I forgot that I had this fat ass review on Secretary and that I hadn't posted it to my #movieblog so here's a review on (you know and love it) Secretary!!! and colours because Idk I'm five years old
I will put a gif here at some point
Purple, red and white has a significance in Secretary I find so interesting, reds being Edward Greys colour, purples being Lees
Purple symbolizes orchids and bruises, bruises symbolize pain and discomfort and other things similar to that, orchids symbolize love, beauty, refinement, strength and other things, similar to purple, but purple also symbolizes royalty and power, Lee's container for her sewing kit is purple, to show the power she has over her own body when she's able to do it harm, Lee's room is purple, that's where she has power and where we can see her explore that (harm and pleasure wise), Lee wears purples at the very start of Secretary more often than not, which is when she has that bit of power over her own self before Edward Grey introduces his dynamic and he becomes in power, and while not having any purple on his character throughout the movie, it manifests itself through things like Lee's plate which he has control of and things like the orchids he owns
Orchids symbolize many things but to me they can also symbolize caring and maintenance, I grew up with orchids in my house and my mother was always doing something to make sure they didn't die, Lee wears a very orchid-y purple at the start of the movie when there's more care there for her from Edwards side, when care is most important (during the exploration of kink, woah) there's no showing of purple, which could be seen as showing the line both Lee and Edward have crossed, when Lee takes more action to get what she wants from Edward, her outfits start incoporating purple once more, light purples in her outfits once Edward realizes he's too far in, he cares too much at this point as well as after she'd left the job,
And after that is where more red introduces itself, in the ties Edward wears, in the dream sequence (after many orchids are shown!!), the pen used to correct spelling and grammar mistakes and in Edwards office, roses given to Edward by Lee (and roses at the end) other things given by Lee too (worm), red can symbolize danger, but red can also symbolize desire, both are a prominent thing (in my opinion) in Secretary, danger like Edwards office (because lets face it, secretary and bosses sexual dynamics that weren't initially discussed and consented to are pretty predatory) but also things that symbolize desire (for Lee primarily) like red markers
Whites are a big motif too, the pearls Lee wears, eventually the wedding dress (her ''real one'' being black also felt interesting, as well as the loss of pearls after her goal of getting Edward is achieved, ignore this blab I just wanted to take note of it), all symbolizing innocence or a purity, despite the themes of this movie being things seen as far from innocent or pure, the wedding dress plays an important role and in Secretary specifically can be turned into a significant showing of defiance or being stubborn to get what Lee wants specifically, Edward wears no white during the movie, and Peter wears very little, Lee is the vocal point of whites, purity (in a certain sense) and stubborn-ness
And other than reds and purples the colours of Secretary are decently neutral and bland, red and purple pulls our attention and it tells us to pay attention, perk a little more when it's on screen and it's a big part of the motifs of this movie, so many lines are crossed in this movie and I personally think the colours in it resonate with that, and it's an interesting thing to explore in Secretary whether it be colours, the lack of nudity despite the themes, mental health, exploration of self and despite not loving this movie I think it's a really interesting study!!