Rhetorically Red

Red. We see this color everywhere, everyday: Streetlights, stop signs, clothing, blood, many restaurants, Christmas and St. Valentine’s Day, and even some internet hyperlinks. Given the variety of situations that the color red is in, one would have to assume that it means and appeals to different people. But, why does it appeal to different people? We will cover the myriad of appeals that red symbolizes. From pathos, to examples, to logos, red has a variety of meanings.

When it comes to pathos, the emotional appeal, red easily stands out. To an innumerable amount of people, red can mean different things. Some view it as an angry, hate-filled color. Others find red to be a kind and loving color. Those that view it as angry see blood and gore. Hence the term “So angry they see red.” On the other hand when red is a kind color, it is symbolic of hearts and love. This is why the predominant color of Christmas and St. Valentine’s Day is red. You see red cut-out hearts and ornaments and you don’t think of hate and blood and death. You think of love and peace and happiness.

Red is actually a favorite color to many different people. This is due to the fact that it symbolizes or reminds them of something they love. Paula McGlone, from Ireland, says that most of the UK sports teams have red on their clothing. Her sports club colors are black, and she loves the color red. Max Funky said his favorite color is red because it reminds him of the many video games he plays. Kim Knight likes red because of its vibrancy.

“It gets you energized and moving,” Knight stated.

Mandie Ruzicka also likes the color red. “I don’t f*ing know why I like the color. It’s just a f*ing good color! I just f*ing like it!”

I, too, like the color red. Many people say that it accents my facial color, which is usually either pale or blushed. When I have a pale tone to my face, people say it makes me look a bit darker. When I am flushed, red apparently pulls that color out of me, making me look angry or embarrassed.

In contrast, there are people who hate the color red. Kelli Means thinks that “it is an ugly color, like brown. I look bad in the color red. It’s too close to pink, which is another color that I absolutely despise.”

While skin tone may not have to do with emotions specifically, it does have an indirect attachment. If you see someone wearing red, you will most likely automatically assume something about them. Hey, they are stylish, or They do not look good in that color. You may even think that a person looks sexy or ugly, or even suspicious in the color red. The color may not purposely strike a specific emotion, but the thoughts that are spurred are based upon the emotion, or cause the emotion themselves. Thinking someone is sexy or ugly is not an emotion, but it founds the emotion of lust or hate.

There are many examples of the color red. Streetlights and stop signs are seen everyday in towns that have them. You see red shirts almost everywhere you look. Many restaurants contain the color red in their logo. Streetlights and stop signs. When you see them, it means stop. When you note the red on a passerby’s clothing, it’s because that person wants to stand out.

Red is such a catchy color that many restaurants use it in their logo to be prominent: McDonald’s, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Wendy’s, Raising Cane’s, and Red Lobster. All of these dining locations have the color red as a part of their logo, and they are all famous restaurants. Coincidence? I think not. Yes, there are those places that don’t use red in their logo: Long John Silver’s, Cracker Barrel, Village Inn, Runza, and Perkins. How many of these restaurants pull in the revenue that matches the former?

Shopping centers also try to focus upon the color red: K-Mart, Shop-Ko, Target, PetSmart, and our own Westfield Mall. All of these stores contain red, even if it is just a small segment of the logo. The former companies all pull in millions of dollars a day, easily. They don’t even compare to Wal-Mart, however. And, even this store contains the color red in its logo. I can think of very few shopping centers that don’t contain red in their logo: Barnes and Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy, and American Eagle. None of the latter stores can accumulate the revenue of the former, even though they are national and international corporations.

Even grocery corporations contain the color red. Safeway, Affiliated Foods (a grocery store corporate chain) Bag ‘n Save, HyVee, and Super Saver are five national companies that include red in their names. Albertson’s is the only grocery store I know of that doesn’t contain red in its name, or logo.

Red even appeals to one’s logic. When you see red while driving, biking, or walking you know that you are to stop. This only applies to red that is involved with road laws. You may walk past a person wearing a red shirt, but you don’t stop…unless you plan on talking to them. Stoplights and stop signs signal for a driver to stop driving until the light turns green, or you look and it’s safe to cross past the sign. While it may be the law that states one must stop at a red sign, it also point to one’s logic. You see a stop sign and think red while driving means danger, or warning. Maybe I should stop and look both ways before driving into this intersection. So that’s what you do; you stop. When walking or biking and you come to an intersection, you see the light on the other side says “Don’t Walk.” Your logic tells you that you better not step out into the street unless you hazard wanting to get run over.

In the end, red can have a multitude of meanings under different contexts. It can affect the emotions, meaning anything from lust to hate. Red is a vivid color, one that catches the eye, which is why so many retailers use it. It even appeals to one’s logic when it comes to stoplights and stop signs. www.about.com is a great website about the color red and its origins and hidden means. It gives some “red language,” definitions of the color, matching color combinations, and design patterns (like feng shui) using the color red. Now, when you see the color red, what are you going to think? Oh, red shirt, I should stop. Or, Ooh! A red shirt! I think that is a nice shirt. I should tell him/her! I’m banking on the latter. Otherwise, you won’t be moving when I’m around. I love red shirts and I wear them all the time. Yes, people do stop, but they do so to read my shirt. This is due to the fact that most of them have some witty saying on them. Hmm. I wonder what color I should analyze next. I think I’ll go with blue.