots of ego and blind trust in his ability to place a winning bet.

His red suits. Really hammers in the self-interest and ego of this character. 

He is seen in a purple, red/orange and green track suit. The other characters are in black suggesting they are there to respond to the character in color. And indeed Bleek is responding to Giant and later in this scene when he is accosted by his bookie’s goons, they too are wearing black and gray and only there as a response to Giant’s actions. Purple, his ego perhaps ballooned by managing talented people. Green highlighted his ability to do his job. The red/orange in the middle suggests self-interest being the main issue in his ability to do his job well. His gambling with money he doesn’t have. His inability to secure better terms for his artists…makes you wonder if he was taking money from what he was paying his talent to support his gambling.

He is seen in a mostly green suit. He seeks refuge via Bleek. Pandering to Bleek’s trust in his ability to do his job well. Small red details peek through. His ego is very much embedded in his plea.

In a blue suit, green hat and a patterned shirt with orange, yellow and red. This is the scene where he is beaten by his bookie’s goons. Blue, he is at his job where he makes money covering most of his body. Green, his hat, a small portion suggesting a small amount of his ability to do his job. A patterned shirt suggests the amount of ego is enmeshed into his current situation. Covered by and up by his job (blue suit). Alas, he is beaten at his job (blue being the biggest color) as a result of his ego (the reds and oranges being second most prominent).

The New Gig

This is when Bleek is the accessory- he is in a gray suite. I think it shows the sadness and emptiness of being in between or losing a muse. He is no longer as good as he used to be and Shadow, in the red suit, takes over. Notice how Clarke is in white…also suggesting she is an accessory to Shadow’s career aspirations.

An Intermission

You can totally scroll past this part as it is mostly unrelated to the discussion of color and is more of a commentary on art and the entertainment industry. If you read my thoughts on After Hours, you might have picked up on my disdain for flat characters. I do realize some of these characters' purpose is to literally be useless but when you can remove an entire character and the movie still makes sense or would even be better and more complex (Clarke) it makes me wonder why include them in the first place? Were the writers and director too lazy to instead write and show Bleek’s obsession with blues/being a musician without a woman’s body? This is where I have a love-hate relationship with films from the 80s and 90s [White Men Can't Jump (1992, Shelton)] and, some might even argue, directors like Spike Lee, who are known for their male-ego focused projects. This is where historical and cultural context become important to the viewer experience on top of color, sound, etc. 

In 1941 and 1942, Serbia - then part of failed Yugoslavia, was occupied by Nazi Germany. Imagine being an immigrant and watching your homeland be destroyed and adulterated (yes, I know Serbia specifically can be accused of this exact thing BUT in this specific period...its the Nazis), this is Irena. America had joined WW2 at this point and what does America historically do? Like many world powers, push the adoption of American values and beliefs on immigrants - especially during this time period. So, there are layers to Oliver pressuring Irena to forget her beliefs from her homeland beyond his personal physical needs. Also, there were still asylums in some parts of the country at that time as Oliver so graciously reminds Irena. It is kind of “woke” that he even suggested and believed in therapy and was also brave to marry an immigrant as well, considering he had a decent job and place in society, at the same time, women were still very much objects so it isn’t as controversial compared to a woman doing the same thing, it is almost commendable for a man to do so as if the immigrant women are trophies. At least they gave us some layer of complexity to the main female character, Irena. Sure, it is still directly connected to a man but, that man and the other woman, connected to that man, were essential to creating the inner turmoil required for the entire plot of Cat People to manifest.

So, back to Mo’ Better Blues. Clarke is quite literally useless to the plot as a character. They could have replaced Clarke with a new gig that Bleek and Shadow are competing for but ultimately Bleek can’t even audition for because of the injuries he sustains as a direct result of his unfortunate relationship with Giant. And yes, Shadow and Clarke are at a new gig but this is unrelated to Bleek since it occurs a year later. But tell me, what is Clarke doing for the scene beyond being a pretty face? NOTHING. The beauty of Blues and its lovechild, Jazz, is its freedom and flow and improv (and the use of scat). They really didn’t need a dedicated singer to be successful in these genres. They could have easily done this whole movie without Clarke.

But I say this, asking or hoping for an explanation that, perhaps, may be hidden by my ignorance of this time period and its corresponding values and culture. For example, if you were not aware of niche American currency (half-dollar, dollar coin, $2 bill) and even the time period when it was a trend to use American currency in Russia, you may not understand how funny it is when the cop in Бумер (2003, Buslov) tells a story to a shopkeeper about the “fake” American money he confiscated because the counterfeiters printed $2 instead of $1 bills. In the same movie, I needed cultural context to fully appreciate WHY a teen would be so excited to receive a baseball bat and the scene that follows. In America, even our publicly funded grade schools have baseball fields. In Russia, baseball is an incredibly niche interest. If you are in Russia and see someone with a baseball bat, maybe walk in the other direction if you don’t see a ball or field nearby. Also, in general, you need to understand the flex it was to have a BMW in Russia, although this is touched on in the movie. 

In close, a viewer’s perspective and bias heavily shape how they can consume a piece of art- even with a director’s best efforts to control the experience through content, editing, color, sound, script, etc. A TV show that sought to capture this phenomena is AMC’s, Kevin Can F*ck Himself. When they are showing something through the male perspective, they use a comedic sitcom style. When they use the female perspective, they use a horror or more sinister presentation to communicate the different interpretation of the scene’s content. Why mention this? Because it is the perfect segue into the ending montage of Mo’ Better Blues. Which, from my perspective, its content turned this movie from a drama to a horror.

The Audacity

This scene truly triggered such an overwhelming feeling of fear in me. Not just from “I want us to have a son” but the grim realization that cis-hetero men have always had this audacity and it is, I fear, NOT a recent phenomena plaguing my generation and people (uterus owners in the state of Illinois). A similar line is also in the most recent season of Euphoria. I wish there were enough words to explain the terror I personally feel every time a cis-male has spoken and speaks that phrase to me. Hence, it truly is giving MALE perspective. I don’t know a single woman who would be like “yay omg you played me, left me, lost yourself and want me to sacrifice my body and possibly my life to give you a purpose! Yesssss king give me your seed!!” Alas, in Spike Lee's universe, they do exist. #SaveIndigo

Yeah, she is wearing blue and red here. Symbolizing she is her own muse and concentrated on herself. God forbid a woman exist without a man. This sin is remedied later in this scene.

Red here. Bleek and pregnant Indigo are red because well, it takes two to tango, as he did play a large part in the creation of that baby directly related to his self-interest and restoration of his ego and perhaps her original vision of a family with Bleek- because all school teachers want children.

The pregnant bride and groom are in white. And the guests are in color. The bride and groom chose guests to celebrate them. The ex-bandmates are in color because they are doing what he could have been but no longer had the drive or ability so the wedding is a direct result of Bleek not having a career as a musician in a band. Bold move to invite Clarke. Truly a nightmare. Look at the proximity in the final photo. What if Indigo was infertile or had been pregnant with a girl, would there be a wedding? What was this wedding, some kind of BOGO with a baby shower? That was a basic wedding with little significance to its location. It would not have taken long to plan that. Definitely not long enough for her to be that pregnant. It’s giving trophy and humiliation ritual…#IndigoDeservesMo’

Okay, great, how cute. Indigo is wearing blue to symbolize her as housing Bleek's new muse. Bleek is wearing red because of his ego to create a human being instead of developing a personality. Off they are to deliver the baby.

Yup, the kid and Indigo are in yellow and a bit of red on the child’s collar. Kid has a lot of raw talent and not much ego considering he is a child. Both now things for Bleek to mould. But also, if you want to tie in Red + Green = Yellow when it comes to light it suggests Bleek’s talent and ego has combined with this new job of being a parent.

Great full circle moment. The child is in green just like Bleek was in the opening scene as a kid. Green to symbolize the focus on a new skill and the innate ability and talent for the skill thanks to his dad. Bleek’s child’s overalls are also blue and red, suggesting the child’s focus and ego forming in relation to this developing skill. It is nice how he lets the child go out to play and develop relationships with his peers, differing from Bleek’s parents' approach to his practice. Almost alluding to the lack of socialization Bleek had during childhood, due to his focus on music, as an explanation for his lack of discernment, selfish behavior and shallow personality. I will say, at least he is more involved in his son's practice than his parent's were.

CAT PEOPLE (1942, TOURNEUR)

“Black and white itself is almost a misnomer; within the poles of deep black and bright white, the film stock registers as a series of shades of gray, which filmmakers can control through their use of light and careful selection of costumes and set design colors.” (The Last Detail) Like many black and white films, the heavy reliance on patterns, the mentioning of color, shades of gray and contrast between the light and what lurks in the shadows is seen and exploited in this film. This film had a modest budget. So, it relied heavily on creating suspense and fear of what could blend into the shadow…a panther or Irena. Which in itself is layered, as “black panthers” are just jaguars or leopards with a mutation that makes them black. So, it's almost like, Irena is just like the other girls but she is a bit different because of something outside of her control. Below is a picture from the park that has both a black jaguar and a “normal” one.

Introduction of Oliver and Irena

Irena is the only woman not wearing a hat helping us identify her as someone to focus on. In the daylight, she is a bit reserved when approached by Oliver.

Oliver is the only one wearing a patterned suit. Helping him contrast with the sea of gray suits and dresses. This pattern becomes more significant as the story progresses.

The Statue

King John of Serbia is the statue in the opening and in the scene where she invites Oliver into the house. There is indeed a dead cat on its blade. How this man saw this and thought, she must LOVE cats…I’m not sure. 

But at the beginning of the movie, we can see how much more comfortable talking about herself when she is in Oliver's presence in the dark. 

The Pet Shop

Irena has a coat with a similar checkered pattern as Oliver’s suit in the opening scene. It is suggesting a relationship between the two has formed. Oliver on the other hand, is in gray, matching Irena’s outfit in the opening scene. Irena is uncomfortable inside the petshop and notices her presence also makes the animals the same. She prefers to stay outside in the overcast shadows the rain and clouds create. 

Having Oliver complete the exchange of the kitten for a canary- commonly yellow. A bird being another important motif with this movie. 

Wedding

Sat at a large table next to the bride and groom, the side characters discuss an odd interaction between Irena and a mysterious woman. The woman gossiping has a bird brooch and the man gossiping has a checkered tie. Suggesting the odd interaction and serbian this mysterious woman spoke to Irena has significance to the plot.

The Phone Call

Besides the office cat being named John Paul Jones and Alice being cat friendly, Irena makes the call in a dimly lit room evidenced by the shadow on the walls and statue of King John. She is still still more comfortable in darkness. Alice receives this call in a the dark office, in the background you can see the shadows creating a checkered pattern.

What's interesting is how they mention the color of the match book, Alice gives the cleaning lady before leaving to meet with Oliver, is chartreuse. There is a green chartreuse liquor but also a yellow chartreuse liquor. The canary is yellow. There is also a feather on Alice’s hat. Perhaps this was a signal of trouble to come...

The Diner

So, Alice and Oliver meet at the diner. The diner has a checkered pattern. Alice’s hat has feathers. Both foreshadowing the danger to come. In the light, they are safe.

The Walk Home

“A cat just walked over my grave” Alice states as a shiver comes over her...definitely not related to dining with the married man she lusts for. They are really doing their best to associate her with cats and cats liking her as opposed to Irena.

When Alice walks home, her path illuminated only by the streetlights, she begins to feel stalked. She finds momentary relief only under the light, eventually entering a bus.

Irena, unable to catch her prey, enters a yellow cab. I noticed this was the only cab that actually had the word "yellow" on it. I'm pretty sure the other cabs had normal plain car toppers.

Irena is still disturbed by the relationship she discovered between Alice and Oliver. She visits the jaguars in the middle of the night.

The Swimming Pool

Alice wore leopard print visually tying her to the normal, unmutated, big cat in the park. She travels to the pool that is mostly dark...

A scene cuts to the stairs leading down to the pool locker rooms. The shadows help to create the now familiar checkered pattern…perhaps there is trouble coming. 

The scene that follows is iconic where you hear a jaguar but you do not see it. Its presence is implied with the camera switching to Alice’s point of view trying to make sense of the shadows that surround her.

Irena's Demise

In general, I noticed Irena’s comfort in the shadows faltering in the presence of Oliver as the movie progresses where she was once most open and vulnerable with him. This also matched the increase of Oliver’s frustration over Irena’s belief in what he considers a silly Serbian myth and her reluctance to continue therapy. This also corresponded to her increased acceptance of and aggression from the “curse”. She had no choice. I think the black panther’s death and Irena’s are well done. They are both discovered at night.