The Color Red: Symbolism in Beyonce’s Lemonade and Toni Morrison’s Beloved
Suzy Morton
Colors are used in several ways in film and literature to create meaning behind particular objects. Often, these symbols are used intentionally to allow the audience to explore ideas more deeply. These symbols can be used in an obvious manner, in literature being similes and metaphors, or be used much more lightly forcing the reader to think. Every color has a variety of meanings, including the color red. Red is a bright and bold color, often times referring to passion, energy, and power (https://www.color-meanings.com/red-color-meaning-the-color-red/). However, the color red can also be linked to sexuality and passion, as well as caution and danger (Color Meaning). The color can symbolize many feelings which are why red is a popular color to use in film and literature.
In Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade, the color red is repeated heavily throughout the film. Audience members can argue that the color is used to represent the singer’s feelings through her healing journey following her partner being unfaithful to her. It is shown most in the beginning sections including “Accountability”, “Denial”, “Anger”, and “Apathy”. In these scenes, red is a recurring color that many can lead to believe is symbolizing her anger and pain throughout the healing process. Beyoncé showed the world her emotions and how she was coping with her personal issues. At the end of the visual album, Beyoncé is seen to be much more content with where she is in life and allowed herself to heal.
Although the color red in Lemonade is seen to represent almost anger and undeniable pain, the color red has more meaning to Beyoncé’s life. In 2022, the singer told Vogue China that “red has always meant joy, sensuality, and love to me” (https://twitter.com/beyoncepress/status/1490509729193472001?lang=en). As the singer has evolved since the release of Lemonade, the meaning of the color red has seemed to shift for her. Instead of a much more negative interpretation, she has taken a lighter more positive approach to the color.
As seen in the novel Beloved, Toni Morrison has created symbols that are found similar to some created in Lemonade, the color red being one of them. Morrison uses the color red in both a positive and negative manner. The color shifts meaning throughout the novel representing “death, love, and ultimately, hope” (https://www.bartleby.com/essay/The-Color-Red-In-Toni-Morrisons-Beloved-PC9SBA6AD8V). Several scenes in the novel explain death and the unsettling imagery that creates. When describing death, Morrison uses the color red to show blood and “rotten roses” (Morrison 56). Blood is an obvious gory thought when thinking about red, however, roses are often times a happy aspect. Flowers are supposed to bring joy to people, however, making these red roses rot and die can quickly create a different meaning. Red is also made very apparent during the graphic scene of Sethe murdering her young daughter. Morrison makes it easy for the reader to visualize this almost unwanting image of a mother killing her own daughter. During this chapter, the audience reads about the blood of the baby on Sethe’s body. The color red in this scene represents not only the obvious blood from the daughter but the feeling of pain and anger that Sethe had to complete this act in order to try to “protect” her daughter.
The color red is a largely significant part of both Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Toni Morrison’s award-winning novel, Beloved. Although the color red has several meanings both positive and negative, we tend to experience it in a more negative light in these two pieces of work. Without the repeated appearance of this color, many underlying themes would not be visible to the audience, creating deeper meanings to think about.
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