I would have never have made it as an English major because I always read books for the stories, not for the symbolism (intentional or not) that I can discover. However, even I know that when an author is contrasting something white with something black, then the former is good and the latter is bad. After reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad for three separate English classes, I associate the dichotomy most strongly with that novel (although admittedly, Conrad turned it on its head and made a point that whites were not morally superior to blacks). After watching A LOT of television, though, I think I have found a unique situation when the colors' symbolism is again reversed. I present to you, The Evil White Suit of Evil.
During Season 5 of Supernatural, the overarching plot was Sam and Dean's struggle to reject Michael and Lucifer's continual insistence that they be used as human vessels. In one episode, "The End," an angel sends Dean five years into the future in order to show him that Sam ultimately says yes to Lucifer. And out of all the clothes in the entire world, what option does Lucifer choose? A white suit.
He's literally wearing white from head to toe.
I didn't think much of it at the time, except that Lucifer was a really snazzy dresser, until this week when I started watching the Japanese drama Mei-chan no Shitsuji. Basically, it's a show about a super-fancy school where all the girls have butlers, a love triangle develops between two butler brothers and one of the students, and the girl has a huge family secret being kept from her. All of the butlers wear shades of black and grey, except for the one who serves the most manipulative student and does her dirty work. As soon as I saw him in his white suit, I knew he was evil. How else can you explain his penchant for white wigs?
I don't yet have a hypothesis explaining why evil angels and butlers prefer white suits, but there must be some hidden meaning, right? I mean, the dry-cleaning bills alone prove that no sane person would choose to wear white every day, but why would the idea appeal to such ~evil~ characters?
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