The war takes place in black and white. For those on the sidelines that is. For those who are actually in it there are many different colours, excessive colours, too bright, too red and orange, too liquid and incandescent, but for the others the war is like a newsreel- grainy, smeared, with bursts of staccato noise and large numbers of grey-skinned people rushing or plodding or falling down, everything elsewhere.
The quote captures the stark contrast between the perceptions of war from a distance versus the reality experienced by those directly involved. From the sidelines, war appears monochromatic and oversimplified, presented through filtered lenses of media, like a grainy newsreel that lacks depth and nuance. This perspective reinforces the detachment that often characterizes societal views on conflict, reducing complex human experiences to mere statistics and images.
In contrast, for those engaged in the turmoil, war is vividly chaotic and overwhelming, filled with intense and jarring colors that reflect the emotional and physical realities of battle. The overwhelming brightness and heat, represented by reds and oranges, symbolize the confusion and trauma faced by those living through it. This dichotomy emphasizes the gap between the observer's understanding of war and the visceral experiences of soldiers and civilians caught in its throes.
