'Red' is any of a number of similar
colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of
light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly
625–750 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called
infrared, or ''below red'' and cannot be seen by human eyes.
In human
color psychology, red is associated with
energy and
blood, and emotions that stir the blood, including
anger,
passion, and
love.
[3]
Red is used as one of the additive
primary colors of light, complementary to
cyan, in
RGB color systems. Red is also one of the subtractive primary colors of
RYB color space but not
CMYK color space.
One common use of red as an additive primary color is in the
RGB color model. Because "red" is not by itself standardized, color mixtures based on red are not exact specifications of color either. In order to produce exact colors the color red needs to be defined in terms of an
absolute color space such as
sRGB. As used in computer monitors and television screens, red is very variable, but some systems may apply color correction (so that a standardized "red" is produced that is not in fact full intensity of only the red colorant).
Red in human culture
In ancient history and culture
Art
★ It is likely that
Red ochre was the earliest
pigment employed by late
Archaic Homo sapiens when it was used by
Cro-Magnons for their
cave paintings.
★ When red is mixed with
blue it makes
purple.
★ In some art,
interior design and
fashion contexts, shades of red are described by reference to the colors of fruits and vegetables that commonly match that shade. These include
cherries,
beets,
turnips,
strawberries (often used in referring to "strawberry blonde" hair), and
raspberries (as referenced in the
Prince song "
Raspberry Beret"). While the most popular color for
apples is a dark shade of red, the fruit is usually invoked in fashion or decorating to reference a pale yellowish greenish.
Cultural symbolism
★ in Japan red is a traditional color for a heroic figure.
★ In
ancient China, red was the symbol of
fire and the
south, and is one of the main five classical colors.
★ In the
Indian Sub-continent, red is the traditional color of bridal dresses, and is frequently represented in the media as a symbolic color for married women.
★ In
Chinese culture and Chinese symbolism, red is the color of good luck and success, and is used for decoration and
wedding attire (during the traditional half of the wedding ceremony, while the bridal attire in the modern half is usually white). Money in Chinese societies is traditionally given in
red packets. Stock market gains in China and other
East Asian countries are displayed in red, while losses are displayed in
green.
★ Red is considered holy in some parts of
Sub-saharan Africa. In these regions women are forbidden to wear red clothes.
★ In
Russia, red (''красный'') represents beauty. The
Russian word for ''beauty'' derived from the word "red" and has the same root (''КРАСавица, КРАСота, КРАСивый'').
Ethnography
★ ''Red Indians'' is a British term for
Native Americans.
★
Amerindians are sometimes called the ''
red race''.
★ In the
United States, especially in communities with a large
African-American population, light-skinned people of African descent and
biracial persons of partially African heritage are considered red.
Literature
★ ''
Red Planet'' is a
1949 science fiction novel by
Robert A. Heinlein.
★ ''
The Scarlet Letter'' is an
1850 American novel by
Nathaniel Hawthorne about a woman in a
Puritan New England community punished for
adultery with
ostracism, her sin represented by a red letter A worn on her clothes.
★ ''
The Scarlet Plague'' is a
1912 science fiction novel by
Jack London that takes place in 2072, after a scarlet plague has almost wiped the human race from the planet.
★ In the ''
Circle of Magic'' series by Tamora Pierce, the character
Daja Kisubo states that her people wear red when in mourning.
Mythology
★ Red was associated in
Roman mythology with the god of war,
Mars, and the reddish planet
Mars became named after him. (A Roman general receiving a
triumph had his face painted red, perhaps to personify Mars.)
★ The phrase "red-blooded" describes someone who is audacious, robust, or virile; it is sometimes used to contrast with a cold or effete "blue blood" although the terms are unrelated in origin.
Religion
★ In
East Asian countries, the names of the
deceased are written in red ink in a
Book of the Dead. To write a living person's name with red ink is
taboo, tantamount to placing a
curse on the person.
★ In
Christianity, red represents the color of Christian
martyrs who suffered death for their faith. It may also represent
fire and so may symbolize the presence of
God. It is the
liturgical color for
Pentecost. It is sometimes used for
Holy Thursday and during
Eastertide. In
Roman Catholic tradition it is used for all
feast days of Christian martyrs as well as
Palm Sunday in anticipation of the death of
Jesus. Red may also represent the
deadly sin wrath.
Satan is usually depicted as colored red and/or wearing a red costume in both religious
iconography and
popular culture.
Thailand
★ In
Thailand, red is associated with
Sunday on the
Thai solar calendar. Anyone may wear red on Sundays, and anyone born on a Sunday may adopt red as their color.
In modern culture
Film
★ A movie trailer of a film that the
MPAA has rated NC-17 has red color bars.
★ ''Flash Gordon'' is a 1936 film serial. It tells the story of three people from
Earth who travel to the planet
Mongo to fight the evil
Emperor Ming the Merciless. Ming had tried to conquer Earth through
biological warfare by infecting humans worldwide with a disease called ''The Red Death''.
★ ''
The Red Shoes'' is a popular 1948 movie about
ballet.
★ ''
Red Planet Mars'' is a 1952
science fiction film.
★ ''
The Red Spectacles'' is a 1987 science fiction film.
★
The Red Violin is a 1998 film telling the 300 year history of a special violin.
★ ''
Red Planet'' is a 2000 science fiction film.
★ In ''
The Village'', the color red is believed to anger a race of people living in the woods.
Music
★
Red is an album and the title track by British rock group
King Crimson
★
Red is an American
Christian Nu-Metal band from
Linesville, PA.
Gangs
★ Red is the color ''claimed'' by the
street gangs
Bloods and
Norteños.
Holidays
★ Red is one of the
Christmas colors, along with
green,
white,
gold, and
silver.
Santa Claus has a red costume.
★ Red, as well as or in combination with the colors
rose,
pink, and/or
magenta, symbolizes
Valentine's Day.
Sexuality
★ A
red-light district is a
neighborhood where
prostitution and other businesses in the
sex industry flourish. Many
prostitutes and
brothels have red lights shining in their windows to signify the nature of their
business.
★ In
Wales, in
Welsh, a ''blue''
movie (i.e. a
pornographic film) is called a ''ffilm goch'' (a red movie).
★ Red is the term used in the gay fetish scene referring to
fisting. It is taken from the
hanky code which is used by men to show their sexual preference.
Sports
★
Rosso corsa is the traditional color of
Italian race cars, particularly
Ferrari.
★ In
Soccer, the
referee shows a
red card to a player who has been sent-off.
★ Red is the color of many Korean sports teams such as their soccer team. The Korean soccer team is so called the "Red Devils" (붉은 악마)
★ Red is the national color of
Poland and is heavily featured on sporting uniforms of Polish teams and athletes.
★
Liverpool Football Club are known as the Reds due to wearing the all-red strip which was introduced in the
1960s by
Bill Shankly.
★ In
Wales, red is the color of both the International
Wales National Rugby Union team and the
Welsh National Football team.
★ In auto racing the red flag means the race gets stopped because of a wreck or debris.
★ The
Cincinnati Reds or Red Stockings are the oldest professional
baseball team, dating back to 1869. During the 1950s when red was so strongly associated with
communism, the team was known as the "Redlegs" and the term was even used on baseball cards. After the red scare faded, the team was known as the Reds again.
Television
★ In the TV show '' (
1966-
1969), the
engineering (notably Chief Engineer
Montgomery Scott) and security personnel of the crew of the ''
Starship Enterprise'' wear ''red''
Starfleet uniforms. (See:
redshirt)
★ In the TV show ''
Power Rangers'' and its
Japanese counterpart, ''
Super Sentai'', red is one of the colors that is always worn by a Power Ranger or a Super Sentai member. The others are
blue and
yellow in Power Rangers, and blue in Super Sentai. Red rangers are usually the leaders, usually male, and they're always the focus characters.
★ In the TV show ''
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', an imaginary friend made by Terrance, the main character's brother, was named Red, who was the color red and shaped like a block.
★ One of the members of the popular Japanese
manzai group "
TIM", who appear on many television programs in
Japan, is named Red.
Transportation
★ Red is used on
railway signals,
traffic signals, and
ship signals for stop or danger.
★ The
Royal Mail paints their vehicles red.
★
London Underground trains have red warning panels on the fronts, unlike mainline trains, which have yellow fronts.
★
TfL specifies red for the color of
buses operating in
London
★ Red is generally used for notices and warning signs.
★
Fire trucks in the most of the larger
United States cities are
fire engine red.
★ Most major cities with
rapid transit rail lines have a
Red line.
★ Red indicates downward travel on elevators.
In International and global affairs
Military
★ Red is the color of beret used by the Royal Military Police in the
British Army.
★ Red is the color often used for the
Ancient Roman Empire. It has been said that Roman officers would wear red so that if they were wounded, it would not discourage their troops nearby.
★ In the
history of Japan red is the color of military flags used by the
Heike (or Taira) clan and of the Genji (or Minamoto) clan, two clans that struggled for power at the close of the
Heian era, in the late 12th century.
★ In the
United States Army, red is the color of the
artillery and the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Brick red is the color of the
United States Army Transportation Corps, while
crimson is the color of the
Ordnance Corps, and
Maroon is that of the
Medical Corps.
★ The
Soviet Union Red Army was often represented by a red star.
★ In the
Finnish Army, red is the color of
artillery. Black symbols on a red field signify
field artillery, white symbols signify
anti-aircraft artillery.
★ Red is the color commonly associated with the
British and
British Army (e.g.,
Redcoats).
★ Red, in
wargaming is depicted as a hostile force; originating from
Helmut von Moltke. Blue would represent friendly forces, thus the phrase
blue on blue fire comes to mean friendly fire.
National colors
★ Red and green are the national colors of
Portugal and
Bangladesh.
★ Red and black are the national colors of
Albania, and along with
golden, of
Germany,
Angola, and
Belgium.
★ Red and yellow are the national colors of
China,
Spain, and
Vietnam, and along with blue, of
Colombia,
Venezuela,
Romania,
Chad, and
Moldova.
★ Red and white are the national colors of
Indonesia,
Singapore,
Canada,
Malta,
Turkey,
Tunisia,
Denmark,
Poland,
Monaco,
Bahrain,
Peru,
Japan and
Switzerland.
★ Red, white, and blue are the national colors of the
United States, the
United Kingdom,
France,
Luxembourg,
Norway, the
Czech Republic, the
Netherlands,
Costa Rica,
Serbia,
Croatia,
Paraguay,
Iceland,
Panama,
Russia,
Cuba,
Chile,
Thailand,
Dominican Republic,
Nepal, and
Liberia.
★ Red, white, and green are the national colors of
Hungary,
Iran,
Italy,
Mexico,
Bulgaria,
Lebanon and
Wales.
★
Australia has a red, white, and blue flag, but their national colors are
green and gold.
★ Red, white, blue, and yellow are the national colors of the
Philippines.
★ Red, white, blue, and black are the national colors of
South Korea.
Politics
★ Even before Europe's
Revolutions of 1848, "Socialist" red was used as a color of European
Revolutionaries, often in the form of the
red flag. It was also used by
Garibaldi's ''camicie rosse'' ("
redshirts") in the Italian
Risorgimento, and taken up by
Leftist and generally
revolutionary groups, while the
white of legitimist
Bourbon partisans became associated with pre-
World War I conservatives. This relates to the term "Blood of the workers", representing the suffering of the
proletariat.
★
★ For instance the
Civil War in Russia and the
Civil War in Finland were fought between the "
Red Army" and various "
White Armies".
★
★ The identification of
Communism with "Socialist" red (with the
red flag being the primary color of the flag of the
Soviet Union) and the
red star being a Communist
emblem led to such
Cold War phrases as "the Red Menace" and "
Red China" (distinguished from
Nationalist China, "Free China," or ''Taiwan''). See also
The East is Red.
Mao Zedong was sometimes referred to as a "red sun". The color was also associated with political vehicles such as the
Red Guard in China and the
Red Guards during the
Russian Revolution of 1917 as well as with left wing paramilitary terrorist groups such as the
Red Army Faction in
Germany and the
Japanese Red Army.
★ Red remains associated with parties on the left of the political spectrum, with several notable exceptions (see "Political Parties" below)
★ Red and black are colors associated with
anarchism, and, specifically,
anarcho-syndicalism.
★ In maps of
political parties, red is traditionally used for the following parties:
★
★ Australia:
Labor and
Communist Party Of Australia
★
★ Brazil:
Workers' Party
★
★ Canada:
Liberal Party of Canada
★
★ Finland:
Social Democratic Party of Finland
★
★ Germany:
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Social Democratic party of Germany) and
Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus (Party of Democratic Socialism)
★
★ Italy:
Partito della Rifondazione Comunista and
Partito dei Comunisti Italiani
★
★ India:
Communist Party of India (Marxist) and
Communist Party of India
★
★
Malta:
Malta Labour Party
★
★ New Zealand:
New Zealand Labour Party
★
★ The Netherlands:
Partij van de Arbeid (Social Democratic party),
Socialistische Partij (Socialist Party), and in combination with
green,
GroenLinks.
★
★ Paraguay:
Colorado Party
★
★ Portugal:
Portuguese Communist Party (and the
Unitarian Democratic Coalition, of which the PCP is part of)
★
★ Puerto Rico:
Popular Democratic Party (PPD)
★
★ Serbia:
Liberal Democratic Party
★
★ Sweden:
Swedish Social Democratic Party and the
Left Party (Sweden)
★
★ United Kingdom:
Labour Party
★
★ United States:
Republican Party, since the
2000 presidential election, when contrasted with
blue representing
Democratic Party.
In business and money
Finance
★ In
North American
stock markets, red is used to denote a drop in stock prices. In
East Asian stock markets, red is used to denote a rise in stock prices.
In Science
Astronomy
★ In astronomy,
stars of
stellar class M (the stars with the coolest temperature) are classified as ''red stars''.
★
Mars is called the ''Red
Planet'' because of the reddish color imparted to its surface by the abundant
iron oxide present there.
★ Astronomical objects which are moving away from the observer exhibit a
red shift.
★
Jupiter's surface displays a
Great Red Spot, a football-shaped area
south of the planet's
equator. Astronomers believe the spot to be some kind of
storm.
Biology
★ Oxygenated
blood is red due to the presence of oxygenated
hemoglobin.
★ Red light is the first to be absorbed by sea water, so that many fish and marine invertebrates that appear bright red are
black in their native habitat.
Geography
★ Red or
pink is traditionally used by
cartographers to represent the
British Empire.
★ Red has been used throughout time to represent royalty throughout the world.
Heraldry
★ In English
heraldry, red (called
gules) denoted ardent affection or love, while crimson (blood-color) stood for boldness, enthusiasm, or impetuosity. (The American Girls Handy Book, p. 369-370)
★ Red is the color of the coat of arms of
Ħamrun,
Malta.
Medicine
★ Red is the color of
blood, and a
Red Cross, Red Crescent or
Red Crystal emblem signifies medical personnel, facilities, or equipment, according to the
Geneva Conventions.
★ Red is used to symbolize
AIDS awareness or Drug awareness, in the form of a
red ribbon.
Ophthalmology
★ Red light is used to preserve
night vision in low-light or
night-time situations, as the
rod cells in the human
eye aren't sensitive to red.
★ People who smoke a lot of
marijuana often illuminate their rooms while smoking it in red or
orange light because
Cannabis causes the
pupils of the
eye to dilate, making one uncomfortable in intense
illumination.
Photography
★ A red
filter used in
black and
white photography increases contrast in most scenes. For example, combined with a polarizer, it can turn the sky black. Films simulating the effects of infrared film (such as
Ilford's SFX 200) do so by being much more sensitive to red than to other colors.
★ Red illumination was (and sometimes still is) used as a "
safelight" while working in a
darkroom, as it does not expose most photographic paper and some films. Though many more modern darkrooms use an
amber safelight, red illumination is closely associated with the darkroom in the public mind.
In psychology and modern thought
Hazard symbolism
Stop sign used in various countries. The shape and color red is used nearly universally today.
★ Red catches people's attention, and is often used to indicate danger or emergency.
★
★ Red symbolizes heat and fire.
Taps for hot water are often labeled red. Red is commonly the color of fire alarm boxes,
fire extinguishers, and the
firefighter profession itself.
★
★ Red denotes "stop" in, for instance,
stop signs,
traffic signals, brake lights, or the flashing lights of a
school bus or
railroad crossing.
★
★ Red indicates extreme danger on Western color-coded scales, such as
wildfire hazard signs or the U.S.
Homeland Security Advisory System. It also denotes the maximum level of danger and preparedness as in the phrases "condition red" and "
red alert".
★
★ In
auto racing, a red
flag signals all cars to immediately stop.
★
★ Emergency exits on passenger
aircraft and in general are indicated by red signs and lighting.
★
★ With ships on collision courses, the ship on
starboard tack sees the Green for Go light on the ship on
port tack, while the ship on port tack sees the Red for Stop light on the ship on starboard tack.
Mysticism
★ In the
metaphysics of the ''
New Age Prophetess'',
Alice A. Bailey, in her system called the
Seven Rays which classifies
humans into seven different metaphysical personality types, the ''sixth ray'' of ''love-devotion'' is represented by the color ''red''. People who have this metaphysical personality type are said to be ''on the Red Ray''.
★ Red is used to symbolically represent the first (
Muladhara)
chakra.
★
Psychics who claim to be able to observe the
aura with their
third eye report that someone with a red aura is typically someone who is in an
occupation requiring vibrant
health and vigorous physical exertion, such as a
professional sportsperson, a
personal trainer, or a
manual laborer.
[4]
Red pigments
★
Alizarin
★
Brazilin
★
Carmine
★
Crimson
★
Deep Red
★
Indian red
★
Mercury oxide
★
Red lead
★
Red ochre
★
Vermilion
References
1. Thomas J. Bruno, Paris D. N. Svoronos. ''CRC Handbook of Fundamental Spectroscopic Correlation Charts.'' CRC Press, 2005.
2. W3C TR CSS3 Color Module, HTML4 color keywords
3. Symbols and Artifacts: Views of the Corporate Landscape, Pasquale Gagliardi, , , Aldine Transaction, 1992,
4. Swami Panchadasi ''The Human Aura: Astral Colors and Thought Forms'' Des Plaines, Illinois, USA:1912--Yogi Publications Society Page 31
External links
★
All About The Color Red
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