Cobra Kai: Why fans are calling out Hollywood’s racist obsession with the yellow filter

The West has a long history of viewing “other” or the “Oriental” as something primitive, dirty and not equal to themselves. Hollywood, being the epitome of all things Western, doesn’t go too far to make clear (or cloud) how it perceives anything that isn’t part of the “Western Culture”. So it’s no surprise that Netflix Cobra Kai takes a similar path.

Cobra Kai Season 5
Netflix is ​​back with Cobra Kai season 5

The bloody-yellow filter in Cobra Kai

The “yellow filter” as popularly known among audiences, has become a standard in Hollywood when it comes to featuring countries like Mexico, India, other Southeast Asian countries or Midwestern countries. A yellowish tone is used when these countries are displayed on the screen to represent tropical or dry climates. But after so many years, it has become a stereotype to present countries that the West sees as primitive and filled with poverty and crime.

Also Read: Cobra Kai Season 5 Review: Hit Hard and Show No Mercy

In the last season of Cobra Kai, one of the main characters of the series, Miguel Diaz is in Mexico. Diaz is there looking for her father, and the whole set is saturated with the inevitable yellow filter. The kick is that the yellow filter only appears when the character is inside Mexican borders. As soon as the character is back on American soil, the filter becomes non-existent.

Cobra Kai yellow filter
The fifth season of Cobra Kai introduces the yellow filter

This filter is essentially Hollywood’s perception of the countries it considers the “other”. Directors since time immemorial have used these different filters to represent different countries. India is depicted in a dark yellow filter, while Mexico is a strong yellow and the Middle East is a dusty brown filter. This just goes to show the stereotype that Hollywood has been pushing on its audience for so long.

Related Article: Cobra Kai Season 5 Streaming Details: Where to Watch and Release Time in UK, US & Canada

Now, as time goes by, some people are finally talking about how it must finally be. And how Hollywood has to take a step back to only show countries that are as culturally rich as they are ugly, dirty and wild.

When a cinematographer or director decides to use a yellow filter in scenes that take place in Africa, Latin America and South Asia, his intention is to create a space that would entice the intended viewers, who are predominantly white, to associate these places with poverty. , and delinquency. The idea is to show how primitive they are compared to the West, despite their rich cultural background.

From blue to yellow to blue

In contrast, while America itself has no filters, countries like those in Eastern Europe are shown in light blue filters. Blue, which is taken as the opposite of yellow, represents futuristic and modernized progressive societies. movies like the wolf of Wall Street had a subtle blue filter to show New York’s richness and modernity. Also, movies like Duskand The Bourne Identity made similar shifts in tone when dealing with American or European countries.

Twilight uses the blue filter
The film Twilight (2008) used the blue filter

Cobra Kai wouldn’t be the first to have the yellow filter showing Mexico. One of the most popular television shows ever made, breaking Bad was mocked for its “Mexican filter” whenever a scene took place south of the border. And it’s not just TV, movies like Chris Hemsworth star Extraction or the oscar winner Slumdog Millionairewhile depicting countries like Bangladesh and India, used these similar effects.

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It should be noted that behind-the-scenes footage of films featuring “other” country has a much clearer picture than the actual movies. Netflix’s official page ahead of the hit movie’s release Extraction posted this footage from behind the stage, with a clear blue sky. But actual movie scenes are saturated with murky yellows. And this is just one example, there are many other similar events. It may finally be time to move away from this.

Now, at 21st century, the public is finally talking about this stereotype that we have followed for so long. Isn’t it time to finally get out of this trope that has plagued Hollywood for so many decades? Maybe it’s time to say goodbye to the idea of ​​white supremacy, and with it, the yellow filter!

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