FAST COLOR Explained | Brokenness & Generational Curses
A woman spent her life in hiding because of her supernatural abilities - but was there another message underneath?
Hi, it's Nykole and welcome to chroma film tv. In this video, I'll be taking a look at the 2018 film Fast color and exploring how a generational curse could've kept them from fixing. and without further ado, let's get into it.
in a small town, where the land was barren, food and water was scarce and the population was a fraction of what it once was -a woman named Ruth went on the run, but her reason for running had yet to be seen.
Her first stop was a rundown motel, cheap rooms and expensive water...She asked the clerk where they were, but before the clerk could answer, they were interrupted by a loud noise. The clerk went into a back room to check the noise before returning with a little girl, her daughter.
Ruth seemed distraught at the sight of the little girl and had flashbacks of an unknown location as she stared at the child.
After paying, Ruth hurried to her room and started to clean herself up and paid close attention to her wrists that were injured due to rope that was tied tightly around them.
After bandaging her wounds, she looked at a map and pointed to a location named Garrison. As she pointed, her hands started to shake uncontrollably and she frantically went around the room removing anything that could've fallen from the walls or off tables before getting on the bed and holding on to the posts to prepare for what was about to come. As she laid, her body went into intense convulsions and after everything was said and done, it's realized that this occurrence resulted in an earthquake. An earthquake in an area where they don't have earthquakes.
Because of this, Ruth was unable to stay at the motel due to the risk of being discovered and she left in a hurry, helped herself to a parked car and continued her run on the way to Garrison.
Along the way, she stopped for breakfast at a diner, where a seemingly nice man named Bill attempted to spark a conversation with her and buys her a cup of coffee. They exchanged a few more words, before he left and she stayed to finish her breakfast. As she left, she came face to face with an officer in the middle of recording the license plate of the stolen car she was driving.
Presenting himself as someone that wanted to help, Bill pretended to be someone she knew in front of the cop, this allowed her to leave with Bill without alerting the officer taking the report. Ruth got in Bill's car and they headed off. On their trip Bill asked Ruth more about herself, before letting her know that he knew exactly who she was and that he'd been looking for her to "Help" her by taking her with him.
Despite his attempt, she was able to get away and continued her journey on foot, to garrison.
After getting some assistance from a good samaritan, she finally made it to garrison and to her family home to see her mother smoking a cigarette on the porch. As her mother smoked, she was able to de and re-construct the cigarette she was holding with just the power of her mind. Her mother's ability came at no surprise to Ruth, which began to help explain where Ruth's powers came from.
Ruth and her mother Bo have been estranged, but despite Bo's initial reluctance, welcomed Ruth back into her life and into the life of Lilah her grand-daughter and Ruth's daughter.
During the family reunion, it's explained that as a little girl, Ruth was born with the same powers as her mother and daughter, but didn't know how to control it. Because of this, she started having seizures so powerful that they caused earthquakes and due to being young and feeling alone, left home in the hopes of discovering herself.
By the end of the story, Ruth and her mother were able to reconnect and the new bond Ruth and her daughter shared led to a renewed outlook on life with possibilities that once seemed out of reach.
Throughout the entirety of the film, the idea of brokenness resonated ..."if something's broken, it stays broken" and my first thought was that the inability to fix what was broken was a metaphor for their internal brokenness, shown through the physical objects they tried to repair. But my second and third thoughts were why were they broken and does this have anything to do with the family book?
WHY WHERE THEY BROKEN?
Ruth dealt with the fear of the unknown and the fear of failure. As a child, she didn't understand, or know how to control her powers and it didn't help that her mother was just as afraid and confused about what to do as she was. It was the beginning of her seizures and the brokenness that led her to become an alcoholic.
After getting sober, she was still unsure of herself and afraid of the kind of mother she would be. This would explain why she seemed troubled when she saw the little girl in the motel...and why thoughts of her daughter as a baby always triggered a physical response.
Ruth's fear of the unknown as a child and fear of failure as an adult caused her brokenness, Bo's inability to help Ruth as a child would've caused brokenness for her and Lilah would've dealt with some brokenness for not having her mother around. Their inability to fix may have been solely due to their power restrictions, but it could've also had something to do with their brokenness compounded by the family book and the words written in it.
GENERATIONAL CURSES
I may have not looked at it this way otherwise, but with the main characters being women of color, I thought of generational curses and how these curses have plagued our communities over the years.
Every family has some secret or some lie that was passed down or repeated over and over again, creating a reality that may not be true. These secrets can keep someone from knowing their true potential or it could destroy a person's life and if the truth is discovered it can cause a devastating blow for those that received the lie as truth.
I think the film touches on the effects of generational curses through the family book and reinforced with the repeated phrase.
The family kept a book of notes recorded by generations of women recounting their experiences with their powers. It helped to serve as a guide for the next generations of women, but these writings could've created a warped truth. The women that wrote in the book also spoke of a sadness or brokenness due to their powers - and this could've been the real cause for why they couldn't fix things. They didn't believe they could, so they couldn't.
I could be sideways on this theory, but it would help to give some logic behind why they were able to fix physical things at a particle level, but unable put large broken pieces back together. I mean, I could just take the film at it's word, but we don't do that over here.
THE COLORS
The changes of color worn by the Ruth, Bo and Lilah were few and subtle, but gave a visual representation of their mental and emotional states throughout the course of the film.
Ruth
She started off as being someone with a tough exterior, but still vulnerable on the inside, shown by the light, pastel colors under the black trench coat.
After getting back home, she's still fearful, represented by the yellow sweater, but ready to be renewed, represented by the green backpack the bar owner gave her and reiterated by the green pants she wore while sitting at the dinner table.
When they go outside to test her powers, she's wearing the same yellow sweater, but with jeans. This could've been an oversight, but if it was on purpose, the blue could represent the beginnings of inner peace and awakening as she began to repair the part of herself that was broken.
In the end, she's wearing white, blue and tan. Showing her to be a new person, clean and free of her previous fear. Now calm or peaceful, shown through the blue - and stable shown through the tan, a shade of brown, she's ready to take on the world that she and Lilah will meet.
Bo
Bo wore variations of blue, purple and gray throughout the film. Bo has complete understanding and control of her supernatural abilities shown through purple that can represent spiritual awareness or wisdom. Purple can also stand for royalty, which could be tied to Bo's role as a mother and grandmother.
Blues can represent calm or peace. but can also represent sadness stability, intuition and wisdom, qualities that would describe Bo.
Gray can mean to be neutral or unbiased and this would be shown through her relationships, especially with Ruth.
Bo was adamant that Ruth wouldn't be permitted to disrupt Lilah's life, but at the same time, she still loved Ruth and offered herself as a support system.
Lilah
Lilah wore a lot of yellow and blue. Yellow can stand for joy or happiness, which made sense for a little girl with Lilah's upbeat and confident personality. Unlike the blues worn by Bo, Lilah's blues are more vivid, leaning more towards being exhilaration or engagement, shown through Lilah's personality and her outlook on her future.
The Film is like a visual representation of a mental block or spiritual veil being lifted. Scales were removed from Ruth's eyes, and her vision became clear, allowing her to see the colors - like an awakening of some sort. what kind of awakening? that's for another video
The seeing of colors is common for those that meditate. It can be tied to healing or spiritual enlightenment, can serve as a guide to personal growth, trigger a deeper understanding or represent an ancient wisdom.
The film doesn't deep dive into any practices the women and Lilah carried out, but based on their powers inherited through the bloodline and how they were manifested via meditation- the family women and Lilah, put to mind a coven or members of a coven without stating it outright.
The Note Ruth received confirming the existence of a woman with the same powers, helps to confirm the coven theory. Watching them conjure to fix reminded me a lot of the American Horry Story episodes regarding the witches coven. The coven members weren't all related, but the powers of each were inherited through the bloodlines of their families.
Explaining this conclusion is a little tricky because Meditation is a broad and wide subject with many variations and intricacies, and it can be done to get closer to the Most High or to empty ones mind and vessel, leaving it empty to be filled with whatever - but I do think it's an important part of this film that can be easily overlooked if one isn't paying attention to it.
The idea of brokenness resonated throughout the film. The broken powers, the broken family relationships and the brokenness felt through each individual gave a visual tale of how being broken has an impact on ones ability to live a more peaceful or fulfilling life.
The film also gives a remedy to the brokenness through Ruth, showing that the actions of one person willing to make a change to overcome obstacles, can have a positive impact on that person and everyone around them.
If you want to watch this film it's currently available on Netflix. and on that note, have an awesome day...peace.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Currently Available on Netflix
Source Link(s)
Seeing Colors During Meditation
Stream Meditation
https://www.streammeditation.com/seeing-colors-during-meditation/
Color Meanings
Bourn Creative
https://www.bourncreative.com/
Image Credits
Production Companies
Codeblack Films
LD Entertainment
Original Headquarters
Distribution
ACE Entertainment(2020 France - All Media)
Eagle (2019 Australia theatrical)
Lionsgate (2019 USA theatrical)
Lighthouse Home Entertainment (2021 Germany Blu-ray & DVD)
FX (American Horror Story Images)