If you don’t watch a lot of TV you can easily miss it, but if you do, you have probably asked why directors feel the need to add a yellowish tint when scenes are set in Mexico.
It takes a lot to make a film or TV show, that goes without saying. To make things work, there has to be a lot that goes right and it often takes scores of people to get things to flow to even produce something passable.
Some of the best things about a good TV show or film are things that go unnoticed, but has a purpose however.
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Some social media users have begun discussing one of those key things, creating a mood for a setting.
More specifically, when a show is set in Mexico, or other warm climates, the tint often shifts.
This can be especially true when the setting is normally in a place elsewhere in America.
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But why is that?
Well, there are a lot of possible reasons, but an overall a consensus hasn’t been completely agreed.
According to website TV Tropes, the reason for the change in tint is simply to signify a notable warmer setting. A yellow-tint can also be applied for places like a desert, rather than places that are in hot countries.
In addition to this, it can also help create a juxtaposition between two places, making the yellow tinted setting feel more ‘old-timey’
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However, according to the website, it can also be used to create a negative depiction of an area.
“Yellow in particular can evoke feelings of illness and jaundice, so this may have the additional effect of the new setting looking poor, dirty, grimy, and polluted, especially if contrasting scenes set in colder locations are colored naturally or with cooler tones,” the website said.
This potentially negative depiction has also been criticized and accused of being a way for westerners to create ‘racist’ depictions of foreign countries, according to a Matador Network report.
A business analyst from California whose family is from India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, spoke to the publication’s Elisabeth Sherman and said those that employ the yellow tint often play into stereotypes.
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The analyst, referred to as Sulymon said: “It’s upsetting. It goes hand in hand with how racist Westerners perceive these places and people, especially when you think about how vibrant and colorful these countries’ cultures actually are.
“Applying these filters plays into stereotypes about these places and the people who live there.”
So, the reasoning can be as simple as trying to show differences in temperature or location, or as complex as attempting to paint a negative outlook of a foreign nature.
Topics: Film and TV