Nascent Drama

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Black can be seen as the color of authority and seriousness.

 

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In Japanese culture, kuro (black) is a symbol of nobility, age, and experience, as opposed to shiro (white), which symbolizes serfdom, youth, and naiveté.

 

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Thus the black belt is a mark of achievement and seniority in many martial arts, whereas in, for example, Shotokan karate, a white belt is a rank-less belt which comes before all other belts.

 

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These ranks are called dan.

 

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In the long-running Japanese tokusatsu TV series Super Sentai (and its American counterpart, Power Rangers), black is one of the colors worn by the eponymous heroes.

 

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Black was the color of the Arab dynasty of Abbasid caliphs, which is the reason black is frequently used in flags of Arab countries.

 

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The riot control units of the Basque Autonomous Police in Spain are known as beltzak ("blacks") after their uniform.

 

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Traditionally, police vehicles ("panda cars") were in black and white.

 

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Black Watch is the senior Highland Regiment of the British Army.

 

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Clothing

 

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Black tuxedos are worn at formal occasions known as black tie functions.

 

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Many performers of European classical music or other serious art music dress in black for a concert or recital.

 

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Lawyers and judges often wear black robes.

 

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Academic dress includes black robes for graduates.

 

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Black is worn by religious figures within Christianity, e.g. priests (especially of the older religious denominations), monks and nuns.

 

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Black is worn by Hassidic Jews.

 

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Black is worn by some Muslim women; see List of types of sartorial hijab for photographs of examples such as the abaya.

 

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Members of the modern goth and emo subcultures dress predominantly in black (see also goth fashion).

 

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Demography

 

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The term "black" is often used in the West to denote the race of people whose skin color ranges from light to darker shades of brown. For a discussion of usage, see the main entry at Black people and color terminology for race.