Reds and blues—what do these colors even mean?
His Grammy-winning music and Emmy-winning series Atlanta are just one of the many that’s most prominent on Childish Gambino’s ever-growing resume. Can ‘Guava Island’ bring him another trophy? It seems as if it doesn’t matter. After its premiere at Coachella this weekend, the movie has since been the talk of the town for its socio-economic themes, with a plot strengthened by its colors and the music of Childish Gambino himself.
R&B
As the movie plays, a lot of people have been commending him for its theme depicting artistry at the core of capitalism.
There are two colors most prominent in the film—reds, and blues. Easily, the question of “what do those mean?” arises as your watch. It is to be known that the ruler of the island is named Red Cargo. As a ruler of the island, he also has power over the businesses in it. He’s the only boss. As it gets more obvious, Red means capitalism and it’s all over town. It’s in the uniforms of the workers and the soldiers of Cargo. The color remains evident on Deni Maroon (Donald Glover) saying that he’s still a shade of red, a part of capitalism as he works at the dock
Blues mostly define artistry in the film. In the sea of reds, blues are most prominent on Deni’s clothing at a scene and on the silk factory workers’ uniforms. As Deni is also a singer at the radio station, he’s filled with passion for music that’s all for his muse, Kofi, and for the people of Guava. Blues can be seen everywhere despite Red’s dominance showing that artistry strives and thrives through capitalism. It should also be noticed that Deni and Kofi’s clothes can be tainted with both reds and blues at a time depicting that they’re somehow trapped in between the two ideas.
Red Cargo
Nonso Anozie’s Red Cargo appears in the film with colors different from the red and blue theme. He’s once seen in an orange suit, and another in a tie-dye ensemble. This can be an allegory for his character—washing his hands clean, free of all the social responsibilities he neglected. Greedy of power, he wants to be standout and to wear such clothes in a crowd he’s ruled will do just that.
‘Guava Island’ is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
