History Main / RedAndBlackTotalitarianism

In the [=1800s=] and [=1900s=] up to the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, modern totalitarianism began emerging in forms we'd recognize. While scholars and politicians alike have argued about earlier applications of the concept going back to antiquity such as with the [[DynastiesFromShangToQing Qin Dynasty]] to the Despotic Utopianism of Paraguay's Dr. Francia or Argentina's "Restorer of Laws" Rosas in the 19th century, this gets more widespread recognition in the leadup to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI with the emergence of nationalist, expansionist, and fiercely anti-democratic conspiracies in Central and Eastern Europe, such as the CUP in the Ottoman Empire, the "War Socialists" of Erich Ludendorff, Marxist-Leninism in Soviet Russia, the black-clad Fascisti of Italy, and finally [[ThoseWackyNazis a certain political movement starting in Germany that utilized fear, intimidation, hate and division to take power, oppress entire, and ultimately lead Europe into the bloodiest war of the 20th century.]] The [[CommieNazis National Bolsheviks]] came after and were bit players, but unsurprisingly did nothing to lessen the association that would quickly form.

In the early [=1900s=] up to the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, modern totalitarianism began emerging in forms we'd recognize. Arguably this started first in the fires of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI with the emergence of nationalist, expansionist, and fiercely anti-democratic conspiracies in Central and Eastern Europe such as the CUP in the Ottoman Empire and the "War Socialists" of Erich Ludendorff, before moving on to the emergence of Marxist-Leninism in Soviet Russia, the black-clad Fascisti of Italy, and finally [[ThoseWackyNazis a certain political movement starting in Germany that utilized fear, intimidation, hate and division to take power, oppress entire, and ultimately lead Europe into the bloodiest war of the 20th century.]] The [[CommieNazis National Bolsheviks]] came after and were bit players, but unsurprisingly did nothing to lessen the association that would quickly form.

One coincidence is that while many of these different totalitarian ideologies didn't agree on each other with much, they did tend to all adopt Black and Red as common motifs. For Ludendorff and his WWI groupies this might have been a simple case of appropriating the pre-existing color scheme of UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany and its marriage of the Black-White Prussian and Red-White Hanseatic influence, but it quickly took off from there. While different ideologies and movements tended to emphasize or de-emphasize one or others, the commonalities remained. And ultimately when [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi party,]] led by UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, adopted red and black as their official colors, the shorthand was cemented.

Though the Nazis were ultimately defeated, their influence ultimately prevailed in both its tactics and imagery, not helped by the continued prevalence of the Soviets, who while de-emphasizing (and periodically demonizing) the color black continued to use it, with Francesco Nitti noting even before WWII the prevalence of it and other historians noting how both Nazis and Soviets would use them both as their dominant color motifs during the lavish, propaganda spectacle state funerals.

In many postwar mediums, an oppressive authoritarian regime's colors are depicted as red and black, with white or silver often employed as an accent color. It doesn't matter if the underlying symbol is a [[ThoseWackyNazis swastika]], a [[CorruptChurch cross]], or a [[RedScare tool]]; this particular color scheme is meant to symbolize that the regime in question is totalitarian and unquestionably the bad guys.

* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'': The East Europan Imperial Alliance, which, tellingly enough, is referred to as "The Empire", has black and red abundant in their uniforms and sigils, but also incorporate gold highlights, which represents their nobility and elitism.
** This is continued in ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronciles2'' with the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Gallian Revolutionary Army]] representing reactionary [[FantasticRacism anti-Darcsen racists]].

->''''It was not only the Nazis who could lay on a brilliant funeral for their fallen knights; even the colours were the same: everything was red and black."''

->''It was not only the Nazis who could lay on a brilliant funeral for their fallen knights; even the colours were the same: everything was red and black.”

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}'': When Dagmar and Satan takes over Dreamland, the castle is adorned with red and black posters depicting her face, and the guards are outfitted in black.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'': The authoritarian and xenophobic Commonwealth of Man empire uses red and black in its logo.

-->-- '''Simon Sebag Montfiore''', [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar]]''

Ironically, certain movements on the ''opposite'' end of the political spectrum, like the Anarchist movement, also utilize red and black as their color scheme. These could overlap in the case of certain flavors of [[BombThrowingAnarchists Bomb-Throwing Anarchist]].

** This is continued in ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronciles2'' with the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Gallian Revolutionary Army]] representing reactionary anti-Darcsen racists.

* ''VideoGame/XCOM2'': The ADVENT Administration, the totalitarian regime ruling Earth after it was successfully invaded by the aliens, predominantly uses red and black in its symbols and equipment. This stands in contrast with the heroic XCOM, which uses blue.
*

* ''LetsPlay/StellarisInvicta'': The flag of the Greater Terran Union has a predominantly red and black coloration (with some white added in for flavor).

** Continued in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyFutureWarfare'' with the Settlement Defense Front, genocidally expansionist Zabi expies.

-->-- '''Simon Sebag Montfiore''', Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar''

->''It was not only the Nazis who could lay on a brilliant funeral for their fallen knights; even the colours were the same: everything was red and black. Stalin had already declared Kirov his closest martyred comrade: his home town, Viatka, Leningrad’s Mariinsky Ballet and hundreds of streets were renamed “Kirov.”

In the early [=1900s=] up to the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, modern totalitarianism began emerging in forms we'd recognize. Arguably this started first in the fires of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI with the emergence of nationalist, expansionist, and fiercely anti-democratic conspiracies in Central and Eastern Europe such as the CUP in the Ottoman Empire and the "War Socialists" of Erich Ludendorff, before moving on to the emergence of Marxist-Leninism in Soviet Russia, the black-clad Fascisti of Italy, and finally [[ThoseWhackyNazis a certain political movement starting in Germany that utilized fear, intimidation, hate and division to take power, oppress entire, and ultimately lead Europe into the bloodiest war of the 20th century.]] The [[CommieNazis National Bolsheviks]] came after and were bit players, but unsurprisingly did nothing to lessen the association that would quickly form.

One coincidence is that while many of these different totalitarian ideologies didn't agree on each other with much, they did tend to all adopt Black and Red as common motifs. For Ludendorff and his WWI groupies this might have been a simple case of appropriating the pre-existing color scheme of usefulNotes/ImperialGermany and its marriage of the Black-White Prussian and Red-White Hanseatic influence, but it quickly took off from there. While different ideologies and movements tended to emphasize or de-emphasize one or others, the commonalities remained. And ultimately when [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi party,]] led by UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, adopted red and black as their official colors, the shorthand was cemented.

In the early [=1930s=] up to the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, a political movement started in Germany that utilized fear, intimidation, hate and division to take power, oppress an entire race, and ultimately lead Europe into the bloodiest war of the 20th century. The [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi party,]] led by UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, adopted red and black as their official colors. Though the Nazis were ultimately defeated, their influence ultimately prevailed in both its tactics and imagery.

Ironically, certain movements on the ''opposite'' end of the political spectrum, like the Anarchist movement and Antifa, also utilize red and black as their color scheme. These could overlap in the case of certain flavors of [[BombThrowingAnarchists Bomb-Throwing Anarchist]].

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': In "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS4E1EdgeOfTomortyRickDieRickpeat Edge of Tomorty: Rick, Die, Repeat]]", when Rick dies and Operation Phoenix reroutes him to other universes, those universes turn out to be fascist empires, complete with red and black flags and symbols.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' fan comic ''Webcomic/NeverSayGoodbye'', pages dealing with the radical political factions that oppose Judy's pro-equality policies are DeliberatelyMonochrome with a red SplashOfColor. These groups are treated as the Zootopia equivalent of the alt-right, and the white, black, and red coloring of these pages can easily remind the reader of Nazi Germany's color scheme. These factions are also shown to use red, white, and black in their iconography.

* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'': HYDRA, and by extension the Nazi regime, make heavy use of red and black on their uniforms and imagery. The HYDRA emblem itself is usually depicted as a red skull and tentacles logo surrounded by a black background. Even after Schmidt splits HYDRA off from the Nazis in secret, they retain the red and black, not helped by the fact that Schmidt himself has a red SkullForAHead.

* ''Film/RichardIII'' is set in an AlternateHistory in which Britain [[PuttingOnTheReich goes fascist in the 1930s]]. Naturally, this trope is in full force.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Arrowverse}}'' ''Series/CrisisOnEarthX'', the villains Overgirl and Dark Arrow (Earth-X's [[EvilCounterpart Nazi counterparts]] of Supergirl and Green Arrow), wear black costumes with red details. Eobard Thawne joined them as Dark Flash, adding a bit of black to his yellow and red costume and changing his black-and-red ChestInsignia to make it similar to the logo of the Nazi organization Schutzstaffel (SS).

* Music/PinkFloyd: In ''Music/TheWall'', a red and black "crossed hammers" logo is associated with the unnamed fascist regime that Pink imagines himself as the leader of during the album's fourth side; the gatefold interior additionally depicts these hammers marching in goose-step. The film adaptation accentuates this further, showing the regime's members donning and flying red and black colors everywhere they go, punctuated by animated renditions of the marching hammers.

* In the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries'', the Brotherhood of Nod sports a red-black color scheme which fits their nature as an apocalyptic cult hell-bent on transforming the entire world with Tiberium. They are also described as being joined in by both neo-fascist & anarchist groups alike, traditional customers of such color scheme.

* Superman's One Earth Regime from the Injustice universe of ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'', while the heroes that represent it keep their original colors, very much has the red-and-black motif going for its soldiers, and even has a [[https://injustice.fandom.com/wiki/File:NewRegime2-300x175.jpg flag]] that is predominantly red and black, with white and yellow as its complementary colors.

* In ''Literature/LookToTheWest'', the various Jacobin Rebellions that swept across Europe all created their new flag by turning the existing flag upside down and recolouring it in red and black.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** The Fire Nation uses a red and black color scheme, as shown on the air balloons that the Mechanist is forced to create. By the time of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLegendOfKorra'' and the more benevolent rules of Fire Lords Zuko and Izumi, the Fire Nation tends to be more primarily associated with a darker red and a muted gold to show their distance from the authoritarian regimes of Fire Lords Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai.
** Though starting off as freedom fighters, the Equalists quickly turn authoritarian at the end of the first season of ''Legend of Korra''. Always using black and red, they deface public monuments in manners eerily similar to real life tyrannical regimes.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': In "Edge of Tomorty: Rick, Die, Repeat", when Rick dies and Operation Phoenix reroutes him to other universes, those universes turn out to be fascist empires, complete with red and black flags and symbols.

A subtrope to RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver. PuttingOnTheReich is also relevant here, for the reasons stated above. Intersects with RedIsViolent and EvilWearsBlack when the colors are separated. Contrast RedIsHeroic and WhiteAndRedAndEerieAllOver for a color swap (though its worth noting that many examples listed here also sprinkle white into their color scheme).

[[caption-width-right:350:"You work for a Sith, as all in the Empire do."]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Characters/StarWarsTheOldRepublicImperialClassSithWarrior "You work for a Sith, as all in the Empire do."]]]]

* ''Film/NineteenEightyFour'': The Ingsoc Party, the authoritarian political party of Oceania, has a flag that is black, red, and white.

* The 1995 film adaptation of ''Film/RichardIII'', starring Creator/IanMcKellen in the title role, is set in an AlternateHistory in which Britain [[PuttingOnTheReich goes fascist in the 1930s]]. Naturally, this trope is in full force.

* In the Series/{{Arrowverse}}'s crossover ''Series/CrisisOnEarthX'', the villains Overgirl and Dark Arrow (Earth-X's [[EvilCounterpart Nazi counterparts]] of Supergirl and Green Arrow), wear black costumes with red details. Eobard Thawne joined them as Dark Flash, adding a bit of black to his yellow and red costume and changing his black-and-red ChestInsignia to make it similar to the logo of the Nazi organization Schutzstaffel (SS).

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}} fan comic ''Webcomic/NeverSayGoodbye'', the pages where Judy (who has been elected mayor of Zootopia) talks about the radical political factions that oppose her pro-equality policies are DeliberatelyMonochrome with a red SplashOfColor. These groups are treated as the Zootopia equivalent of the alt-right, and the white, black, and red coloring of these pages can easily remind the reader of Nazi Germany's color scheme.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries}}'', the Brotherhood of Nod sports a red-black color scheme which fits their nature as an apocalyptic cult hell-bent on transforming the entire world with Tiberium. They are also described as being joined in by both neo-fascist & anarchist groups alike, traditional customers of such color scheme.