Subject: Re: Why does black=evil? (was: Has anybody noticed the black & white
From: hough@lamont.ldgo.columbia.edu (sue hough)
Date: 1991-04-18, 10:28
Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks

In article <F497FD9E00401A74@UMAECS>, GIOVIN%POLLUX@ecs.umass.edu (Rocky Giovinazzo) writes:
>> > >From: graffam@tdw206.ed.ray.com (Jim Graffam)
>> > >Subject: Has anybody noticed the common "Black and White" Themes
> > 
>> > >For some unknown reason, we have been brought up with the connection
>> > >of Black to "Bad" and White to "Good".
> > It is probably because of the fact that we cannot see things in the
> > dark.   i.e dark implies the unknown which implies fear => evil

I always thought down these lines, and attributed a part of the antipathy
to darker-skin races to a fear of dark/unknown/evil.  But a book by a
(black) South African author (I'll get the title and author if anyone
wants them) brought me up short:  Throughout this book, black is used
very effectively as a symbol for richness, depth, integrity, etc;
*white* is used as a symbol for impoverishment, shallowness, vulnerability.
I think our cultural prejudices come first on this one, not any "innate"
reaction to color.

Sue

</pre>
<hr><a target="right" href="/index.txt">Return</a></body></html>