Yellow. When you picture the color yellow, you might find yourself being submerged in a
feeling of warmth as you think of what the color signifies. Energy. Joy. New beginnings.
However, in India, the color yellow represents sacrifice, and more specifically, the sacrifice of
oneself for a larger purpose. This is a color I will always have the humbling experience of being
acquainted with whenever I refer back to my film project. A project that I was not so keen to
begin with, yet in the end, it offered me a larger perspective on the meaning of integrity. I found
myself journeying to India to revisit and retell the story of revolutionaries who were famously
known during the war on independence nearly two decades ago. On August 1st, 1967, my
partner Sonakshi and I arrived in New Delhi in an effort to find people to help relay any
information they might know of. We eventually stumbled across two men by the names of Arash
and Mohan who reluctantly agreed to help us with our documentary-styled
rendition of the story.
As the filming of the story progressed, not only did I learn about the colorful culture surrounding
me, I also heard stories the about the notorious political corruption and turmoil which seemed to
have risen once again. We heard news that there had been a military plane that crashed in a
nearby village due to the government’s role in an illicit trade of faulty parts for a larger profit.
Upon hearing this news, my three companions insisted that we lead a protest outside of the
government building in order to educate the public of the tragedies that took place. As a large
crowd gathered around Arash, Mohan, and Sonakshi; I came to the chill inducing realization that
the lives of my actors paralleled the idealism of the revolutionaries that they were meant to
portray in my film. I uncovered the lens of my camera to capture the police brutality taking place
so that the media could alert the people in the area. I looked around and captured the people who
surrounded me. The people here embodied the reason the war that took place years prior. People
who will stop at nothing to fight for independence and justice. People who are painted in yellow.
Find the shape and tell it!
32 comments:
Dang Nita! Deep much?! Only you would write something about the color yellow and turn it into something huge. That was a pretty good story. When I was first reading this, I thought that it was being told by your perspective, until I realized that it was a character you created. Nice use of detail throughout the story!
Great Job!
Elisabeth Domond
Period 5
Wow, your piece was great. It was so realistic and informative. I love the unique direction of your piece, I have not come across a piece like yours. In addition I enjoyed the detail and the topic provided by your work. You successfully brought to light the overall issue smoothly with in the piece. In conclusion, awesome job and amazing work!
- Merosa Uiagalelei
Per. 5
This piece was very informative and cool and helped me think about other things now so good job.
-Kamau O
P.2
Great piece! I have a new understanding on the color yellow! I love this story because it is retelling the story of a revolution in a very realistic informative manner. The ending was my favorite because the narrator started off wanting to film about a revolution that took place years ago and ended up in the start of a revolution in the making. People fighting for their freedom once more and having the narrator actually see one in the process. Great story!
Great piece! I have a new understanding on the color yellow! I love this story because it is retelling the story of a revolution in a very realistic informative manner. The ending was my favorite because the narrator started off wanting to film about a revolution that took place years ago and ended up in the start of a revolution in the making. People fighting for their freedom once more and having the narrator actually see one in the process. Great story!
this piece was cool and good i liked it.
I'm so glad you shared this story with us. I especially like that you made this historical fiction, so there's a sense of reality in your story. It is an especially inspiring story, even though the title makes it out to be a simple story about a mere color. It's also pretty cool that your character is creating a documentary, it kind of creates possible frame story.
I really liked this piece because it really brought me in. I could really picture everything that you wrote. This reminded me of alot of those movies about journalist. Great job
Nehemiah Barnett
Period 4
Awh Nitttaaa! This piece was really great! I liked how this does in some ways or even many ways relate to your traditional and cultural ethics and values! I find this completely inspiring as well. You took the simplest of colors, yellow, and brought out its beuty. I also loved how you took a first person outlet to the story because it had be as the reader more invested in what I was reading! (: The use of a journalist to lay out the story was a fantastic story piece idea! Great job once again!
wow just wow this was an amazing story and I can't believe what a powerful message it had. I actually never knew that the color yellow signified sacrifice I learned a lot just from these few sentences. Your story was impacting but I'm having trouble realizing if it real or not but it was still a great story. I liked how you took such a simple color and turned it into something beautiful. I also enjoyed the perspective of the girl and how everything unfolded quickly. Great Job.
I really like your re-definition of the color yellow in this story, you brought new sentimental and emotional background to the color as it was filmed. Colors are always believed to kind of have their own simple personalities like how red means dangerous or angry or blue is sad and yellow is happy, but yellow isn't just 'happy'; there was deep historical pain behind it.
Great Work
Marian Hollinquest
Period 4
YES! I absolutely love this, the message, the deep underlying details which come to graphically add meaning to the color Yellow. Although this is dated back in time, the struggle is still going for many countries to feel the color yellow and be able to rightfully live it out. I adore the way in which you describe how the color adds to the meaning of the movie and war. Honestly, I loved this piece.
You have created such a great piece. I love the way that you define this new meaning of "yellow" through the character's experience. I felt as though I was right there by his side as he filmed his project. The way you also show your character's change as he goes from disliking the project to becoming so absorbed in the cause that they join a protest. The last line of your story is my absolute favorite despite its simplicity. The way in which you connect the yellow and sacrifice with the revolutionaries around him is simply awesome because as the speaker comes across the revelation that he is now immersed in such a beautiful culture of revolution and justice, I, the reader is almost transported in the place of the narrator and can vividly feel the same awe and praise for these "yellow" people.
Danielle Delgado
Period 1
4/2/2015
Nita, I absolutely loved your piece and the deeper underlying meaning of it. I really liked how you took what was a simple color and gave it an entirely new perspective with an honorable representation. The organization of the story was set up nicely to give background on the revolution in India and relate it back to how those who sacrifice for a better cause are signified by this beautiful color. The detailed imagery helped me envision what it was like at this time in India and what the sacrifice entailed. Overall this was an excellent piece of writing.
Nita, I love how you turned a simple color into a great representation of life. I never even realized that yellow was the color of sacrifice. I always saw it as the color of the sun and sunflowers, but now I realize that the color does not just represent happiness but also the struggle to obtain that happiness. I loved the imagery you used in describing the people in India and their protest of the government, and how you compared that protesting to the revolutionaries of the past in India. I loved how you gave such significance to a color. Great job!
-Sophia Bobadilla P.1
I honestly thought it was an autobiographical sort of thing at first, until I realized that you were not alive in 1967. Anyways, I really enjoyed your blog entry and I really like how you gave the color yellow such a deep meaning, and how you first started by just saying the word and telling us the usual connection we make with that color. Great job!
Anthony Hurd
Period 4
Nita! I really enjoyed your piece! I, like others, thought that this was an autobiographical piece at first. I enjoyed how you made it into a reflection of what was actually happening in India at that time. Amazing job!
At first I too thought this was an actual experience until the date but either way great story and message to always fight for what is right!
This piece appeals to me differently than the others and I enjoyed it a lot. I loved how the color yellow took on a much larger meaning. I loved the historical background described in order to help teach your audience the meaning. I never knew yellow represented sacrifice. Loved it!
Haylie Duncan period 4
Oh wow, Nita! I really liked your entry. I was so confused why this was a flash fiction until I actually read it (lol). But, I really liked your piece. I didn't know about yellow being more than just a color, so that was really cool. I loved how you wrote it as a narrative because it really allowed the reader to experience the speaker's journey with them. I also loved your imagery with explaining how most people feel towards the color yellow because I didn't even notice that I feel that way until you highlighted it. Great work, Nita!!
Nita, great piece. I honestly loved the way you were able to integrate such an impacting and relevent topic in one fictional story. The message behind it is quite international and I think a story like this helps people here in America realize what's going on around us. The basis of your story off the color yellow gave the piece a lot more depth, because you made it symbolize a message rather than a feeling or trait of a person. I think it was a creative and very original of you to show a piece that commented on not only society, but also politics and international conflicts.
Ellamae Armado
P. 1
I had no idea that they color yellow could be so significant, and that's amazing and also adds to the speakers point of view. I really got a sense of how important this experience is to them. The imagery you used to help the reader feel the things highlighted in your story, not only by the color itself, but by your word choice is just great!
Katelynn Gutierrez period 4
Amazing Nita! I loved the way you pulled me deeper in the story. What interested me was your title. Honestly, it's my favorite part because we all should, in a way, be painted yellow. Sacrifice has so much meaning that comes down to a person that shows their love or passion for something so much that they are wiling to give themselves up to make a change. The story was beautifully written and insightful when it comes to history and culture of India. Thank you for sharing your creative piece!
Nita...Wow. Just wow. Your piece was inspirational, and I loved learning about the symbolism of the color yellow. I never really appreciated the color much, but it's because I didn't realize how much it could mean. Thank you for sharing this story! I loved the people you included and the amount of detail of each scene. Truly a powerful story and I'm so happy you shared it with us!:)
Wow this is so deep! I couldn't believe that a color could have such significance. This was a story that was easily pictured in my mind as I read it. Great job!!! -Altierre Paris Per.2
Awh Nita this was a really great story! I love how much detail and imagery you used in this. I felt like I was actually in the story & I was able to picture the events in my mind in such great detail. I loved how deep this was and what the color "yellow" is portrayed as in India. It's so amazing to see what other cultures believe in and what they see in things and to bring upon something so simple as a color to signify something more to it than just the color is intense and amazing. Great story! I loved it!
-Period 5
This was an amazing narrative, because of the fact that the speaker first hand experiences the connotation of the color yellow in India, and becomes a part of something so great. I really enjoyed how he got a big learning lesson from his project. I also liked how you made it a bit political and gave a voice to the people.
Jacob Valdez
Period 4
Nita,
I find that this story left a little impression on me and I will now see the color yellow symbolically standing for sacrifice. I’m curious as to who Arash, Mohan, and Sonakshi are and will see if this reference to a documentary film is actually a real movie I can hopefully find. Thank you for writing this.
-Gian Velasquez
Honestly this story reminded me of Nigeria. The corruption and the lack of emotion from the government to the people brought back the war stories my uncle used to tell me before Nigeria won its independence. They way you used yellow in the symbolic way that you did will change they way I see the color yellow and people from around the world. This is a great story!
Nita, I think that your piece is very powerful. I like the fact that your syntax and diction was straightforward, simple, and to the point, yet managed to carry heavy emotion and passion. I like that you portrayed the color yellow in two ways, and that it is an item that symbolizes two contrasting ideas. Great job on using simple word choice to have an even stronger effect on the audience!
Your story is so informative and interesting. it really captures the audience attention. I loved reading about the Indian culture. -Sophia Rivas
Great Job! I really love how you described such emotion through the words that you used. It gave me a new perspective on the color because I did before reading this as you said in your piece believed the color yellow was happy and joyful.
Alyssa Anastasi
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