A Crimson Mask: Color vs. B&W in bloody matches

[AnvilForever]

There was a thread created for whether or not blood should be used in matches, but I wanted to create this thread to discuss the switch to black and white TV when blood is used in a match.

The general reason why WWE switches to black and white in the past few years when blood is spilled is to make the "shock" of the blood more bearable for younger viewers. However, when I first saw the use of black and white, I didn't think it was for that reason. I first saw it used during a last man standing match between HHH and Orton, and I thought it added to the drama. The sight of Orton brutalizing HHH and the close-up of Hunter's blood-covered face was made more shocking by the stark black and white imagery.

Consider the use of black and white in other forms of media. Take for example, the film American History X. In that film, the plot is shown in an anachronistic fashion, with events in the plot's present shown in color and events in the past taking place in black and white. The B&W events show the main characters days as a violent Neo-Nazi and his painful, life-changing experiences in prison. Without color, other elements of those scenes are emphasized more, especially the horrible actions of the Neo-Nazis.

The same idea applies in wrestling. Try this: find a video of a Hell In A Cell match with a good deal of blood. The one between DX and the McMahons in 2006 is a good one. Start watching the match in color, and once someone gets busted open, switch to black and white. Suddenly, the match feels more dramatic, serious, and shocking. Without the colors of the lights and the crowd, the eyes are drawn to the walls of the cell, giving a more claustrophobic feeling. Also, without the bright red of blood to draw the eye to the gory face, the wrestler's entire body receives equal amounts of focus, which makes the impact of a chair shot or a clothesline feel bigger. The blood is still there, because of its dark contrast, but it doesn't overpower the rest of the action.

I support using black and white when large amounts of blood are involved in matches. It's a much better way for WWE to deal with the blood in a "PG" environment than having doctors stop the match. Black and white adds to the dramatic tension of the match and, when used properly, can send the message that this is no ordinary match.

 

[Headman]

I'm curious as to what the obsession is with blood as of late? Anyway, I see no problem with their current system of going to black and white. Seeing someone bleeding from their head is a pretty intense image, and I think the black and white does a good enough job toning it down. I think I'd rather that than have my kid blasted in the face with a bloody mess lacking the context of how he got that way.

 

[HBsam31]

This is very interesting to me and I think it is a great idea. I can add a bit more to it to. I had a college media class, and they showed us the movies Raging Bull and Rocky to compare the fight scenes from each movie. Now I understand movies are on film and this is tv, and I am wondering if it still translates the same way. Anyway, what they showed us was how much clearer fight scenes are in B&W. The punches land crisper as opposed to color where the landing punch becomes blurred and blotchy. Watch the fights in those movies in slow motion and you can see the difference clearly. Keep in mind this was before hi def tv to, but it is interesting none the less. That being said I really think it would add more drama to the matches that have blood, and the OP is right in that you would not just focus on the blood. All the other moves would have more impact as well. Very interesting thread and I am all for it.

 

[alistahr]

This is very interesting to me and I think it is a great idea. I can add a bit more to it to. I had a college media class, and they showed us the movies Raging Bull and Rocky to compare the fight scenes from each movie. Now I understand movies are on film and this is tv, and I am wondering if it still translates the same way. Anyway, what they showed us was how much clearer fight scenes are in B&W. The punches land crisper as opposed to color where the landing punch becomes blurred and blotchy. Watch the fights in those movies in slow motion and you can see the difference clearly. Keep in mind this was before hi def tv to, but it is interesting none the less. That being said I really think it would add more drama to the matches that have blood, and the OP is right in that you would not just focus on the blood. All the other moves would have more impact as well. Very interesting thread and I am all for it.

Thats a bad example. Rocky was a very low budget film, the film used in it wasnt the greatest, plus you gotta add the fact that color film wasnt at its full capacity at this time, black and white was. And thats one of the reasons why the quality of the film is much higher, also it may have been shot in 16mm film, but dont quote me on that, just saying cause the low budget.

anyways that logic can not be applied now, my point.

 

[HBsam31]

Thats a bad example. Rocky was a very low budget film, the film used in it wasnt the greatest, plus you gotta add the fact that color film wasnt at its full capacity at this time, black and white was. And thats one of the reasons why the quality of the film is much higher, also it may have been shot in 16mm film, but dont quote me on that, just saying cause the low budget.

anyways that logic can not be applied now, my point.

Yeah I kinda thought it was an outdated example. I got to reading, and I couldn't find what kind of film it was made on. It was something taught to me though so I can't take full credit for the bad example. However it still is an interesting tidbit, and I would like to see a better example of a movie to compare with Raging Bull. Raging Bull's budget was 18,000,000 compared to around 1,000,000 for Rocky. Raging Bull's fight scenes are really crisp, and still adds an aura to the fights. We got a little off topic here, but thanks for pointing out what you did because it got me reading about two of my favorite movies ever. I still hold to the fact that B&W would add a great deal to a wrestling match, and make the blood a little less in your face.

 

[bcwar]

The reason why the crazy 88s fight scene was in black and white was to avoid an NC17 rating when the film was released. It had nothing to do with any kind of "dramatic" effect.

 

[cm ben]

Yeah! Interesting post, OP. I think the switch the B&W is sort of cool and dramatic, too. It's a more drastic change in appearance than blood simply appearing, and if blood's function is to add drama to the match, then the switch to B&W certainly does that.

A while ago in another post, I think in the spam section, I wrote about how instead of guest hosts, RAW should get guest directors. I would love to see a match directed by David Lynch, you know? Really long zooms on the action with no cuts, or superimposed shots or something. If wrestling were somehow to embrace and emphasize the theatrical/cinematic aspect of itself more so than the sports side, I think it could lead to some really interesting results. Probably a lot of shitty ones, too. But B&W is a good step, even if its actual intention is to protect the kids, rather than add drama.

As an aside, alistahr, what do you mean by this:

plus you gotta add the fact that color film wasnt at its full capacity at this time

? By '76, color film was definitely the industry standard. I think the Raging Bull example is an alright one, but the success of its fight scenes should probably be attributed more so to Scorcese's directing chops/whoever the cinematographer was.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Blood is bad... it spreads diseases and puts anyone involved in the match in danger... The fascination with it comes from the illusion that the match is more exciting with it in... it isn't... in reality the moment someone juices the match is on a clock, as the longer it goes on the more risk there is... Sometimes people get hardway cut, you noticed WWE started stopping matches at one point... The minute someone starts losing blood, they are at risk of all kinds of problems if they keep exerting themselves... all it takes is one guy to collapse and the whole fed is in the poo...

Black and white does look atmospheric, but it shouldn't be advocated to protect kids so blood can be used... just get over blood not being in wrestling...

 

[ringthebell]

The black and white is a terrible idea. It doesn't add any special dramatic effect for me. It's blood for God sake, children know what blood is. The problem with the wrestling world today is, they all want to protect the little kiddies and don't want to display a bad image and are worried about a wrestler bleeding to death which isn't going to happen. For fucks sake, ECW wrestlers bled everywhere all god damn night because they didn't give a fuck and the fans loved it. That was passionate wrestling, not only for the blood deal, but for the technical wrestling and their loyalty to the fans and for having that extra drive to keep on going even when things got tough. There isn't one WWE puss boy that would bleed for an extended amount of time now a days because they have no balls.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

The black and white does only one thing for me.

As I have learned from past experiences with far more disturbing images, putting black and white effects on them only makes them slightly less graphic. I don't think it has ever been WWE's intention to use the B/W to censor blood but rather to make it a bigger deal.

I remember back a few years ago we would see people blade all the time. Cena at Judgement Day 2005, and Eddie Guerrero at the 2004 event spilled absolute buckets of blood. It really left little affect on me (despite being a child) because I was used to seeing guys bleed in matches every once in awhile. What WWE's intention to do with Black and White effects on blood replays is to emphasis that blood is a big deal when it comes around these days. It does make it seem a bit more brutal, the proof is in the Cena/Lesnar match highlights from Raw. It gives it a more serious tone than if it were to be in color. As you may have figured out I agree with the OP.

Kids know what blood is, it shouldn't affect them too much. Taking it away doesn't reinforce the PG rating as much some people might think, it more or less makes it a bigger deal when does actually happen. The black and white imagery just adds to that tone of shock and brutality WWE goes for with the rare occurrence of blood.

 

[Potatogod93]

Whether I get heat or not, blood is or atleast should be a part of wrestling. Guys used to juice in the 70's and 80's and it has a role. It definitely relates the story better to the audience and makes it appear more real, even it they know he juiced his forehead. You can't get hit with a chair in the head over and over again without a cut, oh that's right they've gotten rid of that too. Well, then you simply can punched in the forehead 30 times without blood it looks silly. Blood belongs. The Mania Cell match which I did love could have used blood let's be honest with ourselves.

The B&W idea for me doesn't cut it. For trying to sell to kids maybe, but like I said they used it in the 80's and early 90's. Hell, in '91 a snake bit Macho's arm. That was crazy, but I think the kids that watched it turned out fine. Wrestling is inherently violent no matter how many times Cena gets back up. Cena/Hart/Hogan keep getting up shows the comic book side of it, but even comic books are inherently violent. I don't think we should water it down. WWE has done the don;t try this at home and parents should tell there kids that these moves could seriously hurt someone so that kids don't piledrive each other. BUT we should stop trying to make it completely non violent because its not.

 

[Dilligaf]

The raw promo from Extreme Rules, where they faded between B&W and colour on John Cena was quite impressive, you could see below his head was colour, but his head was still B&W.

Blood/blading can be too excessive sometimes, especially when Ric Flair does it, like last year in TNA, I dont think there wasnt a confruntation/match where Flair didnt bleed.

I dont know whether Ric Flair gets off on blading himself, but it did take the piss.

And another time a few years back when Big Show bladed himself, just before the move he blatently was fiddling with his arm-pad (where he kept it), the the oppenents move came and he hit his head on somat, and the camera caught him blading.

Blood can be good to sell the match/rivalry, especially ifs its a genuine/accidental cut (ala Bob Holly), and blading sometimes helps it along, but again sometimes it can be too excessive (Flair, Kurt Angle as of recent)