As constant consumers of visual stimuli, we humans often hope to see the elements we love most about our natural world reflected and exaggerated on screen, creating a larger-than-life image that we can connect to. Thus, as an innate part of film and the visual arts, color carries an inherent level of meaning; however, a common complaint from cinema goers in recent years is the lack of color-grading and bright visuals on the big screen. While this may soon become a lost art form, we can look no further than the 2013 film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” starring and directed by Ben Stiller, to see the beautiful use of color as a symbol for growth. As the film progresses, color guides us through the titular character’s journey to get out of his own head and allow his imagined world to slowly bleed into reality.
Feeling Blue
In literature and film, colors often have traditional meanings that symbolize a valuable element of the story. As one of the primary hues used in “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” particularly in the first act, blue as a representation of security and reliability takes center stage. As our title character moves through his day, he makes his way to the same office he’s been employed at for 16 years. Walter is dressed in a blue shirt and blue pants, and almost all the supporting and background characters are dressed similarly. Not only is the costuming playing into this very cool toned approach, but the lighting of the set utilizes a similar blue tint. Early in the film, we learn that Walter works for Life magazine, handling the negatives of all the photos printed in the publication. Even in a fast-paced and constantly evolving industry, his job has remained the same for almost two decades. Furthermore, these early scenes give us a glimpse into Walter’s personal life where he is responsible for the care and organization of his mother’s retirement, and that blue is able to communicate his reliability to the viewer.
It is, however, important to note that blue does not only represent these elements of security; perhaps more commonly, writing uses the color blue to communicate sadness and mundanity. While we might think blue originally represents the safety of his job, we begin to note that it might also show us he is lacking an innate part of the human experience: joy. Walter Mitty is a man who shies away from adventure and new experiences and finds himself dreaming of being the hero rather than living it. Following the death of his father at seventeen, Walter begins working – symbolizing his loss of innocence as he becomes the man of the house – and simultaneously represses his sense of wonder to fulfill his responsibilities. Ironically, this major shift is also marked by him eventually beginning a career at Life, the magazine whose motto preaches about life’s greatest adventures. Despite working for this company, Walter finds himself trapped in the darkest corners of the office, and the feeling of his day to day is exhibited in the mundanity of the fully blue background.
Orange You Glad?
On the opposite side of Walter’s story, we see the use of bright oranges and reds to highlight his action-packed fantasies. In literature, orange represents character traits like youth, joy, and optimism. As Walter embarks on his commute to work, the audience gets a glimpse into what the inside of his mind looks like: a world where he is the savior in a do-or-die moment, full of unexpected and outlandish events. It’s clear to the audience that Walter’s decisions in these fantasies aren’t responsible or safe, but they represent a passion and optimism that is true to him, however deeply buried. These fantasy moments, where Walter tunes out of his physical realm, are colored very differently from his reality; the lighting is warm and bright, and the editing saturates every color on the screen. This marks a clear distinction between his mind and body. The two are completely disconnected. These fantasies continue to play out in the first act especially, but it is not only in Walter’s mind where we see warmth seep through.
Despite Walter’s all blue attire, one of the first instances of orange in his real physical environment is the clementine cake his mother bakes for his birthday. We know that since his father’s death, Walter lacks a sense of youth, but this cake is his connection to the once bright and lighthearted life he had before. The clementine birthday cake, concurrently a symbol of his youth and aging, shows us that Walter has not totally lost the child he has inside. However, we never see him take a single bite from this cake, elucidating his hesitance to engage with the juvenile spirit his mother and sister are trying so hard to bring back out of him. Another note of warmth we spot in Walter’s clothing is the red pen cap sticking out from his shirt pocket. Being an employee at Life, where adventures are documented and magic captured in ink – whether written or photographed – this red pen represents Walter’s ability, no matter how small it may seem, to make his life noteworthy. Furthermore, we typically associate red pens with corrections and edits, potentially alluding to Walter’s upcoming journey to correct his mundane life and add a streak of passion and adventure, both often associated with the color red as well.
When Worlds Collide
Set on a journey to retrieve the last cover photo Life will ever publish, the second act forces Walter out of his comfortable life and out into the unknown. As our protagonist leaves the safety of his hometown and travels to Greenland, guided only by a few photos his mysterious colleague has left behind, the warmth of his action-hero fantasies permeates his dull day-to-day. At first, this shift is shown mostly in little spurts of color here and there, like in his orange airplane soaring over the great blue sea. Slowly, however, the grading of the film moves from the divisive and distinctive color-grading to a more balanced lighting, illustrating the intersection of his high stakes adventure fantasies and the logic and truth of his reality.
The blending of tones is not limited to lighting but appears in our character’s physical environment as well. When Walter encounters a group of sailors in his travels through Greenland, we see the clementine cake reappear, left behind by his elusive photographer friend. This nod to one of the film’s first scenes gives Walter the opportunity to reconnect with the youthfulness of his teenage years, willing to take risks and be his own hero. As you might have guessed, in this moment we finally see Walter take a bite out of that cake, accepting all the zest life has to offer.
Moving On Up
One of the most unique and subtle hints towards Walter’s journey in Stiller’s movie is the use of transportation. In the first act, Walter only uses the train once that the audience sees, and very few other forms of transportation. After all, he isn’t going anywhere. His transition into adventure and reconnection to his inner child is marked by his increased use of transportation and the safety of vehicles used. Walter’s first major trip is on the plane to Greenland. Statistically, airplanes are the safest form of travel in existence. Even though he’s stepping out, there is a certain level of protection and comfort inherent to air travel. Once at his destination, he rents a car to drive through the country (red, of course). His next vehicle is a helicopter, and Walter is made to jump right out of it and onto a ship in the open sea. After taking this boat ride to Iceland, Walter mounts a bicycle and rides it through the beautiful landscapes, feeling connected to the open air, even if at a higher risk of falling (which he does).
What we note is that as he moves through the story and discovers more of his true self, his means of transportation become less and less sheltered, as well as less safe. The distance between Walter and the outside world decreases little by little as he continues to let his walls come down and opens himself up to the possibilities of a new life. The last vehicle Walter guides, marking a major turning point in his story, is a skateboard. Having been a competitive skater prior to his father’s death, this serves as a vessel for his youth and joy to resurface. The only thing standing between him and the rest of the world now is a small board on two wheels.
Final Thoughts
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” quickly became one of my favorite movies after the first watch, as the optimism seeps through the screen and into the viewers lap, much how Walter’s fantasies seep into his life. By the end of the film, the tones are balanced, not leaning warm or cool but somewhere perfectly in the center. Walter finds the illustrious photographer and, subsequently, the final Life cover photo. In a poetic flourish, the picture depicts Walter – unaware that he’s being captured – in black and white. Even with no color at all, we can see the beauty that lies within this character’s heart, and it shines through to anyone who cares to look. Overall, the film is a masterclass in using color to tell a story that will truly brighten your life in an unexpected way.
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