Now Showing: Color Stereotypes

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This color stereotyping of blue and pink was soon used by creators of cartoons and animations to signal the audience on the gender of the characters. Often times, character designs in one cartoon tend to have a lot of similarities so color is one way of differentiating characters by one glance. In fact, due to this color stereotype, a TV show for kids became controversial. I suppose we all know Blue, the star of Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues. Many kids, including adults have always thought that Blue was boy well in fact, Blue is a girl. The fact that Magenta, Blue’s pink-haired dog friend, was a girl even helped the viewers into thinking that Blue was a boy considering there were episodes wherein they enjoy each other’s company such as visiting each other’s house was like going on a date. “The star of Blue's Clues, Blue, is a girl puppy” – Nickelodeon confirmed it through their website.

Some say that color-coding characters is for the viewer’s convenience. It is a way to aid the viewers in getting to know the characters they watch. However, we should not forget that these colors are just a sneak peek of the characters personality. The creators tease us with entertaining colors as signifiers to raise our curiosities on the characters and the program. Watching more of the show will reveal the true characteristics and personalities of the characters rather than pieces of hints and clues.

Works Cited

"Blue's Clues Characters" Nick Jr. Viacom International Inc. , 09 Apr. 2015. Web . 19 Apr. 2015 http://www.nickjr.com/blues-clues/about-blues-clues/blues-clues-characters.html>

"Color-Coded Characters." tvtropes. n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"Evil Wears Black" tvtropes. n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"Good Colors Evil Colors" tvtropes. n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"Pink Girl Blue Boy." tvtropes. n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Barden, Nicola. "The Development of Gender Identity." American Counselling Association VISTAS Online. n.d. PDF File

Leong, Tim. "Supergraphic : Good vs Evil." wired. 16 July 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

LoBue, Vanessa ; DeLoache, Judy. "Pretty in pink: The early development

of gender-stereotyped colour preferences."British Journal of Development Psychology. 2011. PDF File.

Rosenblatt, Stephanie. "Conveying Emotion Through Color" iml.jou.ufl.edu. Web. 19 Apr. 2015

Zammito, Veronica. "The Expression of Colours". PDF File.

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