Sketches of Light and Dark

This is a fun early sketch of the main title theme of 6FU.



Some crazy bizarre differences that I have to say I'm glad they changed for the actual title sequence. In the end product I love the attention to detail with the embalming fluid going into the body, watching the levels of fluid move down, the flowers dying, and the cotton ball being brushed over the eyebrow of the dead person's face. As well, beginning with the crow and tree and ending with the crow and tree has some nice symbolism.

And how everything blows out to white at the end. This happens in every episode; every time someone dies the show fades to white. When it cuts to a new scene (or commercial), it fades to white. When each show ends it fades to white. Which has lead me to wonder about our obvious fascination with white and black, the two colours that are not even technically colours, that represent light and dark, life and death. But in some cases, life is represented as a dark reality and death is the serene afterlife.

The scene where Nate buries Lisa is poignant because of its play with dark and light. There's the white of the headlights, Nate's shirt, the body bag (which has always struck me as interesting since I always think of body bags as being black). Then there's the black of the night sky, the darkness of the grave Nate digs, the silhouette of the Joshua tree in the background. And towards the end, the light of an early dawn.



There are the obvious reasons for the choice made to have the scenes and episodes fade to white (especially right after someone has died). When you die you supposedly go towards some kind of light. You move upward, towards the fat fluffy clouds, the pearly white gates of heaven (if you believe in that sort of thing). You are relieved of the burden of dark reality. It's all very dramatic.

We are manipulated by colours. We can't help but attach emotion to, not only colours, but different shades of colours. We have different names for blue, like baby blue, navy blue, sky blue. These evoke an automatic emotional response. The sun is yellow and warm, therefore yellow is a colour that makes us feel warm and cozy. Vegetables are green, so green represents a healthy crunchy goodness for our bodies. Okay, that's maybe not an emotional response, but associations with food can apply as well. There are times where I've watched a horse grazing on green grass in the middle of a pasture on a hot sunny day and I can hear the horse's teeth chomping and grinding away, turning that grass into a florescent frothy paste and all I want to do is get down on my hands and knees and eat that grass.

We seem to give colours these meanings that aren't intrinsic. Red represents passion, strength, intensity, and is, perhaps, slightly dangerous. Pink is love and romance. We specify and attribute certain colours to different holidays and seasons. Orange is obviously Thanksgiving (or Halloween, whichever you decide to celebrate as your seasonal holiday). Red and green are Christmas. Pink is Valentine's day. We have visual cues in our world for our emotional state.

A while ago I started working on two poems, one called Sketches of White the other called Sketches of Black. I found definitions for each colour and worked with those as found poems. Then I incorporated lines from the definitions and wrote poems around those. Here are the found poems and the excerpts from these pieces.

Sketches of White (excerpt)

having the colour of fresh snow
or milk, which results from the reflection of
nearly all visible wavelengths, belonging
to people with naturally pale skin, unblemished,
especially in character, heated to such a high
degree that the substance turns white in colour,
the transparent liquid that surrounds the yolk
of an egg and turns white when the egg is cooked,
the part of the eyeball surrounding the iris, the white
outermost ring of an archery target or a shot
that lands in it, a white or light-coloured piece
or set of pieces in a game such as in chess or
checkers, or the player using them, a butterfly
that is predominantly white in colour, to make
or leave blank spaces in something, especially
something printed, to become or cause something
to become white, relating to a pure musical tone
that lacks warmth, colour and resonance.

The light that comes through the crack in the door,
the squares of the screen window, the part of the eyeball
surrounding the iris the slit between your legs, it bends
finds itself in compromising positions. The petals
of an orchid, velvet to the touch. Cuticles. The wind
is white. It blows knives against your cheeks. You used
to send my family sheets and pillowcases, starched stiff

as quills.  The tiles of your kitchen, the long thin cigarettes

you would smoke.  Your hair, a silvery ashen disk circling

your head. Halo. the white outermost ring of an archery

target or a shot that lands in it
Even at night there is white in the streets, headlights

are a blur in puddles, bags people are carrying, the heaviness

that settles in all of us.

Sketches of Black (excerpt)

being the color of coal or carbon
with no light
served without adding milk or cream
dealing with very serious things in a humorous

and often macabre way
carried out in the utmost secrecy
filled with anger or hostility
covered with mud, soil, or any other

dark substance

causing or associated with severely

bad conditions or misfortune
extremely dishonourable and deserving the most

serious criticism
evil, or associated with evil
a color value that has no hue as a result of the

absorption of nearly all light
from all visible wavelengths
a pigment or dye that is the color of carbon or coal
fabric or clothing that is black in color
complete darkness
a black piece in a game such as chess or checkers
a player in games such as chess or checkers who is

playing with the black pieces
a black ball in snooker, which is the last ball to be sunk

Perhaps this makes me evil,
or associated with evil, and the heart that I swore
was an accurate compass, weeding me along
the bottom of the ocean, guiding my hands to new
invertebrate beasts, had been passed down through a
generation whose colour value has no hue
as a result of the absorption of nearly all light

from all visible wavelengths,
a pigment or dye.
That is the colour of carbon or coal,
the burn that settles in pocked ashes, or a drag queen’s
sequined feathery eyelashes. Don’t touch me
was all you mumbled when I reached for your hand.

Between us, the hood of the car, space coloured by

the complete darkness, by a black
piece in a game such as chess or checkers. Always a player
in games such as chess or checkers, who is playing
with the black pieces.
Snake eyes, rattle in the night, screech of
rubber smoking the pavement, and your foot

on the gas.  There is no time left to know you.
A black ring. A target. A black ball in snooker.
Too many accidents cause us to be weary. To remain

wary.  the last ball to be sunk.


Black and white, dark and light. These two colours are how we make sense of the world, how we order it out of chaos, how we make choices and how we defend those choices. How we shape the world into sense. Even those of us who continually see the grey in ideas and situations, can't help but stumble into a more confined territory. And since black and white aren't actually considered colours, we are essentially colour blind.