The consensus that every person sees colour differently is a fitting resolution to the ‘problem’ of Jeunet’s preferred aesthetic in Amelie (2001). Allan Cameron makes a distinction that is all too easily forgotten. Colour can be a light source, deliberately applied or symbolic (2021), yet we regard them interchangeably. Just because the city is ‘green’ doesn’t necessarily give it the symbolic association with nature- in fact, quite the opposite when digitally enhanced. Red and green call attention to their fabrication. Each of the three colours takes Cameron’s forms in Amelie, but orange is by far the most symbolic in its relation to childhood, even if that is filmic. Amelie’s individual perspective, not Jenuets, is orange.
Although we hold that orange reminds us of positive childhood experience, the perspectives of Amelie and Sara are emblematic of French and Indian cultures that remain unchanged- or at least, we prefer to believe. Maybe Amelie’s critics were reasonable to accuse Jeunet of falsely portraying a France that never existed, or promoting a nationalistic ideal. Regardless, Amelie’s fantasies compel her to find love, a longing that any solitary child, or grown up, receives through orange. This is the film’s child-orientated message. Similarly, children may wait years to visit other countries. Orange is the visual aid that lets us experience Sara’s Indian childhood, both lived and imagined. As new film memories, orange may blur those distinctions to wonderful effect.
The current essay is a three part essay, concluding Part 1 and Part 2 as seen below:
Orange as Childhood Perspective Part 1
Orange as Childhood Perspective Part 2
References
Cameron, A., 2021. Visceral Screens: Mediation and Matter in Horror Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
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