blue + anti-blue = white (or color neutral)
see Quantum Chromodynamics
Never seen a bluer sky Yeah I can feel it reaching out and moving closer There's something 'bout blue Asked myself what's it all for You know the funny thing about it I couldn't answer No, I couldn't answer Things have turned a deeper shade of blue and images that might be real may be illusion Keep flashing off and on Free... Wanna be free, Gonna be free... and move along the stars You know they really aren't so far Feels so free... Gotta know free... Please... Don't wake me from the dream It's really everything it seemed I'm so free... No black and white in the blue Everything is clearer now Life is just a dream, you know that's never ending I'm ascending
As a side note, the final tag to the series, "YOU'RE GONNA CARRY THAT WEIGHT" is from The Beatles' "Carry That Weight/The End" from Abbey Road.
I've seen buckets of anime. Buckets. Never has the end to a series affected me so. I was so completely unprepared for what transpired during the last two episodes of Cowboy Bebop that I sat glued to the couch, trying to comprehend the full meaning of the events that had just happened. Sure, Evangelion was twisted and Escaflowne was sad, but the final curve that Bebop takes is at once beautiful and tragic. Whenever I hear this song (it's on heavy rotation on my Winamp list), I get the same teary-eyed blubbery feeling I got during the very last minutes of that series.
ASCII Art Representation: %%,, %%%%" ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%, """""""""""""""""%%%%"""""""""""""""""" %%%% ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%, """"""""""""""""%%%%""""""""""""""""" %%%% ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%, """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ,, ,, %%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%, %%%%""""""""""""""""""""%%%%" %%%% %%%% %%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%% %%%%""""""""""""""""""""%%%% %%%% %%%% %%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%% %%%%""""""""""""""""""""%%%% %%%% %%%% %%%% %%%% %%%% ,%%%% %%%% """%%%%%%" "%%" "%%%" Character Etymology: The top radical is a simplified version of the character for life. The bottom character is a simplified version of a character meaning bowl or receptacle (not moon!). The two meanings of the characters combine to express growth around a full well, which has connotations of being fresh and green. Green overlaps conceptually with blue, and also has a figurative association with immature and young (as in English). Other facts: In Japan, bananas are said to ripen from being blue (aoi) to yellow (kiiroi). A Listing of All On-Yomi and Kun-Yomi Readings: on-yomi: SEI SHOU kun-yomi: ao Nanori Readings: Nanori: o English Definitions: SEI, SHOU: blue, green; green light. ao(mu): turn green. ao(bamu): turn greenish, be tinged with green. ao(i): blue, green; pale; unripe, green, inexperienced. ao-: unripe; new; immature; novice; blue; green. Character Index Numbers: New Nelson: 6557 Henshall: 43 Unicode Encoded Version: 青 Unicode Encoded Compound Examples: 青空 (aozora): blue sky. 青物 (aomono): greens, vegetables. 青年男女 (seinen danjo): young men and women.
%%,, %%%%" ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%, """""""""""""""""%%%%"""""""""""""""""" %%%% ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%, """"""""""""""""%%%%""""""""""""""""" %%%% ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%, """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" ,, ,, %%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%%, %%%%""""""""""""""""""""%%%%" %%%% %%%% %%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%% %%%%""""""""""""""""""""%%%% %%%% %%%% %%%%,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,%%%% %%%%""""""""""""""""""""%%%% %%%% %%%% %%%% %%%% %%%% ,%%%% %%%% """%%%%%%" "%%" "%%%"
The top radical is a simplified version of the character for life. The bottom character is a simplified version of a character meaning bowl or receptacle (not moon!). The two meanings of the characters combine to express growth around a full well, which has connotations of being fresh and green. Green overlaps conceptually with blue, and also has a figurative association with immature and young (as in English).
In Japan, bananas are said to ripen from being blue (aoi) to yellow (kiiroi).
on-yomi: SEI SHOU kun-yomi: ao
Nanori: o
New Nelson: 6557 Henshall: 43
青
青空 (aozora): blue sky. 青物 (aomono): greens, vegetables. 青年男女 (seinen danjo): young men and women.
Previous: life | Japanese Kanji | Next: evening
Blue centers on a woman (played by actress Juliette Binoche) coping with the tragic aftermath of a car accident in which she lost both her husband and her daughter. A primary theme present in the film consists of how an individual deals with the death of loved ones. The stylistic techniques that Kieslowski employs reinforce the protagonist's distressing conflicts by utilizing color, sound, and non-linear narrative. Julie, the main character, suffers sorrow and confusion as she attempts to sort out the fragments of her life, and Blue's somber-colored mise-en-scene combined with intense musical sound skillfully reflects Julie's emotions, displaying the pain of loss with incredible beauty- a sort of "rhapsody in Blue", if you will.
The film begins with an onslaught of azure color. While a car drives through a quiet stretch of land, both the sky and the ground are made to appear in different shades of blue (surprise!). The foggy, depressing colors surrounding the vehicle significantly foreshadow the accident about to take place. Once the crash occurs, a boy runs up to the steaming car, and the smoke emanating from the wreck even appears faintly blue in the landscape, as if the tragedy of the accident was radiating from the automobile.
Kieslowski's use of monochromatic color design at the start of the film sets up its relevancy for the rest of the movie. Not only does the shade of blue haunt and pervade Julie's world afterwards, demonstrating how the memory of that tragic morning continues to remain with her, but also the dramatic color supports the sorrowful, bleak and sometimes ambiguous narrative.
The blue coloring brilliantly manipulated within the cinematography cues the viewer to concentrate on particularly eye-catching images, directing one to take in the significance of the catastrophic upheaval and hurt in Julie's life. For instance, shortly after the wreck she is shown eating a large piece of blue candy. This image of Julie shoving the hard color down her throat reinforces the idea that she is consuming, and is consumed by the pain she has been dealt.
Another example of this is the pool Julie swims in once she moves out of her home. Pools are normally blue, but the incredible luminous color in this pool appears abnormally bright. The utilization of the color here directs the viewer to scan the two-dimensional space and notice how powerfully it fills the frame. Here, Julie essentially bathes in the tragedy, still swimming in the pain of the accident.
The color continues to invade Julie's world through reflections and glass, such as the blue that effuses out of the chandelier she carries from her old house into her new apartment. The chandelier is the first thing she hangs up, demonstrating how she still holds onto her former life. Also, in several moments blue is reflected in windows around Julie, as though even the light shining in her contains only melancholy. Kieslowski's application of color in this way interrupts the idea of the diegetic world, because the viewer is not sure whether the color shining as blue is actually Julie's perception or if it is meant to appear only to those watching the film. This confusion in the diegesis works artistically in a very un-Classical Hollywood-like manner and also reflects the idea of Julie's agitation. The director's purposeful disturbance of her world forces the viewer to experience distraction and tumult as she does.
The confusion and sense of tragic loss is reinforced also through the occasional bursts of orchestral music in the film. When combined with the color palette of cool tones, it comes across doubly effective and creates artistically crafted, ambiguous scenes.
For example, the scene where Julie first wakes in a chair after the accident, a sudden blast of orchestra music is heard and a blue light glows all around her and glares through the windows. Though the scene is brief, the viewer is caught off guard by such a sudden break in linearity. Does Julie hear the composed music of her dead husband? Or do only those watching the film hear it? And once again, does she visualize this quick suffusion of blue in the room she sits in? Kieslowski utilizes both color and sound here without regarding whether or not it fits a realistic world in order to reinforce the emotions of the protagonist.
Another inventive way the filmmaker employs sound is the moments when Julie reads the sheet music composed by her husband. The first instance this is done, soft piano music is heard as she reads the notes, and blue color is again reflected on her face. The piano notes sound appropriately bare, alone, slow and sad. The slow music combined with the color on her face again reflects her state of mind. Another instance where this tactic is effectively applied is when she finds the compositions she plans on throwing away. A resounding chorus is heard as a finger passes over the notes on the page, and the compelling sound continues to be heard as Julie walks outside and throws the sheet music into a trash compactor. The chorus voices die as the pages are destroyed, artfully illustrating how the music is disappearing from human eyes and ears because of the pain Julie feels from hearing or seeing her dead husband's creation.
The culmination of these artistic manipulations occurs during the last few scenes of the movie as well. Once Julie has learned about her husband's affair and gives his former lover their old home, she is shown reading her husband Patrice's music in her home. The sound of the music is heard as loud and arresting as before, but there are no black outs, suggesting that Julie is working through the pain. The music continues as she goes to visit Olivier, a friend of theirs, and also as they make love, demonstrating audibly the power of emotions she feels as she connects once more to a man who was also once close to Patrice.
Kieslowski's Blue is an artistic masterpiece that employs the potency of color and music in outstanding ways. How one copes with the utterly tragic loss of one's family is a major theme in the film, and by crafting the mise-en-scene with striking blue shades as well as utilizing music in inventive manners, the filmmaker reinforces the theme gorgeously.
This is probably quite obviously one of my favourite films ever.
The films White and Red are equally brilliant, and are best watched in consecutive order- though they don't have to be in order to fully comprehend them. In each movie, be sure to watch as characters from the other films in the trilogy pop up in a scene or two.
Apart from its ability to calm the human mind, blue is also an appetite suppresant. Dying food blue or eating off a blue plate are tactics used by people hoping to lose weight, yet this may not be fully effective as blue doesn't stimulate a person's metabolism; it will often do the opposite. Blue food is rare in nature so this effect may be evolutionary -- we have no automatic appetite response to blue, and millions of years ago our ancestors considered blue, purple and black to be warning signs of poisonous food.
In recent times, food companies have started dying their products blue in hope to make them more appealing (Think of blue M&Ms, Heinz fries and those twisties which turn your tongue blue). These products probably sell so well because they're different, something new and would probably not sell so well if the novelty wasn't there. As blue is often considered pleasant and can suggest cleanliness, it is widely used in advertising. The fact that the colour is not as obtrusive as colours like red makes it an ideal choice for company logos.
Blue flowers, such as forget-me-nots or violets, are symbols of fidelity. Light blue candles portray truth, inspiration, wisdom, protection, inner peace and yet again, fidelity. Darker shades of blue connotate loyalty and expansion but should be used with caution.
During a dream blue generally represents the attitude to life, art, culture, religion and spirituality. Light blue links itself with hope and faith when encountered in a dream. Dark blue often shows a
