Red for revolution

I went and saw Miss Saigon last night at The Civic.
It was quite a beautiful experience.

Set in Saigon in 1975 some pretty big ideas are expressed. Beauty, despair, wistful hope, bitter reality, the American dream, and most of all, sacrifice, give the eyes, ears, mind and heart plenty to do in two and a half hours of theatrical glory.

Early in the second act, the success of the Viet Minh sees Saigon established as Ho Chi Minh city, the American GI's gapping it as the red revolution conquers the city.

Red.

In this haunting scene the stage was flooded with dry ice and dyed blood red with light. As the soldiers marched and the gongs clanged I was struck by how much could be conveyed through colour, how much meaning was tied up in this and what this meant in Vietnam's context. For some, the greatest hope, for others, a death sentence.





So, you know, that was interesting enough, then today, on a normal Auckland street, in your general Auckland suburb, I drove past a house flying a Che Guevara flag. Just one of the 20th Centuries most influential revolutionary figures chilling out on someone's deck.

And again, here was the red.

This man who inspired thousands, perhaps millions, to fight for freedom, to fight for humanity, waving about in the rain. Che has long become a symbol for the fight against authority, boiled down to a stylized silhouette, and on this flag at least, swimming in red.


It's all rather interesting really.
Colour can just be colour, but it can also be so much more.

I guess we have a the French to blame for our fascination with revolution red. The sans-culotte's donned the bonnet rouge as a symbol for their quest for liberty and equality during the French Revolution. One minute a hat is for keeping your head warm, next time you look, boom! It's a political statement.

Whether for you red is a fire engine, communism, blood, fire or just a fave colour, I think it's worth acknowledging that if we let it, it can be a lot more for us.

I certainly be thinking twice about what it means for me when I don red, and what things I want to fight for, what freedoms I believe in. Some may say this is rediculous, but I'm redy for the challenge ;D