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Color Conscious - Google Books

Book overview (from Google Books)

"In America today, the problem of achieving racial justice--whether through "color-blind" policies or through affirmative action--provokes more noisy name-calling than fruitful deliberation. In Color Conscious, K. Anthony Appiah and Amy Gutmann, two eminent moral and political philosophers, seek to clear the ground for a discussion of the place of race in politics and in our moral lives. Provocative and insightful, their essays tackle different aspects of the question of racial justice; together they provide a compelling response to our nation's most vexing problem.Appiah begins by establishing the problematic nature of the idea of race. He draws on the scholarly consensus that "race" has no legitimate biological basis, exploring the history of its invention as a social category and showing how the concept has been used to explain differences among groups of people by mistakenly attributing various "essences" to them. Appiah argues that, while people of color may still need to gather together, in the face of racism, under the banner of race, they need also to balance carefully the calls of race against the many other dimensions of individual identity; and he suggests, finally, what this might mean for our political life.Gutmann examines alternative political responses to racial injustice. She argues that American politics cannot be fair to all citizens by being color blind because American society is not color blind. Fairness, not color blindness, is a fundamental principle of justice. Whether policies should be color-conscious, class conscious, or both in particular situations, depends on an open-minded assessment of their fairness. Exploring timely issues of university admissions, corporate hiring, and political representation, Gutmann develops a moral perspective that supports a commitment to constitutional democracy.Appiah and Gutmann write candidly and carefully, presenting many-faceted interpretations of a host of controversial issues. Rather than supplying simple answers to complex questions, they offer to citizens of every color principled starting points for the ongoing national discussions about race."

Banner advertiser-web site context congruity and color effects on attention and attitudes

Moore,RS . "Banner advertiser-web site context congruity and color effects on attention and attitudes" Journal of advertising [0091-3367] 34.2 (2005). 71-84.

These experiments were conducted in an online environment, considering “the effects of the congruity between the product foci of the advertiser and the web site, as well as banner color and banner color-text contrast on measures of attention (i.e., recall and recognition) and attitudes toward the ad and the Web site.” The first experiment found incongruity to have a “more favorable effect on recall and recognition,” and congruity to have a “more favorable effect on attitudes.” There were some inconclusive findings about color schemes as well and overall attitude toward the website was found to be “more positive for those who did not recall or recognize the ad.” Color was found to have a limited effect on the behaviors of the web users, and while some extreme manipulations of colors (such as red background and white letters) drew greater attention, the “color-contrast combinations did not differentially affect Web browsers’ attention levels.”
Some important implications to take away from these experiments have to do with the locale of banner advertisements- specific sites they are located on and pertain to. Regarding my thesis, the authors stress the idea that sometime incongruency is needed to attract consumers’ initial attention, although the incongruency operates on a fine line. The environment in which these advertisements are placed are extremely relevant to its success. Another avenue, which I had not really considered to explore before reading this study is the effect that the banner advertisement can have on the host site. Can there be a symbiotic relationship that exists between the two? And in that case, can that maybe be a revenue source that the banner advertisement company can take advantage of? In these results, there is a hint that banner advertisement color may play a role and the authors suggest that further research should take place in this area. Specifically, I think that eye tracking devices would be useful to see how different color schemes are attended to and viewed.

YouTube - Silly Symphony - The Three Little Pigs

This is the original Three Little Pigs Silly Symphony; its duration is 8:23. It features the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, as well as the famous song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" According to a few sources, the heavily Jewish image and accent of the Wolf knocking on the brick house's door was removed for the DVD release, but it seems that this revised voice was applied to the YouTube video, even though the visual was not adjusted.

Having easy, unlimited access to the film which is the subject of my research is essential, not only for being able to form a thesis but for being able to interpret and synthesize the various resources I'll find on the subject. I can draw direct evidence as to the narrative structure, characterization, and use of color, music, and sound, and hear the song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" whenever I please.

Danks, Adrian. "Huffing and Puffing about Three Little Pigs." Senses of Cinema. November 2003.

The animated short Three Little Pigs is the focus of this paper; the author claims that this short was significant first for epitomizing the quality of Disney films in the 1930s, whose popularity can't be conceived of today. In addition, the author sees the film as crucial in character animation, paving the way for the enduring characters of the next decade. The narrative, indirectly, and the commercial success, more directly, enabled Disney's first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The article also discusses the technical achievements of the film, such as the difficulty in animating such similar characters and the effective use of color. The latter innovation, color, was used most effectively by including subtle tone changes with purpose, such as to reinforce the exhaustion of the wolf after trying to blow down the brick house by changing the colors of his face. Finally, sound was key to the film's success and influence. Written to illustrate a song that became a hit, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?", the music helps differentiate characters. The character development was further aided by focusing on four characters, instead of the huge undifferentiated masses often featured in earlier Silly Symphonies.

Finally, the article addresses the metaphor of the story as two-pronged. The popularity of the film suggests the dormant, hopeful message that hard work alone will allow men to prevail even in times of doubt; this was an appealing message in the Depression. Second, audiences saw Walt Disney as a role model. It's possible that simple plots, like that of this short, helped Disney films maintain popularity over competing Warner Brothers series which today seem more appealing.

This article is key to my argument; it helps provide evidence that Three Little Pigs paved the way for Snow White and the future Disney style of creating feature-length films with the same character development, simple plots and positive, moral underlying messages that appealed to audiences.

Finch, Christopher. The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms. Burbank, California: Walt Disney Productions, 1975.

This is a book of color illustrations and other similar primary source illustrated documents, from final screenshots to draft sketches to storyboard excerpts. The accompanying text provides context for each picture. It begins with a series of essays, the second of which is entitled "Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies." The essay discusses how the emphasis on music in earlier short films such as Steamboat Willie and The Jazz Fool led directly to the initiation of the Silly Symphonies. Many are mentioned, such as the first, Skeleton Dance, and the first in color, Flowers and Trees. Two drawings from Three Little Pigs are featured. The essay discusses the evolution of Technicolor, especially from the two-color to three-color system. It also discusses the development of the art of animation, especially as driven by the inventive animator Albert Hurter. He designed settings and main characters, and invested significant effort in developing concepts and visuals which would trigger further development and inspiration on the part of the story writers and other animators.

The essays in this book, and especially the color illustrated accompaniment, would help me intelligently discuss the efforts made at Disney studios to embrace technology and inspire animators. Facts and examples of the development of Technicolor technology and the changes it caused in films are provided and would help me make the point that the Silly Symphonies, the focus of the discussion, were truly a place where new technologies could be tested and Disney employees made efforts to inspire each other to do great things.

Kehr, Dave. "Walt Disney Treasures." The New York Times. Late Edition, 9 January 2007. Section E Column 1.

This article is a review and discussion of four newly released double-disc sets in the “Walt Disney Treasures” series. The discs contain Silly Symphonies, and the author discusses how Disney used technology to gain a competitive edge over the Fleischers. Disney took more care in music and sound editing and synching, using a technique which enabled animators to listen to already-recorded music and effects and animate in synch with these soundtracks, while the Fleischers’ sound seems more like improvisation. And Disney signed an exclusive contract, giving him the only rights to use a new three-color Technicolor process that gave his films a “visual pop” unlike any others available.

This article discusses the technical care and expertise put into Disney short films. The article argues that the color, shading, draftsmanship, depth techniques, and expressivity of movement eventually used in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were first used in Silly Symphonies like The Goddess of Spring and Three Blind Mouseketeers. The author also discusses the differences between Walt Disney’s television persona and behind-the scenes “persistent dissatisfaction,” claiming that whichever one considers, Disney’s efforts edged the country towards “greater technological feats.”

This article, while it does not mention Three Little Pigs explicitly, helps fill in some information about how Disney managed to employ technology to his favor, and the details of some of that technology, especially color and sound. It also shows how the Silly Symphonies served in some cases as proving grounds for new techniques that eventually emerged in full-length animated features, and echoes an often-expressed belief in Walt Disney’s quest for perfection through bigger and better technology.

Merritt, Russel. "Lost on Pleasure Islands: Storytelling in Disney's 'Silly Symphonies'" Film quarterly. 59.1 (2005). 4-17.

In this article, the author writes about the Silly Symphonies with a focus on a few of the shorts remembered best and a few which have fallen through the cracks, with the intent of illuminating a new theory as to the reasons for the success of the series. He points out that the early Disney films, which are now often seen as bland and overlooked in favor of the “urban brashness” and “self-reflexivity” of Warner Brothers work, were and are still the “Tiffany line” of animation. But it was not the use of Technicolor, high quality sound, and general technical polish alone that resonated with audiences. At first, the “Sillies” were “anarchist” in their approach, but eventually Disney took on fairy tales, setting them to music and framing them in a new, American style. Disney managed to delve into the “primal fears and pleasures we encounter as children,” and it is this reason that what some see as oversimplified moralistic tales have such cross-generational appeal and seem to stick with and attract children.

The author discusses and forms theories as to the rules of fairy tale adaptation at Disney, especially related to the role of the child and the view of adolescents or adults, in a few of the Sillies including Babes In The Woods. He discusses Three Little Pigs specifically, but more as a contradiction to many of these trends. The pigs are pre-pubescent children, and while they are old enough to be without parental figures and have pin-ups, they still sing with high voices and dress like toddlers (except, of course, Practical Pig, who has photos of his parents and wears pants). Therefore the short takes place in the “self-contained infant world of play,” a fact echoed by the presence of the lean, hairy, evil wolf.

This article would be useful for my paper as evidence of the direct trend of the Silly Symphonies from experimental, even “anarchy” in animation, to standardization in the portrayal of fairy tales. But it also codifies the aspects of the adaptation process which are distinctly Disney and American, and shows how these aspects fall into the categories of characterization especially. Sound and color are also mentioned as methods for advancing animation and increasing the potency of the stories told in these short films.

"Three Little Pigs." The Dancing Image: Yet Another Movie Blog. 7 November 2008.

This is a blog entry, but it seems to be of high enough quality for use. Its thesis is that the Republican reading of hard times in Three Little Pigs, both the Depression of the 1930s and even today's housing crisis, is "undercut by various elements of subversion." Characterization helps to differentiate between the lazy pigs and the responsible pig, and these personas are echoed not only in the pigs' actions but the objects they use to decorate their houses. But the author argues that the lazy pigs are so likeable that the message is somewhat obscured, and hypothesizes that much of the Wolf's animosity and the pigs' fear may resemble the corporate structure and relationship between Walt Disney and animators. The primitive use of color contributes to the dream-like quality of Disney, a "surreal," sometimes uncanny vibe which contrasts sharply with how Warner Brothers cartoons, especially today, appear "secular, straightforward, unpretentious, urban, and ethnic.”

This resource would be helpful for showing the effective use of characterization. Its specificity in mentioning how characters are differentiated, through their actions, attitudes, and possessions as well as through color, would be useful. A new look at the short film’s allegorical power, namely, its relevance in today's US economy, is also interesting, as is its comparison of the dreaminess of Disney as compared to the reality of Warner Brothers animated shorts.

Scroll Bar Color code generator

CodeAve.com/CSS - Scroll Bar Color Script Writer

The Other RGB Color Chart

Gaffer Glass USA

Manufacturer and vendor of glass color for glass blowing, casting and lampworking.

Olympic Color Rods - Glassblowing Color

Major US supplier of glass blowing tools and colors. The website is well laid out and has a great color comparison tool.

They carry Reichenbach and Zimmerman color (Gaffer dropped them); Jim Moore, Spiral Arts, Steinert, Correll and Blockhead tools.

C & R Loo

The website is a mess, but their 'color kits' are great, especially if you're just starting out and want to play around with color without spending a fortune.

They carry Kugler, Q-Color and Wiesenthal color; Essemce and Palmer pipes and tools.

Hot Glass Color

Suppliers of Kugler glass color, Cutting Edge tools and generally nice folks.

Bacchilega, Cristina. "Cracking the Mirror Three Re-Visions of 'Snow White'." boundary 2 15.3 (1998): 1-25.

Bacchilega examines the similarities and differences in three different written versions of “Snow White”: Barthelme’s Snow White, Carter’s “The Snow Child,” and Coover’s “The Dead Queen.” It is not unusual to change and embellish upon a traditional story; people have been doing it for centuries. However, fairy tales maintain their key characteristics. In the case of “Snow White,” those include flat characterization, supernatural setting, and isolation of characters in a strange, exaggerated world.

“Snow White” dramatizes the association of the good angel-like character with the evil devil-like one. This interaction is monitored and incited by a male voice: the mirror. This man in the mirror defines the identity of both the main characters as well as their relationship. The protagonist is “the fairest of all” and the antagonist is the former bearer of that title, and their interactions are marked by rivalry and jealousy.

Most folklorists interpret the story as a female initiation tale, symbolizing the process of sexual, psychological, and social maturation in women in general. Snow White’s story shows the necessity of culture in the transformation of self, but also illustrates the boundaries beyond which she cannot venture. Snow White is stifled by her obligate domesticity. The men’s influence in Snow White’s life is clear. The huntsman, dwarfs, and prince all aid in her socialization. This implies that her initiation will only be complete once the white and red parts of her life – semen and menstrual blood, representing male and female opposites – unite through her black ritual “death.” In this way, the thematic colors of the story (skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, hair as black as ebony) apply to Snow White’s personal growth.

The three versions of “Snow White” analyzed here differ in point of view, adherence to the original storyline, and even primary message. Disney’s Snow White is more similar in all three points to the Grimm version of the tale.

Color in Christian Visionary Experience

Benz, Ernst. “Color in Christian Visionary Experience.” Color Symbolism: The Eranos Lectures. Ed. Klaus Ottmann. Putnam: Spring Publications, 2005. 155-214.

Color plays an important part in Don’t Look Now, especially the color red. Roeg weaves red throughout the film, from Christine’s plastic raincoat to the Band-Aid on Johnnie’s finger, from the lettering of the “Venice in Peril” sign to the bathrobe of the sisters’ neighbor. In Du Maurier’s story, the color red is not mentioned, so the use of the color is all Roeg’s doing. Beyond merely linking Christine to the murderer, the color red also serves a more symbolic purpose. Roeg ties the color red to the blind sister, Heather, and her psychic visions. The fact that Heather can see Christine’s red jacket is not as mysterious as the fact that she knows what the color red is. If she has been blind since childbirth, which her sister, Wendy, intimates to Laura and John, there is no way she would know what red looked like. Heather is already semi-divine in her ability to see the future, but the presence of color in her prophetic visions ties her into the tradition of Christian visions.
Benz’s text was part of a 1972 conference in Switzerland call the Eranos conference. Famous psychologists, theologists, phenomenologists, and other types of scholars from around the globe met to discuss “The Realms of Colour” (ix). Benz, a well-known protestant theologian and church historian, focused his lecture on color and its relation to Christian visions, such as the prophecies of Revelations (170-171). At times hard to follow, Benz basically explores the connection between the vivid colors and physical descriptions in Christian visions and their relation to God and mortality.
Benz explains that, “As a rule the eyes are closed in the visionary ecstatic state; the physical capacity for sight through the eye is eliminated” (159). Heather’s visions definitely follow in this tradition, because, as a blind person, she does not have the capacity for sight. The “ecstatic state,” which Benz references, is ambiguous, but could be interpreted as the epileptic-like trance that Heather falls into when experiencing her visions...