Why is black often portrayed as evil?

Question

Why is black often portrayed as evil and white as purity and good? It is due to light and darkness?

To make it clear, I am not saying black is evil. However, games and other art and media sources use black as an evil colour, like Black and White, the PC game.

Answer 1

Yes. Since black is absence of color, absence of light, it is often seen as evil because darkness suggests the unknown. People fear the unknown. Therefore, they conclude, that black is evil because they fear evil. But the unknown is only unknown until someone or something sheds light on it. Then, we often find that those things hidden to us are not always as scary as we seem to think they are.

Answer 2

Black is portrayed as evil, because white is the colour of light and purity, in christian mythology. But really, black is only portrayed as evil because thats how the Xians, or christians, have taught everyone for centuries. It really should not be portrayed as such though.

Answer 3

You're on the right track. Right vs wrong, light vs darkness.

Good guys in westerns traditionally wore white hats, bad guys black hats. Clint Eastwood broke this mold, however.

The word "light" is equated with "truth" in the Bible, and darkness with deception and evil.

Islam is a religion of death and darkness inasmuch as the deity of their false religion was the god of darkness, the god of the night, the moon God of the ancient Sabeans Al-Ilah. You'll notice the crescent moon and a star is the symbol of their religion, not a full moon, or something bright like the sun, but symbols of darkness.

While we're on the subject, all the colors of Satan's counterfiet of God's throne are the same as the throne of God, however the third color of Satan's throne is not the rainbow (which is the refraction of pure white light) as in God's throne, but it is black, representing the absense of the light of truth.

Answer 4

I suspect it has to do with the fact that mankind is a diurnal creature. Nocturnal predators were once a fearsome problem. Would something come out of the darkness and gobble us up? The black of night was to be feared for centuries, if not millenia. Today, we still have the genetic fear of the dark, and by extension, of the very color of night.

Answer 5

White is like light, and gives the mental picture of something that is pure and clean. Black is like darkness, which gives the impression (to most) of darkness and evil and sin.

Answer 6

Black is a non color or the absence of color. White is the combination of all color.

Hollywood movies has contributed greatly to our views on the color black. Good guys werar white hats bad guys were black hats. A episode of charmed had the demon Barbas in black while his counter part wore white.

Black absorbs energy.

Answer 7

It's a chain of association that the typical mind, influenced by emotions, goes through.
Black=dark=unknown=scared=evil.

To a more disciplined mind, black=neutrality=peace.
Most minds are not disciplined. Emotions infuence thoughts and distort reality.

Answer 8

not sure, but i think it is because evil and bugs often comes out in the protection of night and goodness is mostly in the light.

Answer 9

Its like this
Evil darkenss - Satan
Light - God

Evil darkness is satan because you cant see where you going in the night and you wont go the right path

Light is God because in the light we can go to the right path.

Answer 10

I dont know. I like the question though. Whatever the answer is, is probably & unfortunatley the very root of racism.