Nascent Drama

[The Dork Lord]

Some people associate black with evil and destruction as it naturally absorbs all light and even the Black Hole is described as 'nature's ultimate fury'.

 

[The Dork Lord]

This use of the word and its associations carries over from night and objects to people as well.

 

[The Dork Lord]

In traditional class-based Western cultures, pale skin indicated genteel domestic or intellectual indoor-work as opposed to rough outdoor labor in the fields.

 

[The Dork Lord]

Aspects of this black/white opposition are not unique to the West, as, for example in the Indian varna system and in Japanese geisha makeup.

 

[The Dork Lord]

African, Afro-Caribbean and African-American writers, such as Frantz Fanon, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Ralph Ellison, identify a number of negative symbolisms surrounding the word "black", arguing that the good vs. bad dualism associated with white and black provide prejudiced connotations to color terminology for race.

 

[The Dork Lord]

Beliefs, religions and superstitions

 

[The Dork Lord]

Black is a symbol of mourning and bereavement in Western societies, especially at funerals and memorial services.

 

[The Dork Lord]

In some traditional societies, within for example Greece and Italy, widows wear black for the rest of their lives.

 

[The Dork Lord]

In contrast, across much of Africa and parts of Asia, white is a color of mourning and is worn during funerals.

 

[The Dork Lord]

In English heraldry, black means darkness, doubt, ignorance, and uncertainty. [2]

 

[The Dork Lord]

Symbolic dualism with white

 

[The Dork Lord]

Black magic is a destructive or evil form of magic, often connected with death, as opposed to white magic.

 

[The Dork Lord]

This was already apparent during Ancient Egypt when the Cush Tribe invaded Egyptian plantations along the Nile River.

 

[The Dork Lord]

Evil witches are stereotypically dressed in black and good fairies in white.

 

[The Dork Lord]

Melodrama villains are dressed in black and heroines in white dresses.

 

[The Dork Lord]

In many Hollywood Westerns, bad cowboys wear black hats while the good ones wear white.

 

[The Dork Lord]

In computer security, a blackhat is an attacker with evil intentions, while a whitehat bears no such ill will. (This is derived from the Western movie convention.)

 

[The Dork Lord]

Historical events

 

[The Dork Lord]

A "black day" (or week or month) usually refers to a sad or tragic time.

 

[The Dork Lord]

The Romans marked fasti days with white stones and nefasti days with black.