MovieChat Forums > Pleasantville (1998) Discussion > How do they know tge name of colours?

How do they know tge name of colours?

posted 9 years ago by nedwards97
6 replies | jump to latest

This film is great and I really enjoyed it.

However, I am slightly confused. If they live in a black and white world and never seen colour before, how do they know what colours are and what they are called? If they live in a world where there is no colour, it makes no sense that they would know what to call the colours.

Is there an easy explanation?

[–] TxMike 9 years ago

I don't know that there is a definitive answer, and when I watch it I just let it pass, I don't consider it an important element to the overall story, so I don't dwell on it, but here are a couple of links where some fans discuss their ideas on it:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Headscratchers/Pleasantville

https://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/comments/37qb8q/pleasantville_colors_were_always_present_in_the/

..*.. TxMike ..*..
Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes not.

[–] maccafan-190-55959 8 years ago

Great info, thanks for the links!

[–] Wombstar 9 years ago

They explain this in the movie, they referred to it as 'Real' colour, much like the end when they talk about 'Real Rain'

[–] Naeblis5 8 years ago

To quote them man criticized for his blue door, 'my door has always been blue!'

You can tell what is 'yellow' in black and white, but of course real yellow is quite different.

[–] MaximRecoil (4619) 7 years ago

You can tell what is 'yellow' in black and white

No, you can't. Yellow doesn't exist in a black and white image, so how could you possibly tell what is yellow? The only "color" that a B&W TV generates is white, and the illusion of black and shades of gray are created by varying the intensity of the white. White at half intensity appears medium gray, and when the white is simply off, it appears black. This is known as luminance, AKA: "luma". B&W TVs only have white phosphor, so white light is the only thing they can generate, and B&W video signals only contain luminance values.

If you see two cars on a B&W TV, one of which is light blue in reality, with the other being yellow in reality, and they have the same luminance value, they will both appear to be an identical shade of gray on your TV. The only thing you can tell with regard to colors on a B&W TV is, in some cases, what color something is not. For example, a car that appears dark gray can't possibly be yellow or any other light shade of color in reality.

[–] JackNorth (244) 6 years ago

I know this is an old post, but here's my two cents:

The residents of this alternate universe refer to things they don't actually have experience with. For example, rain is a word they know, but they've never actually experienced it. And as far as colors, they probably refer to colors, just as characters in actual old B&W shows do. For example, they may recite rhymes like "roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so are you." They have just never actually seen these colors.