After months of waiting (and two billion dollars at the box office), Star Wars fans are finally able to own The Force Awakens on home video. Amazingly, the movie is still making about a million dollars a week in theaters, but its time in the sun is passed and the blu ray (and digital release) is now here. No doubt fans will be pouring over their favorite scenes, taking in the fast paced adventure while also looking for easter eggs and clues that might have been placed in the movie for eagle-eyed viewers to spot. Personally I will be watching (and rewatching) Rey’s vision scene, which occurs at exactly the halfway point of the movie. For details on that, check out this summary.

While you watch it at your hearts content let me offer you something else to keep an eye out for. As with all Star Wars movies there is a strong theme of “conflict” at the heart of the story. But in The Force Awakens, that conflict is shown in more ways than just in the form of Kylo Ren and Han Solo. Visually that conflict between good and evil is presented by JJ Abrams through the use of color, specifically red (the color of evil) and blue (the color of virtue).

Don’t believe me? Observe…

The poster itself is bathed in both colors, as the red comes from the light of Kylo’s lightsaber and the blue from the light of Luke’s. Incidentally, Rey—the pivotal character in the new trilogy—is positioned in the middle between light and dark. A hint of her hero’s journey perhaps?

The first scene of the movie is a shot of our hero’s adopted home world, Jakku, and though it is a desert planet, it is first presented to us bathed in a cool blue. That blue is drowned out by the silhouette of Kylo’s Star Destroyer.

Here we have the typically-faceless and typically-nameless soldiers of the enemy: Stormtroopers. But they are washed in blue light, not the red color that typically defines evil in this movie. Why? Because of the shorter trooper that is in the focus of the camera. He doesn’t know it yet, but he will soon be embracing the call of the hero.

Now this is more like it. This is what you expect from the soldiers of the ~~Empire~~ First Order. The fire from the flametroopers floods the screen in a dark red glow as the soldiers burn down a village of people that posed no significant threat to them.

Once again we see our Stormtrooper eventual-hero and once again the predominant color is blue. But this time there is a splash of red in the form of blood-streaked finger prints. While FN2187 will eventually become the hero, his fallen comrade was just another evil minion, but it was his red-streaked death that will become the catalyst for FN’s decision to rethink his life.

Typically X-Wing’s are lined with a red stripe, but Poe Dameron’s ship is painted with a heroic blue.

The MacGuffin of the movie is a piece of a map that supposedly leads to the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker. It is a mostly nondescript silver object, but it blinks with a baby blue light.

The arrival of Kylo Ren is a scene bursting with dark red colors. The red flickers from the flames at the bottom of the screen and dances across the middle and top of the frame in the form of flying embers. Ren’s ship is a dark—and very Imperial—black, but it has a thin red line in the front.

As Kylo interrogates Lor San Tekka, Abrams positions things so that the orange and red hue of the fire is constantly in the frame. But…

…when Tekka begins talking about Kylo’s past, reminding him that his name wasn’t always “Kylo Ren” and that Luke Skywalker is his “family,” Kylo moves from the red to the blue, again giving the audience a visual indicator that this villain is more than meets the eye.

After Kylo disposes of Tekka, Poe takes his shot, firing a blue energy beam from his blaster…

…but Kylo’s force-aided reflexes are too quick. He grabs the blaster bolt in mid-air (something we’ve never seen before in Star Wars!). The sudden turn and zoom is a startling but effective shot, and once again the entire frame is saturated in red, from the fire in the background to the glow of the lightsaber in the foreground.

When Kylo orders the troopers to murder the villagers, the soldiers raise their weapons as the fire burns behind them. Their blaster fire is of course a ruby red.

FN2187 however does not fire. He hesitates and eventually lowers his weapon. As he does, the red around him grows more muted.

Later on the Star Destroyer, FN2187 removes his helmet and resolves to free Poe and escape the First Order. It’s a decision that comes as he stands in a crossroads between blue and…well this time it’s yellow, but you get the point!

As we are introduced to Rey, we see her scouring a crashed Star Destroyer, using a little blue light to guide her.

Meanwhile General Hux is introduced while his face is washed in deep red.

As the Falcon is being tractored, Finn assumes that it is the First Order that has captured them. The running lights of their capturing ship covers both terrified heroes in red…

…but as they prepare to hide, the light is overwhelmingly blue. It’s not the First Order that’s about to board the Falcon, it’s a pair of old heroes.

Han and Chewy enter the Falcon and from then until they run into Kanja Club, the cool blue of the ship’s interior overwhelms every scene.

Kanja Club is, of course, sporting red helmets.

At Maz’s cantina, Finn tries to run away from the coming fight with the First Order, by hitching a ride with this fellow, Sidon Ithano, nicknamed the “Crimson Corsair,” and the “Red Raider.” He represents Finn’s rejection of the call of the hero so of course he would be decked in red.

As Hux gives his speech to the First Order, the giant Nazi-like flag covers the screen in its red fabric.

Unlike the green lasers of the Death Star, the First Order’s super weapon fires a streak of red across the galaxy, destroying several worlds and killing billions in the process.

Han confronts his son on the crosswalk of Starkiller Base. The light we see shining from all around him is an evil red. Han is walking into a dangerous situation, but for the love of his son he goes.

Unlike Han, whose white shirt gives him a little bit of light. Kylo is dressed entirely in black. The red around him makes his face look like it is glowing with the evil color.

As Kylo tears up and confesses that he is being tempted (to the light) we see the red in his face extinguish, though not entirely. Han promises to help his son and reaches for Kylo’s lightsaber.

The light blue of the evening sky dims as the Starkiller weapon drains the last light of the nearby star.

As the last glimmer of light is extinguished…

Kylo becomes more menacing than ever.

The red lightsaber pierces through Han’s chest.

Kylo may yet be redeemed by the time the Sequel Trilogy is ended, but in this moment Han touches the face of a son he has lost.

On the darkened snow-covered planet, Kylo and Finn (and later Rey) battle, their lightsabers providing the only light in the area. Similar to Luke and Vader’s fight at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, the starkly contrasted colors of their blades provide all the visual clues we need to follow the darkened action.

As Rey finds Luke and extends to him his first lightsaber, the blue of the ocean covers the background. The final moment of the film is a tracking shot showing the two characters on the small island in the middle of the ocean. After so much red and evil had dominated the film, the movie ends with the assurance that hope has been found.

~~~

There’s a lot to take in when you watch The Force Awakens. But if you’re like me—a hardcore Star Wars fan—you’ll be watching it over and over for years and years to come. As you do, keep an eye out for all the ways JJ Abrams brought the story to life, by highlighting the eternal struggle between good and evil, light and dark, blue and red.

Cookie	Description
_pxvid	This cookie is used for detection of the browser and distinguishing whether it is a real user or malicious bot.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	This cookies is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-non-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	This cookie is used to keep track of which cookies the user have approved for this site.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-preferences	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Preferences".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-uncategorized	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Uncategorized".
CraftSessionId	This cookie name is associated with the Craft web content management system, where is functions as an anonymous session identifier.
csrftoken	This cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks
DSID	To note specific user identity. Contains hashed/encrypted unique ID.
JSESSIONID	Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests.
PHPSESSID	This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Description
b30msc
btc
CMST
cref
d
gpl
i
icts
ig_did
mdata
na_rn
na_sc_e
na_sr
na_srp
session_depth
visitor-id

Cookie	Description
__gads	This cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites.
__stid	The cookie is set by ShareThis. The cookie is used for site analytics to determine the pages visited, the amount of time spent, etc.
_ga	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, camapign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assigns a randoly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_60765351_1	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
ad-id	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content
demdex	This cookie is set under the domain demdex.net and is used by Adobe Audience Manager to help identify a unique visitor across domains.
DigiTrust.v1.identity	Registers data on visitors’ website-behaviour. This is used for internal analysis and website optimization.
dmvk	This cookie is set by DailyMotion who display videos, it registers statistical data of visitors' behaviour on the website.
gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
GPS	This cookie is set by Youtube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
is_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
sc_is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
v1st	This is set by DailyMotion to display videos.

Cookie	Description
__asc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__auc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__qca	This cookie is associated with Quantcast and is used for collecting anonymized data to analyze log data from different websites to create reports that enables the website owners and advertisers provide ads for the appropriate audience segments.
_cc_aud	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_cc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_dc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_id	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_kuid_	The cookie is set by Krux Digital under the domain krxd.net. The cookie stores a unique ID to identify a returning user for the purpose of targeted advertising.
_px2	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxff_tm	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxhd	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
ab	This cookie is generally provided by agkn.com and is used for advertising purposes.
ad-privacy	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content to the users.
ayl_visitor	This cookie registers data on the visitor. The information is used to optimize advertisement relevance.
bafp	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bafp_t	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_pl	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rf_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rt_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_t_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_td_2d31c94105a0aa6d1ceaea0c86c6b656	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bito	This cookie is generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bitoIsSecure	This cookies are generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bsc	The cookies is set by ownerIQ for the purpose of providing relevant advertisement
CMID	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPRO	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPS	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
dc_id	This cookie is used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator's permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers.
did	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
didts	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
dpm	The cookie is set by demdex.net. This cookie assigns a unique ID to each visiting user that allows third-party advertisers target that users with relevant ads.
eud	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
euds	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
everest_g_v2	The cookie is set under eversttech.net domain. The purpose of the cookie is to map clicks to other events on the client's website.
evo5_popin_instance	Prevents an interaction from reoccurring for visitors not accepting 3rd party cookies.
id	This cookie is set by DoubleClick (which is owned by Google) to build a profile of the website visitor's interests and show relevant ads on other sites.
IDE	Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
io.narrative.guid.v2	This cookie is generally provided by io.narrative.io and is used for advertising purposes.
KADUSERCOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
KTPCACOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
matchliveramp	This cookie is provided by w55c.net and is used for advertising purposes.
mc	This cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website.
mxpim	This cookie is generally provided by mxptint.net for advertising purposes.
na_tc	This is a Social Media sharing tracking cookie.
NID	This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users.
nnls	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxrc	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxvid	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
rlas3	The cookie is set by rlcdn.com. The cookie is used to serve relevant ads to the visitor as well as limit the time the visitor sees an and also measure the effectiveness of the campaign.

Cookie	Description
__jid	Cookies set on the website by the third-party commenting platform Disqus.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
disqus_unique	These cookies are set by Disqus so that users can comment on website/platform.
G_ENABLED_IDPS	The cookie is used by Google and is used for Google Single Sign On.
mid	The cookie is set by Instagram. The cookie is used to distinguish users and to show relevant content, for better user experience and security.
na_id	This cookie is set by Addthis.com to enable sharing of links on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
ouid	The cookie is set by Addthis which enables the content of the website to be shared across different networking and social sharing websites.
ov	This is a generic functional cookie that provides enhanced functionality and personalisation.
ts	This cookie is generally provided by PayPal and supports payment services in the website.
vuid	These cookies are used by the Vimeo video player on websites.

Red vs Blue and The Force Awakens

~~~

You might also like

FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

Recommended for you