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From social media to the big screen: How bisexual lighting is sparking cultural trends.
The use of bisexual lighting combines pink, purple and blue lights to express the identity of the bisexual character. This type of lighting is not only used in studio lighting for films and TV series, but is also shown in the cinematography of many film and television works. While not all films, television shows, photographs, and music videos that use this lighting are intended to express bisexuality, many queer artists intentionally use this color combination in their work, which is associated with bisexuality. The gay flags share the same colours and evoke neon lights and vintage music styles.
According to George Pierpoint of BBC News, some social media users have claimed that bisexual lighting serves as an "empowering visual tool" to combat the underrepresentation of bisexuals in visual media.
The trend gained widespread traction in the LGBT community in 2017, particularly on social media platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and Pinterest. Sasha Geffen wrote at Vulture.com that the lighting had become "solidified" in meaning, while Nicky Idika said it had "become an established part of the bisexual narrative in the media." Although the Daily Dot questioned "which came first, aesthetics or cultural significance", it also concluded that the concept "has already touched people's hearts." In 2018, Pantone selected Ultra Purple as its color of the year, which the BBC noted reflected the hue's growing use.
Amelia Perrin of Cosmopolitan criticised the trend towards using this type of lighting in television and music videos, arguing that the visual image "perpetuates bisexual stereotypes".
Perrin noted that this lighting is often created by neon signs, which remind viewers of "clubs and dance floors," implying that "bisexual dating and relationships are merely 'experiments' and are only for the night when you're drunk." It will happen." Historically, Jessica Mason mentioned in The Mary Sue that purple, as a combination of multiple pure color spectrums, has been used to symbolize "royalty and the sacred", as well as "magic, alien creatures, and the unknown." Film lecturer Lara Thompson believes the neon colors of pink and blue are part of a late 2010s trend in media that was nostalgic for the aesthetic of the 1980s and 1990s.
History
According to BOWIE Creators, the concept of the bisexual light was first proposed on Tumblr in 2014, when a Sherlock Holmes fan believed that the light was intended to hint that Dr. Watson was bisexual and would eventually Develop a romantic relationship with Sherlock Holmes. This concept, while not a direct influence on other shows, movies, or music videos, put the idea out in the world that bisexual themes could be expressed through this color combination. By 2017, leftist YouTubers like ContraPoints (who identified as bisexual at the time) began using pink, purple, and blue neon lights in their videos. As bisexual lighting became a popular meme in 2018, multiple Twitter threads showcased the lighting scheme, and photos of animals in bisexual lighting were widely shared on social media.
Example
Bisexual lighting appears in a variety of media, usually in scenes involving bisexual characters or references to bisexuality. Blue, pink and purple lighting were used in the films The Neon Demon, Atomic Denim and Black Panther. Likewise, the award-winning Black Mirror episode San Junipero and multiple episodes of Blumhouse’s holiday horror anthology The Possessed adopted this visual aesthetic. After that, the TV series "Small Town", "Moonlight", "The Assassination of Gianni Van Veenis American Crime Story", "Legendary Guard" and "The Owl House", as well as the 2020 movie "Birds of Prey" It has also been pointed out that bisexual lighting is used. This type of lighting was also used in the latest episode of Rocky, Lamentis, when the protagonist revealed his bisexuality.
Cosmopolitan noted that Taylor Swift's fans had seen the presence of the color combination on her album cover, "Lover," as evidence that she was once bisexual and had dated Karla Kloss.
This lighting was also used in music videos such as Janelle Monáe's "Make Me Feel," Demi Lovato's "Cool for the Summer" and Ariana Grande's "7 Rings." Bisexual lighting was also featured during Harry Styles' Medicine tour and in Lil Nas X's "Panini" music video. Lara Thompson, a film lecturer at Middlesex University, said bisexual lighting is not widely known, noting: "I need to see more examples before I can see bisexual lighting as a completely acceptable form of sexuality." The phenomenon of faith. ”
According to Lillian Hochwender writing for Polygon, "Bisexual lights seem to be everywhere, even when there's nothing vaguely bisexual about them...they're the colors of magic, alien landscapes in sci-fi, and the colors of the universe." So while Twitter users and media critics noted the similarities between John Wick 3, Blade Runner 2049, Alien: The Dark World, Orphan: First Strike, Bingo Hell, Bisexual lighting is used in films like Iron Fist International and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but this usually has a less "gay" logic. 」
In 2022, bisexual lighting was noticed in Netflix's "The Beatles" and HBO's Emmy-winning "Superior". In addition, in the 2022 bisexual leather film "Please Baby Please", bisexual lighting is also used throughout the film. Bisexual lighting is certainly alive and well in culture, how do you think such visual symbolism will impact our understanding and representation of bisexuality in the future?
