A Colourful Life Without Colour

 Life, in all its blessings, has always been splashed with colours. Most youths of the 21st century often envision a drab image of the prior century, limiting colour palettes to only black, grey and white. The blame cannot be entirely put on them; whichever event from this era that they have in mind, whether it is the famous kiss of the two strangers at Times Square, the well known Marilyn Monroe picture that captured the attention of millions, or maybe even the gruesome Alfred Hitchcock tales, they must be thinking that life before was similar to these aforementioned scenes. Achromatic. But, believe me when I say that the reality is far from what these minds believe. Having no colours in a frame does not mean a life of interminable dullness. 

 Take the kissing scene of two Americans as an example. World War 2 had just ended after what seemed like an eternity of misery. All the colours drained from these innocent lives during the tragedy found their way back. More specifically, the life of a young sailor named George Mendonsa. He was filled with hope and optimism, the traits that resemble the colour yellow. As he was celebrating the end of the war with his companions, he saw a beautiful young woman by the name of Greta Freidman. He built the courage, represented by the colour orange, to go up to her and kiss her. When he did, there may have been a little feeling of love, a spark of pink between them.  

 An achromatic gloom in technology did not mean that love lives of that era were a drab. If there is one word that I could use to describe the romantic date nights way before coloured social media was available, it would be simplicity. A picnic at the park atop of the hill overlooking a crystal blue lake was the real deal. Before the age of spending hours on skype or spamming one’s whatsapp notification with endless professions, love letters were the way to go. The black ink of a pen that falls on the white paper could express more colours than one could imagine; love, optimism, wisdom, danger, peace, honesty and many of which belong to a certain colour. No pink heart emoticons were needed, just the real beating heart inside. The one colour that truly stands out here is brown, which is earthly and symbolises stability and simplicity. How sacredly beautiful is that?

 Leaning towards a gorier side, remember when your spine tingled as the Alfred Hitchcock film played in front of your eyes, or when the death and drama of Marilyn Monroe were revealed? Alas, there is only one colour that fits these types of situations the best; red, the colour that screams out danger and desire. The elegance that is being portrayed on the outside masks the dark enigma that lies within. This colour can also symbolise love, but danger and love do not go well together especially when you add in burning desire. 

 So, if you think the lives in the prior century really lived up to its achromatic films with no bursting colours, as seen today, to light up their lives, think again.