Color Symbolism in the Dream SMP: A Video Essay

In this video I undertake a study of the Dream SMP’s symbolism and how it uses colors to convey parts of its story and characters! I hope you all enjoy :]
Some aspects of the Dream SMP storyline have been dramatized for effect. It is Minecraft, after all.
Possible flash warnings at 20:50 and 21:40.
LINKS + SOURCES:
Stock footage from Pexels. Color meanings from Google and my English teacher. Some screenshots in the video are from the Dream Team Wiki (thank you to the editors! Very helpful site for research in this video). Clips from Wilbur Soot, Tommyinnit, Tubbo, QuackityHQ, Technoblade, Fundy, Ph1lza, Karl Jacobs, and Ranboo.
Music (in order):
Geothermal - OneShot OST
Into the Light - OneShot OST
Checking In - Celeste OST
Cat - C418
It’s Raining Somewhere Else - Toby Fox
Resurrections - Celeste OST
On Little Cat Feet (Ground) - OneShot OST
To Dream - OneShot OST
Uwa!! So Temperate - Toby Fox
Quiet and Falling - Celeste OST
Ghost Fight - Toby Fox
Haunt Muskie - C418
I’m Here - OneShot OST
Far - C418
My Burden is Light - OneShot OST
Self-Contained Universe - OneShot OST
All music is used with permission from the creator or under other copyright-free designations.

[@hrianboyer928]

There was also another time where blue was used: Techno’s retirement outfit. When he first showed it on screen, it was to Tommy on his first day of exile, when he declared his pacifism. He wears it with pride during his retirement, only donning his red gown again on the day of his execution. He even acknowledges that it could be symbolism, because it unintentionally was, rejecting blue and returning to red when his coat was again stained with blood.

[@kurkarl214]

Ohhh very true!! Good analysis!!

[@Nugcon]

Blue was also used during Tommy's exile where the color slowed faded away from his pupils

[@sugars3520]

Sad colourblind moment

[@colleenlavery6417]

@@Nugcon The blue in the l'manburg flag represented liberty so i think when the color fades away from tommy's pupils it represents a loss of liberty Sorry im bad at explaining things ;-;

[@lilacs_echoing]

He also wears a maroon undershirt beneath the outfit, similar to how the voices are on the inside and no matter what he does they will crave blood. No matter how much he insists on blue he will always wear red somewhere.

[@theresawitchinthecomments2066]

One thing about blue is George, he seems to be oblivious and naive to everything that has been happening to the server but at the same time is knowing and he plays his cards right that its had to say what his true intent is.

[@groblivsochbauggr]

It slipped my mind that he was apart of the server

[@rhennsacara]

@@groblivsochbauggr His true power lol Everybody's forgetting him constantly so he could get away with so much xD hah

[@justaqueergamer]

I also find it interesting that Tommy’s shirt, although it does include red, has no traces of black whatsoever. Tommy’s red personality does lead him to do morally questionable things, he’s so violent and passionate that sometimes he does wrong things, but at the end of the day, his soul is pure and good, represented by the white in his shirt. At the end of the day, Tommy’s chaotic red is every negative part of him, as well as some of the positive, but no one could call him evil.

[@sh_joy]

Yes! I was looking for this comment

[@Ardorstorm]

Woah

[@dodonixx953]

Boom! Welp no more brain for me then!

[@tentaclest.tentacles5090]

these were all interesting points but I also wanna mention Niki for your consideration, her skin changes a lot through out the story there is so much to analyse during first iteration of lmanberg instead of the intense blue and red uniform hers was a softer blue, as she was a much calmer and softer person than the rest of them, she had blonde hair, cause the cc niki was blonde when she joined the smp but like also Niki was a happy person, finding the good in others, also a few of her casual clothes involved grey including the skin she entered the dsmp with and still her main desire is a safe and secure place for people to live, thus building her city after the doomsday most of her outfit is black, she is tired of being nice she is going apeshit, she is having her villain arc, she can't trust in the good of others so she is going to hold power herself, and she burns down the symbol of hope ever standing tall L'mantree with her own hands, truly killing the nation for good. she has Wilbur's black cape too, now following in his footsteps and helping destroy the nation she helped create and tried to save once. her hair is now pink, basically light red as she is angry and craves some kinda revenge, some way to let it out, to destroy something but under all that she has a white shirt on, because despite her current anger she still just wants peace and to believe in people's inherent goodness, despite her current less than morally good actions her intentions are still pure. also her eyes are now blue, cause her anger is covering up a lot of sadness at Techno's birthday stream recently she had the catgirl skin on, first of all the pink of the hair is less reddish and now a softer pink because she no longer wants to take revenge on Tommy as she realises she was misdirecting her anger. she calmed down and begun to heal now. she has more white on than black, she has gone back to trying to believe in others and trying to find peace, but she still has black on, no longer from an article of cloth that belonged to Wilbur, her desire to destroy tyranny and hold enough power to protect herself doesn't resemble Wilbur's destructive tendencies anymore, she is now a more intimidating figure as a member of the Syndicate, Techno's friend and someone with fully enchanted netherite amror and weapons, but still, nothing close to Wilbur anymore anyway I just love Niki's character a lot and I don't think she gets mentioned in analysises and theories enough

[@kurkarl214]

Oh my god, this was really good!! Unfortunately I didn't think to include Niki in this video, but you raised some points I definitely would have put in. Great analysis!!

[@CloudsAndDays]

Niki also talked about how she uses her makeup to show what kind of stream she’s doing. Darker colors for angsty, neutrals for casual I believe, etc. I’d imagine she thinks a lot about her character’s color symbolism.

[@koalakenny5542]

@@CloudsAndDays niki does this lore thingy. She is really, i mean, REALLY good at loring

[@brookemccormack7808]

tldr anyone?

[@mossybeewasteland]

Once again the DSMP reminds me of an actual, professional show or movie that you would see on Netflix or something, as clothes and colors are a big factor in a lot of movies. Like an example of both symbolism and foreshadowing is when a character is always wearing dark and neutral tone colors and they end up being the twist villain.

[@nyooom9729]

out of curiosity i googled the symbolism of the color brown. strength, dependability and security came up as well as loneliness, sadness and isolation. the latter 3 immediately reminded me of wilbur’s trenchcoat in pogtopia and it fits well with how awful his mental state was back then. great video btw! the script was easy to follow and the editing was engaging!

[@uniaqua8885]

And perhap the part about security can represent tubbo's snowchester skin!

[@nyooom9729]

@@uniaqua8885 good thought!

[@madeofhope9265]

Loneliness sadness and isolation fits with Logstirshire (cant spell it lol) from the exile arc, while also giving tommy some security while in exile.

[@evankray3198]

also tubbo after he stopped wearing his green outfit

[@Avidator_360]

I also feel like orange should mean containment. It holds dream in his cell, it trapped everyone in the red banquet. Your surrounded by lava, your not getting out

[@leostootired]

And Fundy being kept within the walls of l’manburg

[@staco522]

i love that analogy

[@madeofhope9265]

It could also mean escape too maybe? Since back during the exile arc Tommy wanted to jump in lava to escape? Both sides of a coin, escape and containment

[@Hade-Official]

you're*

[@DanX2M]

you're*

[@RobTFilms]

finally, a Dream SMP video essay that doesn't just reiterate the L'Manberg situation! great mic quality and script as well!

[@kurkarl214]

thank you very much!! :D

[@raddii3850]

@@kurkarl214 yessir

[@coral191]

Yeah

[@RobTFilms]

@@coral191 yeh

[@coral191]

@@RobTFilms yeah

[@someonerandom4660]

when you mentioned dream and 'envy', I thought about how dream likes to present as if he envies nothing because he supposedly has it all-- when in reality, he really has nothing. He gave everything he had up to everything (a bit of an oxymoron).

[@nullpoint3346]

And he has creative mode, so he has everything with material value, but all of it lacks sentimental value.

[@cinnamoony3996]

@@nullpoint3346 i thought dreamxd was the only one with canonical creative mode?

[@nullpoint3346]

@@cinnamoony3996 are they not the same?

[@cinnamoony3996]

​@@nullpoint3346 they're not from what i know, dreamxd separates himself from dream

[@lucyc5844]

And that's why he has a corridor with spaces to store each player's most cherished objects - because he envies their emotional attachment. He wants to take everything from them, because he knows he holds nothing of value.

[@petre1758]

But can we talk about the music symbolism of this video? In yellow/Ghostbur section the track played in the background is from an indie game called Celeste. Not only is this particular track called "Resurrections" which is an obvious nod to the nature of Ghostbur, in the game this ost is used on a level where player character is literally running away from a bad part of herself a part that she rejects and tries to get rig of, just like Ghostbur rejects Alivebur. Furthermore, this particular section of this ost is used in a brief section in the beggining of this level, were you are yet to meet that part, a nod to how Ghostbur is completely oblivious to his wrongdoings due to his amnesia.

[@petre1758]

And then we again have Celeste soundtrack in Blue-Ghosbur section. This Time this is the "Quiet and Falling", theme of the Mirror Temple level. Where Madeline - the player character, is forced to confront her inner demons in a horrifying manner. These demons manifesting as grotesque Lovecraft-esk creatures, seeking to devour the protagonist. And she doesn't take it lightly, having several emotional breakdowns and trying to distance herself from it. And this corelates with the video, as in it author is talking about how Ghosbur is trying to used blue to distance himself from bad things that are happening around him. In Celest there is also a large theme through the Mirror Temple level that since it is all a manifestation of Madeline's mind, it's her fault that she and her friend Theo are suffering there. Again similar to Ghostbur, who thinks that Alivebur was the ultimate Evil, that caused everyone's problems. But again, just as before, this particular ost plays before this action on the level truly starts, alluding to Ghostur's ignorance.

[@kurkarl214]

AAAA I'm so happy you noticed!!! I've been waiting for someone to point this out haha that's so awesome!! Your analysis is great!!

[@Michal-by2nt]

To add onto this, during orange/Fundy It's raining somewhere else plays. It really fits his character imo! Everyone seems to try to find their own places, and he is left behind. During the Dream segment To Dream plays, here it's pretty obvious why it was chosen. And during the white category, My burden is light plays! I couldn't really get into the symbolism behind that one without spoiling anything from oneshot tho

[@petre1758]

@@Michal-by2nt thank U! I didn't notice those.

[@Xezian]

i think that green and red in the dream smp has ironically come to represent order and chaos for green we have dream - the tyrant of the dream smp who tried to take everything from everybody to ensure his power, order and control tubbo - was the president of lmanburg who accepted power and order not out of selfish want but as a desire to protect what he saw near and dear to him, willing to enforce his will on others if it meant protecting his friends and home when he tried to execute technoblade, and he's now the president of snowchester for red tommy - has a very chaotic nature and pressence to him and to me it seems he never really cared about l'manburg as a nation but for what it represented to him, home, friends, something to fight for, we've been repeatedly shown he was ready to bassically burn everything to the ground to protect and stay close to his friends techno - should be obvious, he's technoblade the anarchist. ranboo has red and green eyes showing he doesn't align himself to either chaos or order or rather he aligns himself to both, he tried to protect and defend l'manburg during doomsday, whilst living in the arctic with techno and phil the anarchists, he doesn't care about sides but is split evenly between them cause the people he sees as friends often see each other as enemies. He's a part of both the syndicate and snowchester, split between anarchy and order once again the egg and phil kinda break this symbolism though, with phil being an anarchist, and the egg wanting to take over and control everyone, the ultimate form of tyranny. Ironically though i think the egg could still represent chaos, seeing as the time it ruled the server was the most divided the server had ever been, with more nations than ever before dividing people, the fall of dream and l'manburg 2 of the biggest forces in the server's history. Still i find it really interesting.

[@kurkarl214]

You make really good points, I love your analysis!

[@ButterflyColors]

I like how you connected red and green to order and chaos. I find the SMP really interesting cause in most story’s the big bad guy will be red (or if they *are* green they usually have purple in there as well, ie disney villains), and protagonist will be a more happy color like green. So to have those ideas flipped with the green blop being the main bad guy and the chaotic red kid as a protagonist is pretty cool

[@rominacelador9834]

Okay i just left a comment about ranboo's green and red eyes and how i thought he has been in the middle of conflict, but you explained it WAAAAY better here 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@brendofire2084]

I feel like dream's explanation is a little cut and dry. I wouldn't really say that dream is a tyrant. Wilbur was a tyrant. Schlatt was a tyrant. Dream is a bit more in techno's category.

[@Azuresam_]

@@brendofire2084 he isn't a tyrant but he is definitely a villain

[@wahoosof8124]

This is very underrated, I think more DSMP fans should see this

[@TommyCattyYt]

ABSOLUTELY

[@m0th_483]

Shlot saat

[@wildheartvoxinlore]

Yes this is beautiful. Someone could make a story out of this.

[@haiiilyye]

YES

[@arianvixal7143]

More on the way

[@Mystaroo]

Techno's crown features many different coloured jewels, such as Blue, showing his stratigical thinking/ intelligence, as well as his loyalty to his friends as he never once backstabbed them, and was open to them from the start. The Red on his crown shows the Blood, the war, the hatred to governments and anger at being betrayed. The purple represents his transformation through his arcs from an anarchist to his peaceful retirement and then back to his war-like self. The green, which is commonly used in army camo, represents his warrior side, but could also show how he is in touch with nature, having all these animals around and he himself being a pig. The yellow of his crown could also represent his knowledge of fighting, as in Hinduism, Yellow can represent Knowledge and learning. With Philza's oufit using Green and White, the white could represent his peacefulness most the time, however in some cultures, White represents death. The green can show how he is healthy (like you said) but could also show his balance, as green can be used to represent balance, as if phil is balancing himself. In BBH, the bits of White could show the last of his peaceful and innocent ways. The purple of Church Prime probably represents twitch, but purple can represent spirituality. Edit: (Another idea that I cant remember if it was mentioned in the video) Red and Green are composite colours that are opposites on the colour wheel and yet work well together, which can be seen in the Dream SMP with how Tommy and Dream are opposites but Tommy and Tubbo work toghter, yet have some disagreements. Then there is Tommy and Sam, who worked togheter containing the egg. Techno and Dream are an instant in which Red and Green work together, as well as Phil and Techno.

[@multifandommess273]

yes, in hinduism white is usually worn to funerals instead of black

[@globe0147]

Technoblade did betray his friends though, on November 16

[@sobosoup]

Wilbur makes me think of black. Not because he’s connected to the color black but because black describes him the best Black is the absence of color, (possibly relating to leaving Wilbur leaving fundy, or the way Tommy felt whenever Wilbur died). I also think of a lot of bad things with black, like manipulation, or sadness. Sadness in the way of depression or loneliness.

[@scruffles3838]

And now I suddenly realize that alot of the duos and rivalry in dsmp is mostly better a red guy and a green dude.

[@userK77920]

True lol. Techno and dream. Techno and Phil. Tommy and tubbo

[@GeneralLiam0529]

To that could represent balance actually, because a earlier comment talked about how green could represent order and red chaos.

[@theskittleman8215]

I find it interesting that the eggpire is represented with red, a color commonly associated with evil while it's leader is morally questionable and mostly innocent

[@theskittleman8215]

@@matthiaspridgeon9420 oh my god that's actually really smart- because he turned into the antagonist when the red was sucked out.

[@ishiro7747]

Purity can also mean BBH trying to be "clean", like what he did in the Red Banquet. Purity in bbh outfit can just be his way of looking friendly whilst trying thinking of ways to support the Eggpire-

[@missbrillante]

Before watching this video I really hoped you mentioned ranboo's relations to red and green and how it connects tuboo and tommy and I'm glad you did! I find it really interesting cause ranboo was one of the few people that visited tommy during exile but also stayed on tubbo's side during his presidency, kind of acting like a bridge between the two.

[@GORE_KING]

surprised you didnt mention sapnap's connection to the colour orange! especially because he's the most outwardly enthusiastic of the original dream team, the one who kickstarted all of the wars by quite literally committing arson, chaotic evil dream's best friend and the one who only started to mellow out after the latter's imprisonment, replacing his destructive excitement with a more healthy kind towards kinoko kingdom. also, now that las nevadas has officially kickstarted we have a lot more purpled lore and it turns out thaaaat purpled is now much less mysterious than he used to be now that he has his own pov. sadge /hj

[@kurkarl214]

Very true!! If I do a part two I'll for sure include Sapnap :] Good analysis!

[@GORE_KING]

oh thank you!!! I didnt think you'd notice haha! /nm

[@zgunepic]

I didn't even realize the color symbolism in the smp lore, this analysis is *chefs kiss* perfect

[@a.hypocrite]

You missed the opportunity to use a clip from Red Vs. Blue; "It's not pink! It's uh... A lightish red." *"And you wanna know what the name of a lighter red is? p i n k."* "You know what? I fucking hate you."

[@jeremiahbooth423]

Oh my gosh I love Red Vs Blue

[@egg_underthetable1541]

Another thing about what yellow represents it also “insanity” revived Wilbur has the yellow sweater even when revived implying not only that he is still cowardice and joyful to be alive again but also is still in the depths of insanity (not a good explanation but I hope you can the point)

[@shinysheyka5301]

0:30 "I'm simply a sucker for reading into things too deeply" How dare you call me out like this (btw, this is an amazing analysis! It was so relaxing to listen to)

[@m00ncore]

For me, the Other Side gives me a: "comfort in darkness" vibe. I mean- most people I know prefer the dark, and and the brightness. White has always made me have a feeling of unease, but also calming at the same time? another things about darkness is the unknown that lies within it, hence people's fear of the dark. Sometimes you have to go into the dark, to see what's really there or: The full truth. White also has a sense of clarity, or seeing something that's right there in front of you [two very different things XD]. But sometimes, what's right there isn't the truth- at least not fully. Sorta like when the Inbetween seemed peaceful and helpful at first, but then it's fakeness slowly faded away. Another alternative that MIGHT suit more, is that when it's facade broke down, the scene got darker, the world being a dark gray instead [tho this WAS caused by the storm, it still fits].

[@kurkarl214]

Very good analysis!!

[@miloutic]

absolutely adored this video, every point you made was well thought out and explained eloquently!! fundy's orange took me off guard as that hadnt before crossed my mind at all, but everything you said was so true, amazing work!! a point i was kind of expecting in the black subsection was the use of blackstone in the decor: the final control room, Pandora's vault, the bunker from the s2 finale are all blackstone, and all intricately linked to death as well :o (so perhaps the syndicate hq might be some foreshadowing... eyes emoji)

[@kurkarl214]

Thank you so much!! I think I was writing the script for this video before Tommy's death, so I hadn't made that connection yet, but that is a really good point! I'll have to keep that in mind for future analyses, ty 👀

[@nerdishlive]

Ranboo’s Panic Room is obsidian too, again, the black decor

[@bluebatmanvk5535]

@@nerdishlive well, it's odsidian which is also very purple in minecraft, which fits quite well with how mysterious it is

[@nerdishlive]

@@bluebatmanvk5535 trueeeeee I'd never made that connection

[@ekewoli4412]

That was really relaxing to listen to, and also very inspiring. You uncovered a lot of point that I never noticed, so thumbs up to your attention on details. Even if you might read a little too deep into it, I think your reflexions are very interesting, and I will definitely think about it while creating stuff. Sorry for my scuffed english, not my first langage. Anyway you just won a subscriber !

[@kurkarl214]

Thank you so much!! And don't worry, your English is great :D

[@aikenanderson22]

“If I can’t make people smile… I’ll make them cry.” -Fundy, Eve of Doomsday Gives me chills every time.

[@aguadoll8162]

i read this as he said it, chills

[@Violet111]

ranboo's red and green eyes do have a very strong symbolism now! you might've gotten comments about this connection already but still i wanted to share my thoughts for a bit. his eyes show the contrast between the tubbo and tommy. both are on separate "sides" of his face, the black and the white. black could be seen as a more muted and reserved color to go with tubbo's green, meanwhile the white is super bright to go with tommy's red. plus, the black and white halves of ranboo don't mesh together at all. they're complete opposites (literally, on the color wheel), but still they manage to coexist and create one functional whole - just like tubbo and tommy's friendship. but, the fact that ranboo has BOTH colors means more than just "he is friends with tubbo and tommy". it also means that ranboo is constantly between the two. the point ranboo joined the server and started getting involved is the exact point where tommy and tubbo's relationship began to falter. you could also see ranboo's actions as the starting point for this happening, with him helping burn george's house (though i would never blame ranboo as a character for any of that). now that tubbo and tommy were separated, ranboo tried to help both of them, by serving as tubbo's minutes man and by being one of tommy's only friends in exile. the red/white and black/green halves were separate things to him, and he tried to help them individually. then, later, we got to see tommy finally meeting ranboo for real. and he _hated_ ranboo. he saw ranboo as the wedge between the red and green, "taking" tubbo from him. however, ranboo was never a wedge between them at all - in fact, it's only through ranboo that tommy and tubbo can begin to rekindle their friendship. ranboo is the bridge between the two halves. all of this also parallels ranboo's own story very well. at the time tubbo and tommy were apart, ranboo was very much in conflict with himself. he was constantly fighting against this "bad" part of him and keeping himself completely separate from all of his bad memories. he was a black half and a white half - "good" and "bad". and he had to keep the bad away! (the dream voice, enderwalk.) after all, it wasn't him, it was just some other evil thing. but later on, we see that the two halves aren't separate at all. and despite being black and white, the supposed morality here definitely is not. we get to watch as ranboo stops fighting the enderwalk, this other side of himself, and instead starts to see it as a good thing. an integral part of himself that he doesn't want to lose. he's come to be at peace with both his ender and unknown sides. he's the bridge between them, he helped both sides reconnect. just like he did for tubbo and tommy :) not to mention the fact that, the enderwalk arc and the tubbo+tommy arcs were both AT THE SAME TIME!! while tommy and tubbo are apart with no idea what the other is up to, ranboo had no idea that enderwalk existed. while tommy perceived ranboo as a hostile intrusion between him and tubbo, ranboo perceived the enderwalk as a hostile intrusion of "bad him" into "good him". and now that ranboo has helped tubbo and tommy reconnect/understand each other/work together, he has also helped both halves of himself reconnect/understand each other/work together. OOF that was one heck of a ramble huh. i started this intending to just write about the first bit and then it just kept going. but i hope it makes a little sense at least haha

[@grovitemultiverse]

As an artist and a writer, color symbolism is always important to me and very intriguing. So naturally, I was very glad when I saw a video on this topic had been made. Tubbo's green symbolism was a cool breakdown and not one I would have thought of but it fits very well. I like how you were able to take out the color purple as well, despite it not being very prevalent in the SMP (at least at the time of the video/this comment.) The video as a whole was very enjoyable to watch and informative with the small details you were able to point out. Great job!

[@lenorem8000]

This was such a great video! Your voice is lovely and the commentary is top notch. I'd like to point out another character represented by yellow: Foolish. His skin is a golden totem, and his favorite block is gold, he incorporates it in all his builds. He's a happy and nice guy, one who doesn't get mad easily, and refuses to kill anyone even when not in character. However, he's runing away from his apparently bloody and violent past, and tries to live a fully pacifist lifestyle. He's admitted that he's scared of what he can do and what he's done, and whenever he reminisces about his past he becomes serious and sombre. Also, now that Purpled is doing lore, his character can also be interpretted with the help of color.

[@kurkarl214]

Great analysis!! I'll for sure include that if I do a part two to this video!

[@itslumika]

I think for the inbetween the white and black is a bit misleading as you said. I think the flowers are more important: black roses stand for death, mourning and tragedy. They are often used in funerals to say farewell to someone. However they also symbolize hope since black roses are a symbol that one part of ones life ends and another one starts. White tulips stand for forgiveness, respect, purity and honour. If you dream about them they stand for a new start, a new journey. I’ma just leave this here, open for interpretation.

[@GoingSwimmingly]

Also here’s one that I often associate with Phil’s green: Force of nature Many people like to view his character as an immortal traveler, who’d seen the world and came back, and some also like to see him as something that’s more inclined with nature. Also in Techno’s unnatural and unmatched strength, there’s also Phil’s matching strength that is in the wrath of nature to me, ye know?

[@happyeveraster]

i think you missed a pretty important idea the color purple can symbolize: corruption. i don't remember too much about dsmp lore, but i think purple replacing blue on the l'manburg flag could've symbolized its corruption as a nation, no longer standing for the liberty it once did

[@remyish.]

«now the moment you’ve all been waiting for.. *The green boy himself-“* she said the lineeee She Said The Line *SHE SAID THE LINEEEEEE*

[@remyish.]

@Gatito Super 014 *SHE SAID THE FREAKING LINE-*

[@lieeeleeee]

im surprised you didn't look at blackstone in the black section since a lot of specific terrible things with tommy have happend in blackstone orobsidian rooms. think final control room, lmanburg walls, prison, the meting room thing tommy was put on trial in to go to exile where ranboo was the minute man. Even just obsidian as symbolism is very interesting with the prision and panic room.

[@kurkarl214]

Yeah, I forgot to include it but it's definitely part of the symbolism :]

[@lavender_jpg1360]

If we really want to go full English teacher I could mention the transition from the blue of the L'manburg flag to purple on the initial design of the Manburg flag. Since purple also represents wealth and high status you could read it as Shlatt giving up or getting rid of the liberty that L'manburg stood for and replacing it with wealth and high status

[@yamahoestella3118]

I'd like to add: Colors in writing often take double meanings and almost never just one thing. Red may be power, but its also the calm, warming fire in a cold night. Blue may be calm, but its also a dangerous ticking time bomb, and nobody knows when it could be set off like a storm. The best example is Black and White. While Black is terrifying and dark, its calm too. Its easy on the eyes and is the color of what you see when you finally open your eyes in the dark. White, on the other hand, may be bright and pure, but its blinding. Its hiding something. Its not purity. Its every single color of light mixing together, while Black is every single shadow of color together.

[@thirdmusketeer_mc7509]

I always thought of blue as a sort of drug. Ghostbur overused it, and he ended up worse than he would have been if he just dealt with his sadness. Without sadness or anger or any negative emotions, he ends up being empty. A shell of what he used to be. It's hard to care for anything when you can't acknowledge that it may be lost. He uses it like someone that abuses a pill prescription (or at least that's how I see it) Also I think it is very cool that you used the Celeste soundtrack made by Lena Raine

[@johnfath996]

THE HOMIE ONLY PUTS OUT ABSOLUTE BANGERS

[@TammiLyn39]

Orange also can represent Sapnap along with Fundy. Though Sapnap hasn’t had much of a significant presence in recent events, he definitely represents the ideals of orange in color. Fire and destruction are both quite obvious, considering in the early days of the SMP he was known to cause mischief with Tommy, but his excitement and enthusiasm are also there. He’s always rooted for Dream, even when he didn’t agree with him. He’s always the one to jump in and fight for no reason other than “it’s fun.” And he shows that greatly in the SMP. He also, similarly to Fundy, is known as quite childish. Just thought I’d mention it :)

[@Audrey-nn2ex]

OK EVERYONE GET EVERY DREAM SMP MEMBER AND MAKE THEM WATCH THIS ITS BEAUTIFUL I LOVE IT GREAT JOB!

[@kurkarl214]

thank you so much!! :D

[@Apothecartea]

This is UTTERLY beautiful. Unlike a lot of color interpretations, you don’t just classify red as danger and power-you pose its other connotations, such as its gentler meaning for passion. Its directness is its own type of purity, which matches Tommy perfectly. I wanted to get my thoughts down before I continued watching, I just HAD to pause and commend you.

[@kurkarl214]

Thank you so much!! This comment means a lot :D I'm very glad you enjoyed

[@wintersnow998]

Since this video is a few months old, I'm sure someone has brought some of this up anyway, but I'm still going to share my thoughts! To my knowledge, yellow can also represent danger, especially when paired with black (which is the color of Ghostbur's pants, I think?). And when yellow is paired with rain it can foreshadow danger to come (used most notably in Stephen King's IT, but also in other media like the Little Nightmares franchise.) Ghostbur, known yellow wearer, asking Tommy to revive him in the rain (which freaking *melts* him to make the connection even more fitting) most definitely was foreshadowing how dangerous reviving Alivebur could be (albeit possibly unintentionally). However, I've also heard yellow used to symbolize jealousy in the past but I don't know how accurate that is. As for Purple, I remember watching a video a while back which talked about how in media purple has been used as a villainous color to represent the madness, corruption and poison(ous behavior) that could come with the power gained from Royalty (or whatever concept is most similar in the story being told). I suppose nowadays *purple* for the character *Purpled* , could possibly symbolize him potentially becoming corrupted by Quackity and/or Las Nevadas. But that's pure speculation on my part. I've also seen a fan theory floating around that C!Ranboo sees the world in inverted colors (which is how enderman supposedly see things? Please correct me if I'm wrong!), which means to C!Ranboo Dream would appear mostly Purple and would fit with the purple symbolizing corruption from those with power. But this is also just speculation. Blue potentially meaning loneliness and sadness definitely fits with Jack Manifold, enough said.

[@urgh2661]

The video: says the meaning and deepness of every color in the DreamSMP and their representation in the history What possibly happened in the smp: “oh yeah lets use these colors they look cool here”

[@sigma6679]

I loved this video, the points are great and you have a lovely voice. The script is amazing and overall I had a wonderful time watching. I'd like to bring up a new point however about what you said about Ranboo's eyes. To me the green and red also symbolize the battle between Tommy and Dream. The red symbolizing his want to protect his friends and be in the right, going against sides and Dream at all costs. The green symbolizes how his enderwalk side is possibly working with Dream, going against all of Ranboo's morals and sending him into a frenzy trying to be on the right side in history. Which I believe was foreshadowing since he joined of his moral dilemma between what is right.

[@kurkarl214]

Thank you so much for the comment, and great analysis!!! I think you're definitely right!

[@thelostfoundtheatre9560]

This may be a stretch but when Wilbur was revived, his yellow shirt was covered by a brown jacket. Brown being a dependable and comforting colour, reflects what Tommy sees, or saw in him. Even with a white blob on his jacket, a sign of peace and unity, It is covered with a dark red splash, showing how even when you think he has changed and improved, he is still the same person he was during the L'manberg explosion. This is a very farfetched theory and idk much about colour symbolism but these are my thoughts. :)

[@caitlinanzovin1146]

Wasn't that an injury/bandages?

[@C.Summers]

I loved this video because I had been thinking about this for a few days. Especially how Tommy represents the color red, which is the complementary to the green, that represent to Dream and Tubbo. And how Ranboo has green and red eyes, being Tommy and Tubbo, but also green represent Dream, how curious that the green is the ender part of Ranboo. Yes, I know that before endermans had green eyes, but still It's curious. Especially if we consider the enderwalk state. Anyway, they are crazy theories. I don't know if I have forgotten some information, but I can't see all the streams. And, again, I loved the video

[@kurkarl214]

Thank you so much!! And great analysis :0

[@KingNedya]

This is great. It reminds me of how, when writing my novels, I often notice things that coincidentally line up perfectly, and upon noticing the coincidence, I turn it from a coincidence into something intentional. I have a feeling that's probably part of what they're doing with the Dream SMP, not just with colors, but with other things as well.

[@gayfish9238]

Speaking of blue and Quackity, red was once Jschlatts color. He wore a red tie. Now Quackity wears red I think that symbolizes how Schlatt has affected his life as a whole, people always undermine what Quackity went through when he was with Schlatt and I think him wearing red now represents how he has been affected by Schlatt. His want for power and bloodlust similar to that have Schlatts.

[@dabarecats9485]

i don't know how i found this channel but i'm happy i found it

[@driedleaf6615]

Orange can also symbolize prison uniforms, although they aren’t really worn in the dsmp, it symbolizes the destruction of what Dream has done

[@bubbletea6617]

I love how she said “envy causes, conflict” and Twitter pops up 😂😂

[@CB_W0lf]

This was really good! I really enjoyed listening, why didn't I see this earlier?? The points with Fundy and Quackity were reallllyyyy good. Could I ask for a Part 2? Possibly with an analysis for red/pink for Micheal_Beloved, and orange for the lava that Tommy was so fixated on in exile? For green, perhaps Sam, and possibly Ponk? Or maybe even Charlie! For purple, Purpled did some lore today (as I'm writing this!) so you could possibly connect him now? Mystery= Alien/Space relation that Purpled has because of his UFO? Could we get a Brown analysis, for the Snowchester coats and possibly Puffy? Also, another thing with white. I'm not sure if this is exactly stated to be symbolic but white sometimes gives off the feeling of being too clean, or unnatural. Like labs, or lab coats. A feeling of unease, because that unnatural vibe it gives off isn't, well, NATURAL. Perhaps you could dive into that? Again, great video! Hoping for a part 2, but only if you feel like it! I really enjoyed it.

[@kurkarl214]

I'm so glad you enjoyed!! I can for sure think about doing a part two when I finish my next video, and I'll also probably wait until the end of season three so I'm at a satisfying point to conclude. Thanks for all your suggestions, I'll definitely take them into account if I do a part two!

[@ace1diots]

ARGtwt is always winning, thank you for this video (ALSO I HEAR THAT CELESTE MUSIC, CELESTE IS COMFORT CONTENT FOR ME)

[@kurkarl214]

ANYTHING FOR ARGTWT!!! Celeste banger soundtrack indeed :]

[@warmlacroix_9820]

These are such interesting takes! I think color symbolism is something you can do to see so much more meaning in things that are usually unintentional. Somewhat related to color theory is color pallets and building materials in MC and the smp storyline - The different colors of wood in MC are also used in different things, such as spruce being used for safe/protected places, New Lmanburg, Snowchester, Techno's house, etc. - Oak being used for comfortable/familiar places such as the prime path, the first rendition of the community house, the karaoke stage, etc. -Birch is used as a representation of newness and discomfort, such as Tommy's exile builds, logstedshire, spawn, and one of the community house builds. -Cobblestone is a very Tommy staple, and it can be built and taken down very fast, without much permanence. Tommy seems to build so much with cobble to fulfill his urges to make a mark and build without thinking of the passage of time. It might be important to mention (cobble)stone has the effect of being resistant to Ghast blasts in the Nether. -This is in contrast to Foolish who uses expensive materials and spends hours on his builds to make sure he is remembered, which ties into his canon immortality and the way he must have seen many humans(?) like Tommy with the same spirit eventually lose that energy and be forgotten. -Blackstone and obsidian, especially in combination are always used for places of impending doom, think the prison, the control room, Manburg, Punz's walls, and Dream's base. There are just too many examples of this one. -There is so much more to say about obsidian alone, especially how it is usually enclosing things. The prison cell, ranboo's panic room, lmanburg before the exile, etc. Interestingly, the gameplay function of the block is actually to create a literal portal to a different dimension, and this could be seen as misunderstanding or misuse of a natural material, or people, as you mentioned in your c!dream analysis. I probably have more but I need to stop while I'm ahead.

[@warmlacroix_9820]

Edited for spelling errors

[@mmgmagic]

The green in Ranboo's eye could also represent Dream, referring to the Dream-on lore that Ranboo has been enduring. The fact that his green eye could stand for both his most beloved and most hated person on the SMP is quite a neat detail, showing the two things important to Ranboo's character as of now.

[@hikkakom1]

okay, but the oneshot ost? THE VIBES OF THIS VID ARE SOOO GOOD. thank you very much for this wonderful video, this really makes sense and helps me understand the characters a bit better

[@kurkarl214]

Thank you for the comment :DD I'm glad you enjoyed!

[@justadumbkid8116]

,,I'm going on full English teacher mode" that one took my last canon life

[@rexmin203]

This was very interesting to watch, and makes a lot of sense too... the fact that Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo DID end up sorta teaming up too, just confirms you did an awesome job!

[@app3t3ncy]

Something else interesting I noticed when you were explaining the Inbetween and the Other Side is how it also relates to Ranboo's color scheme. It's been stated that his regular enderman side is rationality or the "right" in a situation and his light side is the evil in his mind. I can go on about how this relates to another theory I have about his character but I'll put that below as an optional read. Ranboo hasn't confirmed what his light half is, only that his darker half is enderman. My theory is that he originally had the Ran color scheme, fully black with green eyes, but started time travelling like Karl sometime in his past. He wrote records of his findings and adventures (which could explain his habit of keeping memory books). What I think is that soon enough he started to see the same signs of memory loss that Karl is experiencing (explains his current memory problems) and realized that he couldn't keep up this charade for too long. The final straw was when the Inbetween and his travelling started infecting him (giving him his half-and-half look). He wrote books for the next time traveler, who ended up being Karl, warning them of what the Inbetween held in store, and spread these around the castle. Finally, poof. Complete memory wipe, and he finds himself in a new land where he then meets Tubbo_ and joins L'manberg. I haven't really put all that much thought into it and I miss a lot of streams so some information may be incorrect (lmk if it is). Like I said, just theorizing. :) if you read all the way to here, ty

[@scrnsvr8560]

HARV THIS IS SO GOOD !!!!

[@kurkarl214]

THANK YOI TOBY!!!!

[@dandragonz3483]

I love this, it’s super well thought out and makes a lot of sense even though a lot of the skins/ characters probably only line up by coincidence. It’s awesome to see this all come together like this and I’m glad to see someone pick up on Wilbur having blue before he died too (when he was alive it was lapis rather than dye though so I take it as it being a more solid substance that somehow melted or was broken down after he died or that his sadness is more condensed and visible when he’s alive so his blue is the same) Also I wanna note that I would say Ranboo’s suit is a dark gray (rather than black) so he does fit in that category because of his indecisiveness and it could possibly a hint at his enderwalk side making him a slightly more sinister character since it’s still part of him.

[@kurkarl214]

Thank you, also good point on Ranboo! I didn't know it was actually gray :0

[@dandragonz3483]

@@kurkarl214 no prob, also, I know it’d probably be shorter but I think you could do a part 2 considering purpled’s recent lore and characters that you missed like foolish, Punz and Awesamdude/ the warden. I think that’d be cool.

[@kurkarl214]

@@dandragonz3483 Other people have been asking for a part two as well, I might make one after the next video!

[@dandragonz3483]

@@kurkarl214 awesome!

[@kappapride6332]

This video is very validating and I really enjoyed it. I kept thinking about the colors of the Dream SMP myself and I loved how Karl's lore implements subversive symbolism for White and Black in the Imbetween and the Other Side. Couple of things I noticed myself: "Red can actually have a physical effect on people, raising blood pressure and respiration rates". Which brings the meaning of influence. The Egg can influence people (Reaper style) and it also recognizes Tommy's influencing abilities. Another meaning of red is love which I also tied to BBH and The Egg. And while I know it sounds dubious at first, it makes more sense when you think about it. The Egg arc's biggest themes were love, its twisted variant and sacrifice (all of which are the meanings of red). The Egg forces you to love it. BBH gives himself up to the egg because he loved Skeppy. The Egg always lowkey reminded me of Saika from Durarara. "Saika is a demonic blade. It has no body with which to love. ...All she wanted was to touch someone. She wanted to unite herself with the flesh of the humans she loved. ...In order to express her love, Saika chose to simply slash all of humanity. That moment of dissection is the only moment in which she is able to touch humankind. Saika is able to possess humans by cutting them, which causes the victim to feel immense pain and fear, and it uses fear it instills in its victims to control them." Saika's color theme is red going further into the love and influence symbolism. Another color thing that I only noticed because of your video but didn't hear you mention it is how Tubbo's presidential outfit is comprised of L'manburg flag colors (blue costume, red tie and yellow shoulder pads). I've always thought the outfit was supposed to be the combination of Schlatt's suit and L'manburg uniform which would indicate how Tubbo has learned from both Schlatt and Wilbur but now because of the recent discovery and the fact that Tubbo's presidential outfit was given to him by Wilbur himself makes me believe that was not the case after all. In any way this only proves to me that Wilbur of all people always goes out of his way to support color language on the SMP.

[@LBoomsky]

The Dream SMP: The only reason the word "Multiperspectivity narrative" exists.

[@wolfstar3943]

Oh. My. Freakin. Gosh. I AM IN LOVE!! I absolutely love love love this study of colours in DSMP! I never really thought about it before. aaaaah!!! Once you started talking about colours, I immediately thought of Ranboo's character design, and I was so glad and enjoyed it when you brought him up. AND OOOOHH!! You even predicted a close relationship between the trio of Ranboo, Tubbo, and Tommy! I thought that was so cool!! This was very eye-opening for me and even allowed me to read other people's thoughts in the comments of the video which is absolutely amazing!

[@mossbrining3653]

This is absolutely lovely, I can’t wait for your next analysis :))

[@millymcbug]

THIS. This is what I want my future classroom to be full of. Great job!

[@owlduet3598]

Something also worth noting is the flag of Snowchester. The green, blue, yellow, and white colors might symbolize a deeper meaning to the creation of the country. The green is like Tubbo's Envy for safety and a family, White is for the peace he hopes will come to the country and his family. Blue is tricky because it can represent both sadness and calm. Calm, because he feels at home in Snowchester, and sadness because, in order to feel safe, he had to build a whole city. Yellow is for happiness because he feels content with Ranboo and Micheal in their new home of Snowchester. Yes I know its been months since this video was posted, but I thought this was interesting so I decided to share :)

[@ethandeselles2710]

Pls every one put this on Wilbur’s Reddit because he needs to watch this!!!

[@thatoneweirdo3934]

Personally, when I think of blue I think of George. Though he isn't too active in lore, he represents blue quite well, when first doing law when L'Manburg was asking for independence he was there to shoot the arrow to the TNT. Completely calm and sure of his shot, as he is one of the best people for bow and arrow in the game (a usually more strat based weapon than a sword or axe, in my opinion) but in recent streams, he sports it in a way of calm sadness when he wakes up from his dreams. He wakes in silence rather than mumbling to himself as if he was used to the dreams showing his more reserved and quiet method of thinking rather than the monologuing of red and green with Technobalde and Dream. George's role in lore is quiet, even when he was Quacity's vice in the elections he didn't do anything notable, even when the battle happened between Pogtopia and Manburg was off in the background. But it's becoming more often to be loud, he is waiting outside the Prison, his calm seemed to be thinking while he stared at the prison. His character, at least to me, is very interesting.

[@bee-sk3il]

i love the celeste music on the background, it’s such a perfect ost and fits with everything

[@ManikPanik2113]

Now that Purpled has lore, I can connect some of the meanings of his colour to his character, being a mercenary ties in wealth, the magic of his UFO, and the luxury of Las Nevadas. He is also a very mysterious character, his motivations being questionable. He is very intelligent and thinks things through, except when he does something impulsive, like blowing up his cabin.

[@machaboba9392]

Ranboo is a WHOOOOLE thing. Black and white, green paired with black and red paired with white could also be the flipping of morals thing. As well enderwalk ranboo being fully purple showing that we don’t really know how the enderwalk state works as well as if we will ever be able to control it

[@Bareezio]

I’m surprised this isn’t a class project

[@savanareherman654]

Yellow can also symbolize betrayal. I don’t know how I would connect it to people, but I feel like that’s an important detail.

[@jomay7580]

As an English teacher and DSMP fan, I loved this video analysis so much :)

[@ButterflyColors]

This analysis was very well done. I wonder if any dsmp members will see this and start doing color symbolism more purposefully now

[@kurkarl214]

I've been hoping they do!! It would be awesome haha

[@greenm110]

This was legitimately so interesting. Loved the video!

[@Viitani]

I love how you put so much thought into this and how deep you had dug for this information that makes so much sence! Loved the video!

[@sarahouma466]

Imagine people in 800 years having to learn about everyone simping for block men while the world is crumbling to the ground.

[@skips626]

"and as the earth burns to the ground, oh girl it's you that i lie with"

[@F1aire]

So glad I watched this, I was putting it off but now that I’ve got to it I don’t regret it at all, despite most of this not being cannon it was really interesting to watch to see what other ways the colors may be interpreted!

[@crystalgacha2218]

AHHHH THE CONNECTIONS OF CHARACTER TO TOHER CHARACTERS IS MY FAVOURITE PARTTT ITS SO ACCURATE AHHHH

[@koi2425]

one of my favorite dsmp related videos, its so well made and so thought out. amazing job! :D

[@jameshurd8406]

It’s interesting to note that Wilbur hands out lapis lazuli well ghostbur out dark blue dye. And when you break down lapis you get dark blue dye. So looking at the symbolism of what both blue mean we literally get when you break down the liberty of l,manburg you get some thing that shield you from your sadness.

[@Sammygull]

tysm for making this vid its rlly nice and if im honest i got a bit emotional especially when the disc music started playing when you spoke about tommy, it just kind of hit me in a place that meant a lot to me and this community and the creators have brought me a lot of happiness i never got to experience the og bench moments, bench trio or bench duo they call it but i got to experience tommy alone recently listening to the disc alone after a dispute between wilbur and quackity and it rlly just makes me realize how far these characters have developed silently

[@kurkarl214]

Tommy is my favorite SMP character and so I totally understand what you mean. I'm so glad you enjoyed!!

[@Sammygull]

@@kurkarl214 tommy, and tubbo probably are some of the many of my favs from the SMP :) i feel tubbo is rlly underrated of a character

[@Zephirite.]

18:01 Fundy said purple represents order-thus why he wanted to replace the blue in L’Manburg’s flag with purple, believing Schlatt would bring progress to the country. Ironically, Schlatt rejected the idea outright, showing he wasn’t interested in order so much as dominance and ambition. Even the purple-ish crying obsidian only comprised Manburg’s flagpole-none of the flag itself.

[@pyrusinc]

Dude, this was an amazing video! Very well thought out, and the music choice of Oneshot and Celeste felt especially poignant :D

[@XiaraRodriguez]

That was very good! You have Interesting theories :)

[@kurkarl214]

Thank you so much!!

[@swinter1016]

I'm so glad that this popped up in my recommendation, I was craving for an anylisis video about the dsmp and the video anylisis you made just made it chefs kiss

[@UniqueDestinyCA]

This is so good! Wonderful writing and thinking! 👏 And it’s so interesting how well the often unintentional colour symbolism works!

[@TianaManuelRey]

I like to think Ranboo’s green and red eye stands for the people he cares most of, like Tubbo and Tommy. Yes Ranboo and Tommy don’t necessarily have a good connection in the DreamSMP but Tommy said in Wilbur’s revival that he sees potential in Ranboo. It’s kind of sweet to think about honestly. :]

[@crowbar_the_rogue]

Another use of black (more specifically, blackstone): The Final Control Room (representing death), Technoblade's vault (representing power) and Dream's underground chamber (a mixture of both)

[@O2229]

this is a genuinely fantastic video & i hope you continue to make more like this :)

[@karamelalb2328]

Thank you for making this video! Its very nice and while I do believe that most of the colors are used in the SMP unintentionally it is so cool to see people extrapolate the meaning from it!

[@josedelgato9218]

I would also like to point out that ranboos eyes are the same colors as techno and dream, with the the irony being that even though red is a more violent color, his relationship with techno is one of friendship, and while green is life and health, ranboo is terrified of dream and feels like he has some kind of sickness related to dream.

[@skales1210]

I love colour theory and the Dream Smp so much, this was a really fun video to watch! Looking forward to seeing more analysis videos like this

[@CelesteBelin-vq5jn]

Really great video! I love how much you read into things. Super well thought out and it really dives into many different thoughts and ideas. I was thinking about the color green a bit further and I thought that manipulation/control could also fall under the category. First of all, dream, he's green and manipulated tommy, and several others. I also thought of Ranboo and his green enderman eyes. It connects to his trouble with his enderwalk and how it manipulates his thoughts, and how it sometimes literally controls his body (in the enderwalk state). Also for the envy part, dream also shows envy, envy of power, envy of not having control. :)

[@noxianey]

that's a really cool idea for a video! I enjoyed watching it, it's very well made :)

[@korogumi]

I really really appreciate this analysis. It’s very well done, and you’re very good at reading into things in a literary way! Well done

[@wysteria8304]

super late but adding on to how Wlibur handed out blue on his death day and as a ghost- he's handing them out because he literally gave people grief/sadness not only when he decided to leave and destroy what he made but by coming back acting completely oblivious. it's his silent acknowledgment abt what he did. however, he's too cowardly to admit and make up for his mistakes so this is kind of a silent gesture...? well anyways i love your content and how thoroughly you explained this!

[@jademonass2954]

i would argue ranboo would have a connection to purple aswell it would also link to the mysterious vibe he has not only that, the crown motif he has also link to royalty, so thats also a plus

[@katkrazy339]

I thoroughly enjoyed the points that you brought up about each of the colours represented by characters. There are definitely other characters that you could have included as well to further your points but overall the speculations that you made were well put. Maybe you can include some more characters in a part 2 if you wanted and see how the colour symbolism used in the SMP has changed or even stayed the same with the newer plot but that's just a suggestion. :)