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3%% This page's examples section is sorted alphabetically. It would be lovely if you'd maintain this, thanks.
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6[[quoteright:345:[[Website/{{Cracked}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/monochrome_santa.jpg]]]]
7[[caption-width-right:345:[[SincerityMode Believe it or not,]] [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18444_17-more-images-you-wont-believe-arent-photoshopped.html this wasn't photoshopped.]]]]
8
9->''"You see dimensions in two,\
10State your case with black or white"''
11-->-- '''The Fixx''', "One Thing Leads to Another"
12
13Sometimes, the less we say, the more gets said. Despite and because of its simplicity, complexity, [[{{Chiaroscuro}} stark contrast]] and cultural cachet, Black and White movies and stand-alone TV episodes have remained popular in a few genres and story niches. Its uses vary, but these works are [[PaintingTheMedium deliberately desaturated]] to help the [[EnvironmentalSymbolism general mood and theme]] of the {{Film}}.
14
15While no genre has a lock on B&W, the likeliest to use it are FilmNoir, detective stories and historical films or paying homage to historical films. The themes that can be expressed or heightened with B&W are generally moral ambiguity, {{Zeerust}}, mystery, drama and tragedy.
16
17This ''desaturation'' can also be used to [[{{Retraux}} mimic the look of older films]], particularly colorized black-and-white films or faded prints of color films. This has led to use of Sepia tones ([[RealIsBrown browns]] and tans that mimic faded photographs) [[FlashbackEffects to indicate the scene in question is a flashback]]. It can also be used to symbolize [[GloomyGray depression]].
18
19There is also a limited palette version of this when the work is entirely desaturated, save for a few accent colors. Supertrope to SplashOfColor which is when a predominantly grayscale work includes rare sparks of color on important characters or objects.
20
21In [[AdvertisingTropes infomercials]], Deliberately Monochrome signifies the "old-fashioned" (and usually inferior) way of doing things. [[TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket The woman tangled in a mess of cling wrap or cutting her fingers off while paring potatoes with a knife]] will usually be in black-and-white, while the woman easily covering leftovers with a Covermate or "peeling" a potato with the Handy-Peel will be in full color.
22
23See also {{Retraux}}, RealIsBrown, and ColorFailure. A MonochromePast is this trope limited to a {{flashback}}. A MonochromaticImpactShot is limited to a strong (often lethal) blow. An AlternateMonochromeVersion is for when an entire work that exists in color receives a separate version made to be in monochrome from front to back. Compare {{Colorization}}.
24
25Supertrope to GrayscaleOfEvil.
26----
27!!Examples:
28
29[[foldercontrol]]
30
31!!Pure Black and White
32
33[[folder:Advertising]]
34* Most "comparison" shots for diets, acne medicine, and other cosmetic applications will happen to have the "before" shot in black and white, and the "after" in color.
35* There was an advert in the 1980s for Courage Best beer that was deliberately shot in the style of a 1930s film -- they actually got a cinematographer from the '30s involved to ensure authenticity. The advert is known as "Gertcha"; it's supposed to hearken back to an era where Courage Best was apparently served in every pub across the land. Or perhaps it's supposed to show that Courage Best is timeless. Either way, "Gertcha" is the name of the Chas & Dave song that plays during that advert, and in fact Chas & Dave did do more jingles for other, similar Courage Best adverts in the 1980s.
36* The Trope TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket is in turn practically built around ''this'' trope.
37* Most attack ads during political campaigns do this, usually with the candidate they don't like. Magical colors reappear when the candidate they ''do'' like comes on screen.
38* Many ads for kids show the boring world in black and white before the introduction of the new product that gives everything color.
39* A commercial for Duracell batteries from the 1980s featured toys of Creator/LaurelAndHardy in a getaway motorcycle powered by the newer Duracell battery being chased by a police car powered by the older Duracell. The commercial is done entirely in black and white with dialogue cards in place of spoken dialogue (save for the Duracell logo at the end).
40* While the first part of a two-part commercial for [[Advertising/EnergizerBunny Energizer batteries]] featuring Franchise/KingKong is shown in color, the second part is shown in black and white. A more straight example from Energizer is a commercial parodying ''Series/TheLoneRanger'', as it is shown entirely in black and white.
41* A couple of the past commercials for [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's]] Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights were styled in black and white:
42** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7lydPoqgLU All]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6osJwPLezGE three]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebCeV5smX7A commercials]] for the event in 2002.
43** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVhX-PgkSkw Both]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIFLsbS-Mx4 commercials]] for 2003's event, although there were [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIsIS6uF0Tk color]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwol6OZfNas versions]] done as well.
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
47* The 2024 anime adaptation of [[Creator/JunjiIto Junji Ito's]] ''Manga/{{Uzumaki}}'' is completely in black-and-white to match the manga's artstyle.
48* ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'' starts out like this, before Tomoya [[FirstGirlWins meets Nagisa]]. By the same company that made ''[[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]''.
49* ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' has an entire arc where suitably monochrome scenes indicate the past.
50* ''Franchise/DotHack'' depicts the [[RealLife real world]], as opposed to The World of the on-line VR games, in grainy black and white... ''except'' in the very final scene, where two of the players joyfully meet up in real life for the first time.
51* The 1969 ''Manga/{{Dororo}}'' anime is entirely in black and white, despite other anime at the time being produced in color. The pilot was in color, but apparently the sponsor thought that there was too much blood, so the black-and-white was something of a compromise.
52* In ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'', [[FacelessMasses people that don't really have any plot importance tend to be grey]].
53* In episode 10 of the ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'' anime, the scene where Kashima tries to sing is rendered in black and white, in the style of an old film reel. This is to demonstrate her [[HollywoodToneDeaf tone deafness]].
54* The last episode of ''Anime/GunBuster'', just cause it's so angsty. What do you expect, it's a GainaxEnding (the angsty version, not the budget one - though to be fair, the limited budget that remained to finish the show played a role in the decision too).
55* When Iori is telling ghost stories to Makoto and Yukiho at the beach during the night in the anime version of ''Anime/TheIdolMaster''.
56* Episode 7 of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' displays the witch Elsa Maria’s realm this way, but takes it a step further. Everything but the background is either pitch black, blank white, or splattered red with blood (the blood is only visible in in the HD Bluray version).
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Art]]
60* ''Art/{{Guernica}}'' is composed entirely in grey-scale. Many scholars believe that this was done to create a somber mood. Others think it's meant to evoke a newspaper photograph.
61* {{Postmodern|ism}} painter Mark Tansey works in monochrome as often as not, partly because his art is intended to invoke the relatively recent past, which is defined by black and white photography, rather than the Renaissance and earlier, which we know by varicolored {{paintings}}.
62* ''Art/YoungHylasWithTheWaterNymphs'': Much of the image is done in sepia tone. Even the sky is a brownish blue.
63[[/folder]]
64
65[[folder:Card Games]]
66* ''Art/MysticalMedleysAVintageCartoonTarot'': {{Satan}} in "The Devil" is done entirely in greyscale. This contrasts the man, the woman, and the podium to which they are chained, and the torch in Satan's hand -- all of them are colored.
67[[/folder]]
68
69[[folder:Comic Books]]
70* The single issues of ''ComicBook/TwentyFists'' are black-and-white, though the future collected edition will be in color.
71* The ''ComicBook/BatmanBlackAndWhite'' anthology series has stories where it's in, you guessed it, black and white! Some stories are in pure black-and-white, while others have gray tones, depending on the art style. One story from around the middle of the run, "The Gasworks", has splashes of red. "The Black and White Bandit" features an eponymous villain who is colorblind and whose {{idiosyncrazy}} involves things that are black and white -- adding a bizarre level of meta.
72* ''ComicBook/Bloom2019'' is inked with black and white with a blue color palette.
73* ''ComicBook/CaballisticsInc'': The entire comic is in black and white, which adds a lot to the creepy atmosphere.
74* ''Comicbook/TheCrow'' is done entirely in black and white.
75* ''ComicBook/{{Deadman}}'' # 5 (originally published as Strange Adventures'' #213) starts with a couple of black-and-white panels of Deadman in Tiny's mind. When the comic switches to the physical world, all the panels are in color.
76* ''ComicBook/GhostIsland'' is done entirely in black and white.
77* ''ComicBook/GroupOf7AMostSecretTale'': The comic is done entirely in black-and-white.
78* The German version of ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'', when drawn by Mike Mignola.
79* ''ComicBook/IdeesNoires'': All the gags in this comic strip are BlackComedy about stuff that worry and depress most people: suicide, fear of world war, fear of the bomb, fear of nuclear power, fear of epidemics, ... but also fantastical AfterTheEnd jokes, TakeThat comedy aimed at hunters, the death penalty and jokes about bizarre monsters. So naturally everything is drawn and inked in black-and-white.
80* ''ComicBook/TheLostBoy'': The comic is drawn entirely in black, white, and grey. The comic also seems to utilize a drawing style reminiscent of old charcoal drawings.
81* ''ComicBook/PeterCannonThunderbolt2019'' is a miniseries which makes a ''lot'' of references to the works of writer Creator/AlanMoore. Most of it is a full-color {{superhero}} story, but issue 4 takes place almost entirely in a quasi-realistic world in which superheroes do not exist — depicted in low-key monochrome, in a pastiche of the style of sometime Alan Moore collaborator Eddie Campbell.
82* ''ComicBook/PuertoRicoStrong'': In the short comic ''Stories From My Father'', the "present day" Puerto Rico is portrayed as monochrome to show that the woman feels detached from it. A can of Florecitas cookies is [[SplashOfColor coloured in]] because it reminds her of her childhood memories. The comic gets increasingly colourized as the protagonist begins to feel at home on Puerto Rico.
83* Most scenes set in The Gloom in ''ComicBook/RainbowInTheDark'' are entirely black and white.
84* ''[[Magazine/RedDwarf Red Dwarf Smegazine]]'': For the most part, holograms in the comic strips are depicted in grayscale as opposed to their colour appearance in the TV Show.
85* Most of ''ComicBook/SinCity''; it's ''entirely'' black and white, i.e., no gray. Starting with "That Yellow Bastard," certain characters are highlighted in color, falling somewhere between the other two versions of this trope.
86* ''The Tower'' by François Schuiten and Benoit Peeters has the building maintainer Giovanni live in an homonguous Tower (like the tower of Babel) which looks abandoned, and which is slowly falling apart around him. He intends to seek out "the pioneers" who are in charge of the building work at the highest level. The book is kept in black and white except for a series of old paintings about the Tower, shown to Giovanni during a fortuitous encounter at an inhabited sector. Finally he [[spoiler: reaches the outside at ground level at the end of the book and emerges into a colored environment - in between the front lines of some military confrontation. His face, however, stays black and white throughout]].
87* ''ComicBook/TwistedDark'': The series' stories are illustrated in black and white, possibly to emphasize the dark tone of the series.
88* ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'': Venom is almost entirely black and white, though only his lens and symbol are white.
89[[/folder]]
90
91[[folder:Comic Strips]]
92* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'':
93** While Sunday strips were ordinarily in color, one used an surreal ArtShift in which Calvin saw the world in a bizarre patchwork of heavy monochrome blotches (not resembling the ''necessarily'' monochrome daily strip format). Color returns only for the last panel:
94--->'''Dad:''' The problem is, you see everything in terms of black and white.\
95'''Calvin:''' ''Sometimes that's the way things are!!''
96** In one episode his father explains that old photographs are in black and white because the world was actually black and white until the 1930s.
97* ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' once published a color Sunday strip entirely in black and white. The strip had Mike and Zonker discussing their distaste for "colorized" editions of black and white movies.
98* Brazilian comic strip ''Urbano, o Aposentado'' (Urban, the Retiree) once featured a sunday story featured the titular character utilizing a new brand of soap flakes at his washing machine the made the whole last panel colorless.
99[[/folder]]
100
101[[folder:Fan Works]]
102* The credits' scene in ''WebVideo/DiamondsCut'', which makes it look cool in spite of the budget limitations.
103* In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7913356/19/Deafening-Silence Deafening Silence]]'' a Muggle color photo of Harry and Snape taken during their wedding is changed to black and white for some unspecified reason.
104* In ''WebVideo/SuperTherapy'', session "ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Therapy!", the video gets in black and white when the doctor starts talking like out of a FilmNoir to reach out to ShellShockedVeteran Captain America.
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:Films — Animation]]
108* The shot of the White Rabbit's watch being smashed in ''WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland'' is in black and white.
109* For a brief scene in the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'', the screen goes black and white after WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse hacks the broom in the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment.
110* Similarly to ''Young Frankenstein'' and ''Ed Wood'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Frankenweenie}}'' is shot in monochrome to give it a '50s B Movie atmosphere.
111* The entire newsreel montage in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' about the denouncing of superheroes and eventually their rejection from society is in black and white.
112* In ''WesternAnimation/MaryAndMax'', Mary's world is shown in sepiatone, whilst Max's world is in black and white. There are occasionally shades of red that stand out, a la ''Schindler's List''.
113* In the short film ''WesternAnimation/OnceUponAStudio'', WesternAnimation/OswaldTheLuckyRabbit is shown entirely in black-and-white compared to the rest of Disney characters as a reference to his origins from his black-and-white cartoons.
114* ''ComicBook/{{Persepolis}}'' (except for scenes in the present day).
115* While the art of the French TheFutureIsNoir film ''WesternAnimation/{{Renaissance}}'' is purely black and white, its story is told in [[BlackAndGrayMorality shades of gray]].
116* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': ComicBook/SpiderManNoir, in keeping with the FilmNoir aesthetic of the universe he comes from, gets a completely monochrome palette.
117* The opening scenes of ''WesternAnimation/TheTripletsOfBelleville'' (a.k.a. ''Belleville Rendez-vous''), done as a pastiche of early 1930s cartoons.
118* In ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever'', this is how the Turtles Prime world, a.k.a. the original [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage Mirage Comics Turtles]], is depicted. The only exceptions are the characters and things from [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the 1980s]] and [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 the 2000s]] worlds.
119* In ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', WesternAnimation/BettyBoop is shown entirely in black-and-white while the rest of the Toons are colorized. Her stint as a cigarette girl in the Ink and Paint Club sums it up when she meets Eddie Valiant:
120-->'''Betty:''' Work's been kinda slow since cartoons went to color.
121[[/folder]]
122
123[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
124* At a time when nearly all Disney productions were in color, ''Film/TheAbsentMindedProfessor'' and its sequel ''Film/SonOfFlubber'' were shot in black and white because the special effects required looked more convincing in monochrome.
125* ''Film/AndreiRublev'', where the only color sequence is the ending montage of the title character's paintings. This is in line with director Creator/AndreiTarkovsky, who usually only used color as a specific visual device.
126* ''Film/AngelA'': Luc Besson's film was shot in black-and-white.
127* Some shots in ''Film/AprilShowers'' use this to look like security camera footage, evoking UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} footage.
128* ''Film/TheArtist'': This 2011 film is not only shot in black and white, but is [[SilenceIsGolden silent]] as well.
129* Soviet film ''Film/TheAscent1977'' uses stark black-and-white cinematography along with a lot of SnowMeansDeath to set the mood of despair and desperation, in a story of a Russian partisan unit fighting the Nazis during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
130* ''Film/BlackWake'': Some scenes are shot from a corner in the ceiling and filmed in black and white to make it look like it was shot by a security camera.
131* ''Film/Bedazzled1967'': The rock concert sequence is in black and white to mimic the look of mid-1960s TV shows like ''Series/TopOfThePops''. Logical, since Britain's two main networks didn't get color until 1969.
132* The short film ''Film/TheBloodyOlive'' is shot in b&w as an homage to the classic FilmNoir genre.
133* ''Film/{{Begotten}}'' takes this to [[ExaggeratedTrope the extreme]]. The film is so black-and-white that it doesn't even have any gray in between, everything is either extremely grainy white or extremely grainy black. This was achieved via intense processing through an optical printer. It took nearly ten hours to render each minute of the final product.
134* "Film/{{Bramayugam}}": is completely in black-and-white, which fit with it being [[PeriodPiece set in the 17th century]] and its use of shadows as a horror movie.
135* ''Film/BonjourTristesse'': Has present-day scenes in black-and-white and flashbacks in color.
136* ''Film/TheButterflyEffect'': In the timeline where Evan was caught in the explosion and rendered a quadruple amputee, ironically, this ended up being the one reality where everyone ''else'' had the perfect life. Because of this, Kayleigh, Lenny and Tommy are all shown in much [[ColorWash stronger colours]], while Evan is heavily desaturated and appears almost grey.
137* ''Film/TheCallOfCthulhu'': The 2005 movie is deliberately done not only in black and white but as a silent movie.
138* The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society also did an adaptation of ''Film/TheWhispererInDarkness'' which was shot in black and white in homage to a 1930's talkie.
139* ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'': The opening sequence prior to Bond receiving his 00 rating is shot in black and white.
140* ''Film/{{Casshern}}'': Has scenes with liberal use of color, and scenes reduced entirely to black and white. The point is contrast -- black and white is only used for scenes taking place in Zone 7, where the war is going on.
141* ''Film/{{Clerks}}'': While the first film used black and white film [[NoBudget to save money]], ''Film/ClerksII'' has brief scenes shot in black and white as a CallBack to the first movie.
142* Creator/ClintEastwood: His films ''Film/FlagsOfOurFathers'' and ''Film/LettersFromIwoJima'', though filmed in color, are shot and lit as if done in black and white, giving it the same effect. Adding to this, the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima is really not a very colorful place.
143* ''C'mon C'mon'': the footage in the trailer of this 2021 film directed by Mike Mills and starring Creator/JoaquinPhoenix is black-and-white.
144* ''Film/ComputerChess'': The {{Mockumentary}} film was shot with a Sony AVC-3260, giving the film a grainy black and white for almost the entire film, save an acid trip sequence in which Papageorge is hunting for his drug money at his mother's house. (The narration informs us that sometimes computers get stuck in an endless cycle, which is a metaphor for Papageorge's drug addiction, hinting that 30 years later, he's ''still'' desperately looking for his drug money to buy pills.) The videocamera used tubes to convert the images to digital, meaning it could be damaged shooting directly into the sun (which happens just before the film ends.)
145* ''Comrade Stalin's Trip to Africa'': This Georgian film was shot in black and white. It uses a lot of stock footage, especially of Stalin and his victory parade, and the new footage matches. (There's also a little color stock footage.)
146* ''Film/{{Control}}'': This biopic of Music/JoyDivision frontman Ian Curtis was shot entirely in black-and-white to recreate the appearance of 1970's band photography, particularly that taken by the film's director, Anton Corbijn, a photographer for NME, Rolling Stone and other magazines. Joy Division was in fact one of the many bands that Corbijn had photographed during their lifetime, and it is his photos that provide the most comprehensive visual reference for them.
147* ''Film/DeadMan'' is purely in black and white.
148* ''Film/DeadMenDontWearPlaid'': This is a FilmNoir parody-homage that contains a mixture of recycled footage from real films noir and new footage shot in black-and-white to match.
149* ''Film/{{Defiance}}'': At the beginning of this film, we see black-and-white film footage of German soldiers rounding up Jews. We cut to a scene which you swiftly realise is not contemporary footage, which then turns into color. At the end of the film, things return to black-and-white.
150* ''Film/DownByLaw'' (1986) was shot in Black and White which compliments the gritty DeepSouth scenery.
151* In ''Film/DunePartTwo'', the sun of Giedi Prime (the polluted Harkonnen planet) shines in a particular way that's been rendered as the footage being mostly black and white.
152* ''Film/EdWood'' (1994): This was shot on real black and white film because it made it easier to recreate the spirit of Creator/EdWood's 1950s monster movies, and it made the actors look more convincing as people (Vampira, Creator/BelaLugosi, etc.) whose iconic images were always black and white. It was also felt that it just wouldn't be right to make a movie about Ed Wood in colour.
153* Canadian filmmaker Creator/GuyMaddin (''Tales from the Gimli Hospital'', ''Film/TheSaddestMusicInTheWorld'' and ''Film/BrandUponTheBrain'') uses a mixture of black and white, film tinting, and individual scenes done in two-strip color to invoke the vintage look of silent and early sound films.
154* ''Film/TheElephantMan'': Done to make the environment seem more old fashioned.
155* ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1810864/ L'Élève Ducobu]]'' (2011): Every ImagineSpot of Ducobu being sent to a BoardingSchoolOfHorrors is in black and white, to accentuate how dreary he thinks it would be.
156* ''Film/{{Eraserhead}}'': David Lynch's earlier film does this as well, in order to facilitate NothingIsScarier.
157* ''Film/AFieldInEngland'' is entirely in black and white.
158* ''Music/FlamingLips'' (''Christmas on Mars''): This is mostly in black and white to emphasize the dreariness of life in an abandoned Mars colony, with more fantastical or just plain MindScrew sequences in vivid color.
159* ''Film/FandoYLis'', by Creator/AlejandroJodorowsky is filmed this way. Perhaps because of [[NoBudget lack of resources]].
160* ''Film/{{Following}}'': Nolan's feature debut is filmed this way.
161* ''Film/FrancesHa'': This is filmed entirely in black-and-white, owing to its' French New Wave influences.
162* ''Film/{{Friday}}'': Smokey's flashback scenes were black and white.
163* ''Film/LeGendarmeDeSaintTropez'': The opening of this French movie, set in a small village of the French Alps, is in black and white. Then it switches to color with the arrival in the much more colorful town of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Tropez Saint-Tropez]].
164* ''Film/TheGirlCantHelpIt'' (1956): Starts in B&W and narrow screen, but this lasts only a few moments (which include the 20th Century-Fox sign-on). When Tom Ewell appears at the start of the opening credits to mention that the movie is in Technicolor and Cinemascope, the screen adjusts accordingly.
165* ''Film/GirlOnTheBridge'': Patrice Leconte's film was shot in black-and-white.
166* ''Film/AGirlWalksHomeAloneAtNight'': Shot entirely in black-and-white, despite the heavy emphasis on red in the posters and marketing.
167* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'':
168** ''Film/{{Go|dzilla1954}}jira'' was shot in black and white, not because it couldn't be shot in color, but because it was decided that black and white would send the message better, and because although it was possible to shoot film in color, doing so would have poor quality (see ''Film/{{Rodan}}''), and also because it is easier.
169** ''Film/GodzillaMinusOne'' will be getting a black-and-white release in Japan, titled ''Godzilla Minus One/C'' (Minus Color).
170* ''Film/TheGoodGerman'': This film was shot in color (because this allowed the use of faster film than currently available in black-and-white, and the ability to use "green screen" techniques), but the color was then converted digitally to a grainier black and white, in order to recreate a 1940s ''film noir'' style, and blend with carefully restored period archival footage.
171* ''Film/GoodNightAndGoodLuck'': This made the black and white footage of the real Senator Joe [=McCarthy=] in the film integrate very well visually.
172* ''Film/LaHaine'': In this French movie by Creator/MathieuKassovitz, the scenes shot in the inner city of Paris were originally intended to be shot in colour, to create a more stark contrast with the black and white scenes shot in ''les banlieues'', but the budget wouldn't run to it.
173* ''Film/{{Help}}'': Music/TheBeatles' second film, made a big deal of being in color - then, at the beginning, the scene shifts from a death-cult sacrifice being cut short to the band playing the title tune in black-and-white...turns out it's a film the cult is watching.
174* Dutch film '' Het meisje met het rode haar'' (The girl with the red hair), about a resistance fighter in [=WW2=] Holland, deliberately fades almost everything to monochrome as a visual reminder of the grim nature of life under German rule. The only part of the picture to remain red, or at least in Dutch national orange-red, is the long hair of the titular character, Resistance fighter Hanne Schaft.
175* When the [[ForegoneConclusion inevitable disaster]] in ''The Hindenburg'' happens, the film switches from color to black and white so that it can incorporate footage from the actual destruction of the [[Usefulnotes/{{Hindenburg}} eponymous airship]] from 1937. To further the effect, the entire climax was also shot with handheld cameras.
176* ''Film/{{Horrorvision}}'': The {{Flashback}}s to when Dazzy was with [[TheProtagonist Dez]] (before Horrorvision took her, and [[spoiler:Dez had to smash her disk to [[MercyKill free her]]]]) are shown in black and white.
177* 2014 Polish film ''Film/{{Ida}}'' is entirely in black and white. It was the director's idea to go {{Retraux}} in order to mimic the look of Polish films in TheSixties, but it also helps set the mood of a dreary, Stalinist CommieLand.
178* ''Film/{{If}}'' (1968): Some scenes are in black and white. Many people have tried to find the "pattern"; some think that the black and white scenes are fantasy or dreams, but others think that the color scenes are. Star Creator/MalcolmMcDowell claims that some of the scenes would have taken too long to light properly if they had been shot in color, and then other scenes were shot black and white to add "texture". But another view is that the filmmakers ran into money troubles halfway through shooting and so had to shoot the rest of the scenes in black and white.
179* ''Film/IvanVasilievichChangesProfession'': The beginning and the end of this Soviet classic are in black-and-white, while the rest of the movie is in color. This serves to indicate that the monochrome scenes are [[spoiler:the mundane RealLife]], while the color scenes are [[spoiler:AllJustADream]].
180* ''Film/JMenForever'' (1979): This comedy consists of clips from Republic serials from the 1940s and 50s, edited together and [[GagDub re-dubbed for comic effect]]. In order to frame the resulting incoherent story, creators Philip Proctor and Peter Bergman act in [[MrExposition scenes]] as the Chief of the J-Men and his bumbling sidekick Barton. The scenes are naturally filmed in B&W to match the rest of the footage.
181* ''Film/{{Kafka}}'': All the scenes in the old city are shot in black and white. When Kafka enters the castle through a secret passage in the climax, the scenes shift to color and back to black and white again when he leaves.
182* The Czech director Creator/KarelZeman did this multiple times:
183** ''The Deadly Invention'' is in black and white to evoke the original engravings from Creator/JulesVerne's books.
184** ''Baron Munchausen'', ''The Stolen Airship'', and ''On the Comet'' has live-action elements filmed in black and white, but also has color animation, [[ColorWash color washes]], and [[SplashOfColor splashes of color]] all added for stylistic reasons. The resulting effect is rather like a 19th-century hand-colored postcard (''The Stolen Airship'' and ''On the Comet'' even [[LampshadeHanging lampshade that similarity]] a couple of times) or one of those cool old tinted and hand-colored films from the early silent era (think the EarlyFilms featured in ''{{Film/Hugo}}'').
185** ''A Jester's Tale'' is in black-and-white, but an article written during filming claimed that it would include color washes like the three films immediately above; ExecutiveMeddling or MoneyDearBoy (or both) may have prevented this effect from being carried out.
186* ''Film/KildTV'': The intro to [[ShowWithinAShow Dr. Perseco's Late Night Horror]] is shown all in black and white. The rest of the show is in full colour.
187* ''Film/KillBill'': Parts of this film. Allegedly to fudge around censorship rules, due to the sheer amount of graphic bloodletting in the infamous battle royale with the Crazy 88. The second film as well, but as an artistic choice. It was a homage to the old westerns such as High Noon as well as an emulation of their themes. They went beyond just black and white: the first reel of the film (the part that is black and white) is actually recorded and distributed on an older form of film made out of vinyl instead of plastic. A real pain for the projectionists, and vinyl film scratches about ten times easier than modern plastic films.
188* ''Film/TheLastPictureShow'' was, according to Creator/PeterBogdanovich, shot in monochrome at the recommendation of Creator/OrsonWelles.
189* ''Film/TheLighthouse'' was shot on black and white film with an almost-square aspect ratio. It emphasizes the bleakness of the setting and resembles photography from the 19th century, in which the movie takes place.
190* ''Film/{{Logan}}'': While the original version of the film was in color, much of the early promotional work was in the form of black and white photos. A full black and white release of the film based on the positive reception to those stills was released in theaters on May 16, 2017, and also included on the Blu-Ray release.
191* ''Film/TheLongestDay'': This 1960 [[AllStarCast Star-Studded]] epic is in black and white to give it a documentary feel.
192* ''Film/TheLostSkeletonOfCadavra'': This film is in black and white, being an AffectionateParody of 50s B monster movies.
193* The "Black & Chrome Edition" of ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' is a director's cut of sorts, identical to the theatrical version except it's completely B&W and has no sound except for the musical score. Creator/GeorgeMiller had wanted to release a Mad Max film this way ever since viewing a silent, B&W print of ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior'' created for sound mixing purposes and finding it more "visceral" than the version the studio would let him release.
194* ''Film/MalcolmAndMarie'': The film was made in 2020 and is entirely black and white.
195* ''Film/ManBitesDog'': The low-budget SerialKiller BlackComedy ''C'est arrivé près de chez vous'', translated as ''It Happened in Your Neighborhood'' and marketed as ''Man Bites Dog'', is filmed as black-and-white [[{{Mockumentary}} documentary]].
196* ''Film/TheManWhoWasntThere2001'': This is an interesting case; the film was shot in color, made monochrome for the US releases but released with the color in Europe due to the contract. The black and white is an homage to old noir films.
197* The 2011 Filipino neo-noir biopic ''[[Film/ManilaKingpinTheAsiongSalongaStory Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story]]'' was shot exclusively in black and white.
198* ''Marathon'': This 2002 film, aside from being a "SilenceIsGolden" adherent, was also shot in black and white.
199* ''Film/AMatterOfLifeAndDeath'': Earth is in color and Heaven is in black and white -- a deliberate inversion of expectations. At one point one of the Heavenly characters actually lampshades this by remarking, "One is so starved for Technicolor up there."
200* ''Film/{{Memento}}'': The series of scenes that occur in chronological order, as well as the flashbacks contained within them, are filmed in black and white to distinguish them from the scenes that are shown in reverse chronological order. The trope is played with very well when the plot threads' meeting point coincides with the color appearing in a developing Polaroid photo.
201* ''Film/TheMist'': The DVD has two discs: one with the film in color as theatrically released, one with the film deliberately monochrome.
202* Creator/JossWhedon's adaptation of ''Theatre/MuchAdoAboutNothing'' is shot in black and white to make setup and lighting easier, given the shoestring budget and 12-day production schedule.
203* ''Film/{{Nadja}}'' (1994): This modern vampire movie is filmed entirely in black and white. Apart from the artistic considerations, it also allows for Creator/BelaLugosi to make a cameo appearance via StockFootage.
204* ''Film/{{Nebraska}}'': According to director Creator/AlexanderPayne the movie was shot in black and white because the story seemed perfect for black and white. The result is gorgeous cinematography. A color version was aired on TV, to the disdain of the director.
205* The Edgar Wallace parody ''[[Film/DerWixxer Neues vom Wixxer]]'' has Blackwhite Castle which is so traditional that it's still monochrome, as are therefore all scenes taking place there. This effect can be turned off with a switch, though.
206* ''Nickleodeon'': Peter Bogdanovich wanted to film this 1976 homage to early movie-making in black and white but the studio insisted on a more commercial color release. The film was released in a black and white director's cut version on DVD in 2009.
207* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'': The second film has two such cases. One has young UsefulNotes/AlCapone, whom the BigBad uses as one of his [[TheDragon Dragons]], and Capone's {{Mooks}}. Also, when the protagonist and UsefulNotes/AmeliaEarhart are escaping from {{Mooks}}, they enter the famous UsefulNotes/WorldWarII victory photo ([[TheVJDayKiss the one with the kiss]]), where everything but them appears monochrome.
208* ''Film/TheNotoriousBettiePage'': This film is mostly black and white, but changes to lush 1950s style color in order to convey the sense of release the main character feels when visiting Miami.
209* ''Film/PaperMoon'': Set in the Great Depression, it was Peter Bogdanovich's follow up to ''Film/TheLastPictureShow'' (see above); also, he reportedly feared the father-and-daughter team of Ryan and Tatum O'Neal would look too good in color to be believable as 1930s con artists.
210* ''Paris brûle-t-il ?'' (''Film/IsParisBurning''): This French movie was shot in B&W in 1966 (save for the final view of modern Paris). It allowed the StockFootage of the actual liberation of Paris to mix more seamlessly with the film. Also, hanging red Nazi flags in Paris wasn't allowed by the French authorities, even for a movie; the flags had to be gray instead.
211* ''Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera2004'': It includes several black and white scenes. In this case, these are the "present day" scenes, and the past is shown in full color. There's also a SplashOfColor moment at the end -- the rose on Christine's grave.
212* ''Film/{{Pi}}'': Creator/DarrenAronofsky's first film, was notorious for combining extremely high-contrast B&W with his "hip hop montages" to show the character's distorted world.
213* ''Film/ThePictureOfDorianGray1945'': Released in 1945, was shot in black and white, but Dorian's title portrait is shown twice in three-strip technicolor.
214* ''Film/{{Psycho}}'': Black-and-white films were common in 1960, but seven of Creator/AlfredHitchcock previous eight films were in color.
215* ''Film/RagingBull'': Released in 1980, this is a legendary example of a film deliberately shot in black-and-white. However, there is a brief montage in color that pushes the story several years into the future. That sequence is shot in the style of amateur home footage that has aged and faded.
216* ''Film/TheRedSpectacles'' pulls a reverse ''Wizard of Oz''; the opening sequence is in color, while the next 90% of the film (which may very well [[spoiler:take place entirely in the protagonist's head]]) is in black and white.
217* ''Film/TheReluctantDragon'': The first half is in black and white, with the main character [[LampshadeHanging commenting on the switch to color]].
218* ''Film/Revolution1967'': This short is in black and white. It had to be a deliberate choice, because colour in films had become the norm by the 1960s.
219* ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'': This film was supposed to be in black and white until the first chorus of ''The Time Warp'', signifying the entrance into the new, colorful world of the Transylvanians.
220* ''Film/RomanHoliday'': Used black and white film because director Creator/WilliamWyler feared that if they filmed it in color, the viewers would spend too much time admiring the Roman landmarks to focus on the story.
221* ''Film/SchindlersList'' (1993): This was filmed in black and white to make it "timeless", and to fit [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany the period]], with a few exceptions: A girl's red coat is shown in full color twice in the film, and the flames of the Sabbath candles symbolically fade to black and white early in the film, returning to color later. The effect wasn't so much to fit the period, as much as it was to emphasize the four different scenes that do have color.
222* ''Film/{{Sharkenstein}}'' The prologue of the movie is shot in black and white.
223* ''Film/SomeLikeItHot'': Creator/BillyWilder mostly directed black and white films until the 1970s. Wilder's film was shot in black and white because the make-up used to drag-up Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon looked too garish on color film.
224* In ''Film/Stalker1979'', the characters' hometown is black and white while the Zone is in color.
225* Creator/StanleyKubrick: In the late 1950s and early 1960s, many directors such as Kubrick choose to stick with black and white film despite the rapidly rising popularity of color film, precisely for these reasons (not to mention at the time black and white still had an edge in picture clarity and contrast, and B-movies used B&W for budget reasons). Arguable examples include Creator/MarilynMonroe's last film ''Film/TheMisfits'', ''Film/ThreeTenToYuma1957'', and ''Film/DrStrangelove''.
226* ''Film/SympathyForLadyVengeance'': There is a version of this film called ''Fade to Black and White'' in which the movie starts in full color, but the color gradually fades until the last scenes are completely monochrome. Even the regular version has a similar effect: The locations and outfits in the first few scenes make use of very bright colors, but towards the end, the bright colors are replaced by pastels, greys, and black and white. Park had planned to film ''Film/SympathyForMrVengeance'' this way, but the idea was scrapped due to budget limitations.
227* ''Film/TaskForce'' (1949): Has the early parts in black & white to match existing footage; once it reaches WWII, the movie switches to color to match that footage.
228* ''Film/TetsuoTheIronMan'' (1989)
229* ''Film/TheyLive'': Black and white is used to show when the main character is seeing through the sunglasses that show how things really are.
230* ''Film/ThirteenDays'': Done a couple of times, probably to mimic the TV coverage of the time.
231* ''Film/TheThreeStooges'': Most of the [=1960s=] films, done as an homage to their more popular [=1930s=] and [=1940s=] shorts.
232* ''Film/ThreeIdiots'': Scenes set in Raju's house in the chronological timeline, which "came out straight from a 50's film", are black-and-white. It is to emphasize how poor the Rastogis are.
233* ''Three to Get Ready'': This 1987 Music/DuranDuran documentary was shot in black and white to highlight the ''cinema verite'' aspect of the documentary, which chronicles the band's first attempts at managing themselves while also promoting the album ''Notorious'' and preparing for an accompanying tour.
234* ''Film/TwoThirtySeven'': The "interview" segments the film cuts to every now and then, wherein one of the viewpoint characters details background information or their thoughts on various subjects to someone slightly off-camera, are in black and white.
235* ''Film/VanHelsing'': The opening scenes of this film, in homage to the old monster movies of the 30s and 40s.
236* The opening credits of ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' are in black and white from the Creator/{{Paramount}} logo up until the title card, which has a red background.
237* ''Film/WerewolfByNight2022'': The film is shot in black-and-white [[spoiler:until the end]] to emulate the Universal Horror films of the '30s and '40s.
238* ''Film/TheWhiteRibbon'' (2009): This was originally shot in color and then altered to black and white in post-production in order to [[WordOfGod create a distance from a false naturalism that suggests we know exactly what happened]] in that village set right before UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
239* ''Theatre/WhosAfraidOfVirginiaWoolf'': This was shot in black and white mainly because the makeup to turn Creator/ElizabethTaylor (then in her early 30s) into a woman in her fifties looked unconvincing in color.
240* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'': The opening was deliberately filmed in B&W to highlight its transition to the then-new color filming. It was one of the first movies to use three-strip Technicolor. In the book, Kansas is gray, just like a black and white movie. In the movie (non-TV prints), Kansas is [[RealIsBrown sepia and white]]. Presumably it's supposed to echo old photographs.
241* A few years later, ''The Wizard of Oz'' inspired the makers of the first film adaptation of ''Film/{{The Secret Garden|1949}}'' to use the same technique, contrasting the brilliant life of the restored garden with the glum drabness of the surrounding estate.
242* Several films by Creator/WoodyAllen: ''Film/{{Manhattan}}'', ''Film/StardustMemories'', ''Film/{{Zelig}}'', ''Film/BroadwayDannyRose'', ''Film/ShadowsAndFog'' and ''Film/{{Celebrity}}''.
243* ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'': In order to better parody the old Franchise/{{Frankenstein}} movies. (As Creator/MelBrooks himself puts it in the trailer, "In black and white! No offense!") According to Brooks, he refused to shoot the film in color and took the project to a different studio when the first was too chicken to release a B&W movie then.
244* ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' has a black and white version nicknamed ''Justice is Gray''.
245[[/folder]]
246
247[[folder:Literature]]
248* ''Literature/AuroraCycle'': Everything is black-and-white when inside the [[SubspaceOrHyperspace Fold]]. [[spoiler:However, the [[{{Precursors}} Eshvaren]] star map is able to display [[SplashOfColor red]], marking the location of the [[BotanicalAbomination Ra'haam]], despite being activated inside the Fold.]]
249* ''Literature/ChooChoo1937'': the entire book is drawn in black and white, in a style that suggests charcoal pencils were used to make the illustrations.
250* Though its absence isn't indicated until far into the book, the majority of ''Literature/TheGiver'' takes place InAWorld where color (and music... and [[NoSexAllowed sex]]...) have been eliminated -- or, rather, most people have been genetically engineered and drugged not to see it. This is employed in the [[Film/TheGiver film adaptation]] as well; it starts out in monochrome, but more colors emerge as [[spoiler: Jonas receives memories that feature the full human color spectrum]].
251* In the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' novel ''Literature/TheHauntedSchool'', the protagonist finds himself trapped in a world without colour, and finds out it's populated y the Class of '47 - children from five decades ago who ends up trapped in the colourless world thanks to a magic camera. Most of the story revolves around the protagonist's efforts to escape, until [[spoiler: the final page has him -- and his entire class -- getting shot by that ''same'' camera]]. [[HereWeGoAgain Again!]]
252* ''Literature/TheNightMayor'' is set in the City, a virtual reality realm based on old black-and-white movies, and so there are no colors in the City, only shades of grey. The narration occasionally underlines this by describing the color of something only the color isn't, such a woman's glossy black lipstick or a priceless grey jade necklace. After he's been in the City a while, Tunney finds he's having trouble remembering what "blue" or "red" look like.
253* The world of ''Literature/TheNumberlys'' is all black and white until the alphabet is invented.
254* The Idrians of ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'' have tried to exclude color from their nation as a defense against Awakeners. It doesn't actually work, though, as they don't exclude browns or blacks, and both of those will work for Awakening.
255* ''Literature/TheWayThingsWork'': Each double-page spread alternates between full colour illustrations, and a sepia theme.
256[[/folder]]
257
258[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
259* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': A reference to being in Italy in the 1950s cuts to a Creator/FedericoFellini-style flashback (lasting some three seconds) of Spike and Drusilla drinking espresso in black turtlenecks and sunglasses, saying nothing but "Ciao".
260* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Scenes set post-''Series/BreakingBad'' are in black-and-white, showcasing just how dull and depressing Jimmy/Saul's new life as ordinary Cinnabon manager Gene Takavic is compared to his glory days. The only SplashOfColor we get in this gray world comes from [[KitschyLocalCommercial his old Saul Goodman commercials]] when he watches a tape of them.
261* A wine-tasting task on ''[[Series/BigBrother Big Brother Celebrity Hijack]]'' was broadcast in black and white at the behest of that day's celebrity Big Brother, Malcolm [=McLaren=].
262* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' did a NoirEpisode in black and white.
263* ''Series/Buzz2000'': One of the segments on the show involved parodying black-and-white silent films. This of course involved having the footage shown through a grey filter.
264* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'':
265** Phoebe can see the future. To the audience, these visions are in black and white, but apparently she sees them in color. Later, [[MonochromePast she can see the past, and it is in black and white]]. Even later, she starts getting visions in color.
266** An episode that is set in a [[FilmNoir ninety-thirty-esque noir novel]] written by a couple of teenage witches. It is in black and white.
267* ''{{Series/The Chosen|TVSeries}}'': The pre-credit scenes of "Clean, Part I" (Season 3, Ep. 4) is a black and white montage of the disciples on their missionary work throughout Israel.
268* ''Series/ColdCase'' imitates the production values of the periods they flashback to, and anything beyond 1950 or so ends up black and white. This includes when we get flashes of the {{Time Shifted Actor}}s during present day scenes, which ends up looking sort of creepy.
269** One episode began in full old-photo sepia and appeared to take place in the early 1800s. Then a car full of people pull up. It was 2006, in Amish country.
270** Also, in episodes about bank robbery, flashbacks also are black and white despite being set in 2000 -- to imitate security footage.
271* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
272** In the episode "[[Recap/CommunityS3E14PillowsAndBlankets Pillows and Blankets]]", Britta's rather inept and pretentious war-photography is all in black-and-white. The narrator of the episode is not impressed:
273--->'''Narrator:''' Unfortunately for Britta, and millions of photographers like her, just because something's in black and white doesn't mean it's good.
274** The season 3 episode "[[Recap/CommunityS3E19CurriculumUnavailable Curriculum Unavailable]]", which parodied [[ClipShow clip shows]], had flashbacks to "unseen episodes", one of which involved a Prohibition-style paintball game. Those segments were in black and white.
275** One of the Dean's more outlandish costumes had him in 1950s sitcom housewife drag, dressed and made up completely in black and white.
276* The first color daytime episode of ''Series/{{Concentration}}'', in November 1966, had the first couple of minutes in black and white, similar to ''The Wizard of Oz''.
277* ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' occasionally shifts into black-and-white for musical numbers, depending on the era of song being parodied.
278* This is a staple feature of nighttime filming in ParanormalInvestigation shows; in ''Series/TheDeadFiles'', for instance, Amy Allen's psychic reading of the supposedly haunted location is always filmed in [=B/W=] while everything else that happens is in full color.
279* ''Series/Daredevil2015'' season 3 depicts Dex's backstory as a stageplay shot in black-and-white as Wilson Fisk works his way through Dex's life to find his psychological weak spots.
280* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
281** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate Warriors' Gate]]": Some of the weirder parts of the story, for thematically-appropriate but difficult-to-summarize reasons.
282** The opening scene of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E4TheTwoDoctors The Two Doctors]]", as a homage to the black-and-white 1960s episodes.
283** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E11TheGodComplex The God Complex]]" gives us a creepy hotel. You know it's watching you when it's monochrome.
284** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E7TheZygonInvasion The Zygon Invasion]]" kicks off with a black-and-white video by the [[TheDividual Osgoods]] talking about their role in keeping the peace between humans and Zygons and something called the Osgood Box. [[spoiler:The video is in black and white so viewers can't tell what colour the box is — because there are actually two boxes.]]
285* The TV remake for ''Fail Safe'' (the one starring Creator/GeorgeClooney) was shot in black and white, imitating the original.
286* ''Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show'' (titled ''Frank Sidebottom's Proper Telly Show In b/w'' on-screen around adbreaks) had its first run in a week shown in monochrome ("so you don't have to adjust the color on your telly") and subsequent repeats shown in color.
287* The {{pilot}}s of the TV Comedies ''Series/GetSmart'' and ''Series/HogansHeroes'' were in black and white, all of the other episodes were in color.
288* ''Series/{{Glee}}'' made use of this trope several times, in particular during {{Christmas Special}}s such as "Extraordinary Merry Christmas", which has an [[ShowWithinAShow in-story special]] directed by one of the characters and shot completely in black and white. In-universe, the purpose is for it to resemble the 1963 Creator/JudyGarland Christmas Special. Off-universe, that and probably making sure the viewers know that the special is a parody of the [[TheFifties days gone by]] and thus avoid UnfortunateImplications, especially that [[UnusualEuphemism Holiday Roommates]] [[QueerPeopleAreFunny Are Funny]]. Notice that Finn's lightsaber is a nice shade of blue, making it a SplashOfColor.
289** The special of the following season, "Glee, Actually", uses this in Artie's ItsAWonderfulPlot subplot, perhaps in order to emphasize how worse things would have been if he wasn't paralyzed.
290** Outside of this Christmas specials, this was also used in the {{Shot For Shot Remake}}s of the music videos for "[[Music/{{Madonna}} Vogue]]" in season 1 and "[[Music/MichaelJackson Scream]]" in season 3.
291* Referenced in ''Series/TheGoodies''' episode "The Movies", where Bill believes that black and white films were made using black and white sets, costumes and makeup. This pays off in the surreal "movie" that forms the last few minutes of the episode.
292* Both ''Series/LoisAndClark'' and ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' have done film noir tribute episodes in black and white.
293* The "Interview" episode of ''Series/{{MASH}}'' was shot in black and white to look like an authentic 1950s TV interview show. It even includes a brief voiceover from Alan Alda at the start of the episode informing the audience that the episode was deliberately filmed in black and white, presumably to keep people from thinking their TV was busted.
294* ''Series/{{Matlock}}'' has a B&W episode about Matlock's father.
295* ''Series/{{Monk}}'' has an episode, "Mr. Monk and the Leper", which was shown separately in both color and B&W (and heavily publicized as such).
296* ''Series/{{Moonlighting}}'' has a B&W episode. Introduced by Orson Welles, no less.
297* The ''Series/MurdochMysteries'' NoirEpisode ''"Dead on Arrival", with a note at the start that this is intentional.
298* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': Before every commercial break or at the end of the episode, the scene fades to black-and-white. One episode plays with this when Tony shows Ziva a picture he took in Paris, and she comments that it would look better in black-and-white. Cue the fade.
299* In one episode of ''Series/NightCourt'', [[ItsAWonderfulPlot Harry is shown the world if he'd never become a judge]], which is in black and white. Harry concludes that his absence would literally drain all color from the world, but his guide, an angel in the form of Mel Torme, explains that he's just doing it for effect, knowing that Harry is a film buff.
300* The "Rome" episode of ''Series/NoReservations'' is deliberately shot in monochrome, as Anthony Bourdain explains how his impressions of the city were formed from old '50s Italian movies, which were generally shot in B&W.
301* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' has a Land Without Color, as a reference to the ''Franchise/{{Frankenstein}}'' films, as Dr. Frankenstein came from [[TheMultiverse that world]].
302* In the Argentine series ''Poné a Francella'', the titular character of the "Enrique el Antiguo" skits is a young man that is completely monochromed [[FishOutOfTemporalWater and acts as if the 70s were present times]]. Everything else is in full colour. [[spoiler:In the final episode, he reveals he was purposefully acting that way to remind everyone of the happier past years, and once he stops doing that, he becomes fully coloured like everyone else. After a TimeSkip, he is revealed to have a son that was also monochromed and also acted as a FishOutOfTemporalWater.]]
303* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
304** In the "Dark Wish" three-parter of ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' this effect was used to show a world where the Mystic Rangers never existed.
305** The ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'' episode "It Came from Angel Grove", in order to pay homage to old black-and-white horror films.
306** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': One episode featured a monster with the power to rob people and everything else out of their colors, making them black and white.
307* The Season 3 finale of ''Series/QueerAsFolkUS'' uses this device, contrasting a B&W police-occupied Liberty Avenue to its truer colorful and celebratory self (a rainbow flag being waved is the first item to regain color).
308* During the Season 5 Reunion SeasonFinale of ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'', contestant [[DragQueen Detox]] showed up painted completely monochromatic, looking like she had literally just stepped out of a 1950's film. Later in Season 8, a runway challenge hearkened by to Detox's reunion look by having all of the contestants provide their own black and white movie look.
309* ''Series/SiskelAndEbert'' once did a show shot in Black and White with themselves in tuxedos as part of their theme to demonstrate the artistic advantages of black and white film.
310* ''Series/SmallWonder'' did this in the episode "Big 'J', Private Eye".
311* ''Series/{{Sorry}}'': Timothy's dreams in "Perchance To Dream" (where he dreams that his job interviewer is his headmaster) are in black and white, mainly to emphasise that they are dreams.
312* ''Series/StElsewhere'': In "Sweet Dreams", Ehrlich's dream about being on an island of [[AmazonianBeauty Amazon women]] is shown in black and white as it is an AffectionateParody of adventure films of the 1930s to the 1950s.
313* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The holoprogram ''Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainProton'' is black and white as it's based on 1930s/50s {{Film Serial}}s like ''[[Film/FlashGordonSerial Flash Gordon]]'' and ''Commando Cody''. When the holographic Doctor walks onto the holodeck, Harry Kim quickly tells the computer to "adjust the Doctor's spectral frequency" whereupon the Doctor turns monochrome too, much to his annoyance.
314* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' had "[[Recap/SupernaturalS04E05MonsterMovie Monster Movie]]" filmed in B&W as an homage to 1930s monster movies.
315-->'''Dean:''' It's about time the Winchesters got back to tackling a straightforward, black and white case.
316* In ''Series/TinMan'', when DG meets the first Dorothy Gale, she enters a black and white landscape resembling ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' Kansas.
317* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' was intentionally always shot in black in white (they could have used color if they wanted to), to add to the feeling and theme of the show.
318* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Dream Me a Life", all of the [[DreamSequence dream sequences]] are in black and white.
319* ''Series/TheWeakness'', a series about vampires in Pittsburgh, is filmed entirely in black-and-white with occasional splashes of red for blood. Season 2 Episode 2 features color during a segment set in the spirit world.
320* ''Series/WheelOfFortune'': The Halloween Week 2023 episodes briefly go black-and-white at the beginning to emulate the look of a scary movie from the black-and-white era.
321* ''Series/TheXFiles'':
322** The episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS05E05ThePostModernPrometheus The Post-Modern Prometheus]]" is in black and white in homage to old ''Franchise/{{Frankenstein}}'' movies and, presumably, the Deliberately Monochrome ''Film/TheElephantMan''. Only the very beginning and the last shot is in colour, but animated, presenting the episode as a comic book story.
323** "[[Recap/TheXFilesS06E10Tithonus Tithonus]]" uses a special effect to mark people who are about to die. Alfred Fellig can sense it, and he sees such people in black and white on an otherwise normally coloured background. It's visually stunning, and appropriately ominous.
324* The ending credits of ''Series/TheYoungIndianaJonesChronicles'' uses footage from the episode in black and white, as well as slightly cranked and with the grainy quality you'd expect from start-of-the-20th-century films.
325 [[/folder]]
326
327[[folder:Music]]
328* Music/TheAllmanBrothersBand: The album cover of "At Fillmore East".
329* Music/ArcticMonkeys: The album covers of ''Music/WhateverPeopleSayIAmThatsWhatImNot'', ''Suck It and See'' and ''Music/{{AM}}''.
330* Music/TheBeatles: The album covers of ''Music/WithTheBeatles'', ''Music/AHardDaysNight'' and ''Music/{{Revolver|Beatles Album}}''.
331* Music/{{Bjork}}: The album cover of ''Music/{{Debut}}''.
332* Music/{{Death Grips}}: The album cover for "The Money Store".
333* Music/DavidByrne's self-titled 1994 album. In fact, other than a bit of tan on the album spine, all the liner notes are just black-and-white photos and text.
334* Music/DavidBowie: The album covers of ''Music/StationToStation'', ''Music/{{Changesonebowie}}'', ''[[Music/HeroesDavidBowieAlbum "Heroes"]]'', ''Music/TheNextDay'' and ''Music/BlackstarAlbum''.
335* Music/LeonardCohen: The album cover of ''Songs Of Love And Hate''.
336* Music/JohnColtrane: The album covers of ''Music/BlueTrain'' and ''Music/ALoveSupreme''.
337* Music/MilesDavis: The album cover of ''Tutu'' is a close-up of Miles' face.
338* Music/BobDylan: The album cover of ''Music/TheTimesTheyAreAChangin''.
339* Music/FleetwoodMac: The album covers of ''Music/{{Rumours}}'' and ''Music/{{Tusk|1979}}''.
340* Music/PJHarvey: The album cover of ''Music/RidOfMe''.
341* Music/JoyDivision: The album covers of ''Music/UnknownPleasures'' and ''Music/{{Closer}}'', but this fits the mood of the gloomy music.
342* Music/KendrickLamar: The album covers of ''Music/ToPimpAButterfly'' and ''DAMN. Collectors Edition''.
343* Music/LedZeppelin: Their debut album: ''Music/LedZeppelin1969'' and ''Music/LedZeppelinII''.
344* Music/JohnLennon: The ''Double Fantasy'' album cover.
345* Music/LinkinPark: The album covers of ''Music/{{Meteora}}'', ''Music/MinutesToMidnight'', ''Music/AThousandSuns'', and ''Music/{{The Hunting Party|2014}}''. This also applies to the [=LPTV=] episodes released throughout the ''A Thousand Suns'' era.
346* Music/TheNeighbourhood: ''All'' of their albums.* Music/ElvisPresley: The album cover of ''Music/ElvisPresleyTheAlbum''. The album cover of ''Music/LondonCalling'' from Music/TheClash, was a homage to said Elvis cover.
347* Music/{{Ramones}}: The album cover of [[Music/RamonesAlbum their debut album]].
348* Music/RedHotChiliPeppers: Their 1991 breakout album, ''Music/BloodSugarSexMagik''.
349* Music/PattiSmith: The album cover of ''Music/{{Horses}}'', which was shot by Creator/RobertMapplethorpe, who always worked in black-and-white. Smith's albums ''Music/RadioEthiopia'' and ''Music/{{Wave}}'' also have a black-and-white cover.
350* Music/SonicYouth: The album cover for ''Goo'' is a black-and-white drawing.
351* Music/BruceSpringsteen: The album covers of ''Born To Run'', ''The River'' and ''Greatest Hits'' (which was an outtake from the photo sessions for the ''Born To Run'' cover shot).
352* Music/SufjanStevens: The album covers of ''The Greatest Gift'' and the initial release of ''A Sun Came''.
353* Music/TheStrokes: The album cover of ''Music/IsThisIt''.
354* Music/VelvetUnderground: Their self-titled third album from 1969.
355* Music/TheWho: The cover of ''Music/{{Quadrophenia}}'', as well as the photos in the booklet that came with it.
356 [[/folder]]
357
358[[folder:Music Videos]]
359* Black & white videos were a ''huge'' fad in the 80s. In fact, virtually every significant musical act from the period has at least one. The most famous is undoubtedly the mega-hit "Every Breath You Take" by Music/ThePolice.
360* Music/MichaelJackson:
361** The non-musical segments of "Music/{{Bad}}" are in black-and-white.
362** "Music/BillieJean": The first 20 seconds of the video are in black and white, which serves to play up the FilmNoir aesthetic of the song.
363* Music/{{Madonna}}'s music videos for her songs ''Express Yourself'' and ''Vogue'' are done in black-and-white to evoke a glamorous Hollywood atmosphere from the 1920s and 1930s.
364* ''Music/{{Communications}}'': ROTARY DIAL’s PV is entirely grayscale as a reference to Frances having achromatopsia. BLACK & WHITE has both grayscale and colored parts in reference to how Henry is the tie between Frances and Nancy.
365* Music/JohnMellencamp's "The Authority Song" and "Lonely Ol' Night".
366* Music/{{Metallica}}'s "The Unforgiven".
367* Music/{{NSYNC}}'s music video for their song "Gone" is filmed entirely in black and white, while inserting a 1920's silent-movie storyline filmed in sepia tones in between shots of the band singing and at a party.
368* In Music/PepeDeluxe's "Go Supersonic" video, the scenes in the real world are black and white, while [[MushroomSamba the hallucination]] is in color. Initially, the color is somewhat washed-out, but as the dream gets trippier, the colors become more vivid.
369* Clan of Xymox's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdGgUtg5zE4 Stranger]]".
370* Music/RoyOrbison's appropriately titled concert film, ''A Black and White Night''.
371* Music/{{Queen}}'s music videos for "I'm Going Slightly Mad" and "These Are the Days of Our Lives" were shot in black and white to disguise Music/FreddieMercury's deteriorating health, and by the time of the latter, not even that could make him not look like crap, only make him presentable enough to appear on camera for potentially the last time. Indeed, the latter video was Freddie's final onscreen appearance before passing away.
372* "Cheap Thrills" by Music/{{Sia}} and Music/SeanPaul.
373* Music/BobSeger's "We've Got Tonite".
374* Music/BruceSpringsteen's "Brilliant Disguise" and "Atlantic City".
375* Music/LindseyStirling's work:
376** This is used at the beginning and end of the ''[[Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera Phantom of the Opera]]'' piece ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCL94-MsxYc here]]), along with artificial aging to make it look like the film is old. Color is introduced when the texture and tempo pick up as the band appears.
377** The entirety of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGCsyshUU-A Shadows]]" is done this way, since it is about the shadow and color isn't needed. It adds to the surreality of that video.
378* Music/TearsForFears: The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iemvnxDjrBY No Small Thing]]" music video consists entirely of black-and-white found footage.
379* Music/TheWhiteStripes' video for "My Doorbell" was entirely black and white, not to mention shot in the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, lending itself very well to the vaudeville atmosphere of the video.
380* Several of Music/NineInchNails' music videos are in black and white, including "Happiness In Slavery" and "We're In This Together".
381* Music/{{Loona}}'s "Mamboleo" was deliberately in black and white. Not deliberately on their own part, mind you, but on Music/HerbertGroenemeyer's, whose song the group had plagiarized and who punished them by forcing them to withdraw their first video and shoot a new one, sabotaging the summertime feeling this way.
382* The Free's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlynG-xzjIQ Dance the Night Away]]".
383* Music video of ''White Town - Your Woman'' is in black and white to imitate old films.
384[[/folder]]
385
386[[folder:Pinball]]
387* Creator/{{Bally}}'s ''Pinball/{{Centaur}}'' is noted for its use of black and white throughout the cabinet, backglass, and playfield art. The only other color used is red, with a few small green lights and the ambient amber of the lamps.
388* ''Pinball/TheMunsters'':
389** Downplayed with the display animations, which are usually in black and white (primarily to better fit with the use of clips from [[Series/TheMunsters the original series]], which was filmed before the widespread adoption of color television). It even affects the stock tutorial footage in the AttractMode.
390** The game's Premium version changes the playfield art to be completely monochrome for the same reason, though Stern later put out a version in full color (like the Pro and Limited editions).
391[[/folder]]
392
393[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
394* This is common way wrestling promotions show matches that are really bloody on public broadcast, in order to keep their TV deals. Particularly after Wrestling/{{CMLL}} lost one.
395* Wrestling/SamiCallihan's promo footage is often shot in the style of old film and thus, not in color, in addition to being prone to skipping and being highly jumpy.
396* During the entrance of [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Willow The Wisp]], [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling the Impact Zone]] is filmed in black and white, with a filter giving a not quite look to the live audience.
397* Leah Von Dutch is fond of black and white video packages. She's even overtaken the Shine logo at times.
398* Wrestling/OldeWrestling, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYvWhOw8Iqw a]] celebration [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGM2oJEoVCQ#t=166 of]] of pro wrestling from the 1920-40s, likes to go with a monochrome presentation.
399[[/folder]]
400
401[[folder:Roleplays]]
402* The Besmirched in ''Roleplay/{{Gravestonecemetery}}'' are grey-scale. Justified, as they're all made of ink.
403[[/folder]]
404
405[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
406* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has Sons of Malice chapter of Chaos Space Marines. Their prime colors are black and white, though few golden strips also appear in official color scheme. Fan depictions of Malice followers often feature pure black-and-white color scheme.
407[[/folder]]
408
409[[folder:Theatre]]
410* As the ShowWithinAShow in the musical ''Theatre/CityOfAngels'' is supposed to be a 1940s FilmNoir, its costumes and sets are in black and white.
411* The 2016 Australian production of ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'' starts out with all sets, costumes, and props (and even Audrey's ''hair'') in black-and-white -- with the exception of Audrey II. As Seymour's life improves (and Audrey II's influence grows), more color appears, until it ends in full color.
412* In ''Theatre/TwiceCharmed'', the themed black-and-white ball has the scenery and almost everyone present in shades of black, white, and grey, making the colorful transformation afterwards more impactful.
413[[/folder]]
414
415[[folder:Video Games]]
416* ''VideoGame/NineteenSixteenDerUnbekannteKrieg'' is displayed in black and white, being set during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
417* ''[[VideoGame/OneThousandAmps 1000 Amps]]'' uses grayscale graphics.
418* ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland'': Area 7 round 3 is deliberately black and white, aside from moving objects and enemies.
419* ''VideoGame/{{Aether}}'': Each planet begins in black-and-white and as you go on your adventure they get filled with more and more colour. [[spoiler: And as it gets more bright and coloured, the Earth progressively shrinks, until it completely disappears by the end of the game. This is meant as a metaphor for protagonist's fantasy world overtaking his real life.]]
420* ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdIIAssimilation'': The first two [[BigBoosHaunt "Monster Madness"]] stages are in black and white, being an homage to vintage horror films, although the second has switches to temporarily activate the color, while [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon "Virtual Insanity"]] is black and red in the style of the Platform/VirtualBoy.
421* The entirety of the 2022 sci-fi game, ''VIdeoGame/{{Astronite}}'', is in black-and-white, in an attempt to emulate 1980s old-school games.
422* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' does this version on a couple of occasions. [[spoiler:Such as when the Girl that looks like Asura's Daughter dies, and when Yasha does one final attack before dying standing up.]]
423* A few Platform/BBCMicro games, including ''Cholo'', ''Plan B'' and ''Spellbinder'', have graphics in black-and-white. To be sure, there were technical reasons for this (MODE 4 offered fairly high resolution while not tying up over half of the Model B's RAM as video memory), but it's not that color graphics were impossible on the system or that monitors would only accept monochrome output.
424* Parts of the epilogue of ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' take place in a monochrome environment, [[spoiler: particularly flashbacks to when Booker [=DeWitt=] sold his daughter Anna to Zachary Comstock to pay off a debt and then tries to get her back]].
425* ''VIdeoGame/{{BLANC}}'' is entirely in black-and-white, to emulate a setting similar to a child's picture book.
426* There's a neat use of this in the obscure Platform/{{P|layStation2}}S2 game ''[[Manga/{{Dororo}} Blood Will Tell]]''. Set in medieval Japan, the player character Hyakkimaru had most of his body parts stolen by demons as a baby (then replaced with magical substitutes by a friendly wizard), so the main quest involves tracking down those demons and defeating them to get his real body back a piece at a time. The first couple of levels are in Black and White, but after an hour or two of gameplay you get to fight and kill the demon who had taken Hyakkimaru's eyes. At that point Hyakkimaru gets his "real" eyes back, and the game switches to color.
427* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' Zombie mode, when playing on ascension, the screen is in black and white until you turn the power on, after that it shows a momentary (about 2 seconds) sepia tint, then it goes to full on color.
428* ''VideoGame/CelDamage'' has a character named Fowl Mouth, who, along with his car, appears entirely in monochrome, due to him originating from the 1930's.
429* Enforced in ''VideoGame/ChicoryAColorfulTale''. When you enter Chicory's room for the first time, trying to color her or her furniture enough times will cause her to scream, erase what you have drawn, and disable your brush until you leave. [[spoiler:It's also {{Foreshadowing}} that she had something to do with the world's current colorless state.]]
430* The original version of ''VideoGame/{{Closure}}'' uses only black and white color. The Platform/PlayStation3 version has some shades of gray in between.
431* In ''VideoGame/ComicJumperTheAdventuresOfCaptainSmiley'', the manga-based world of "Cutie Cutie Kid Cupids" is done entirely in black and white, complete with screen-tone shading like in a real manga.
432* ''VideoGame/CrimeOClock'': The entire game is done with uncolored lineart, save for marking objects that an activated power can be used on.
433* ''VideoGame/DeBlob'' starts out so because of the Inkie invasion. It's up to the player to destroy them and restore the world to its vibrant state.
434* In the original ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''Doom 2'' the player's vision changes to inverse monochrome (i.e. black shows as white and vice versa) when the Invulnerability powerup is active.
435* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' has the DarkWorld, which despite its name doesn't really fit the trope; it's no more evil or sinister than the normal world, and it's visually and geographically identical to the island from which you enter it except that it's all in shades of gray: gray grass, gray sky, gray enemies (who are slightly harder to beat than their in-color counterparts), etc. Although some elements like water, fire, and poison marshes are still in their respective colors (blue, red, and purple). It makes it surprisingly hard to get around and find stuff, although treasure chests are still in color, and show up even better against gray grass than green. Your party is also still in color, and the townsfolk (who are all in black and white) comment on how funny-looking you are, being in color and all.
436* In the bonus ending of ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'', the protagonist falls through a dimensional rift into an alien dimension where everything is in black and white. That realm happens to be modern-day Tokyo; the black and white is to emphasize the otherness of that dimension to Caim and his dragon.
437* ''VIdeoGame/DreamAlone'', a horror-themed platformer, has entire levels in either black-and-white or sepia to reflect old-timey B-movies.
438* ''VideoGame/{{Dreamkiller}}'' turns the screen greyscale whenever Alice activates her Berserk mode, while turning enemies red. Slain mooks turns grey as well to help Alice differentiate background with enemies.
439* ''VideoGame/DUSK12'' has Gorin's X-Eye mode, when his power level is insufficient and the screen automatically turns greyscale.
440* ''VideoGame/{{Evoland}}'' is in black and white for the few minutes it takes to find the chest containing 16-color mode.
441* The [[spoiler: Ashen World]] in ''VideoGame/{{Fairune}} 2'' is this with a SplashOfColor where things are either powered (cyan) or hostile (red).
442* In ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', at one point the player is put in a ZeeRust LotusEaterMachine which shows a black and white version of a sunny 1950s suburb where the player is a child for some reason. To be exact, you're a kid, the old man in control of the thing is a [[GenderBender little girl]] and [[spoiler: your dad is a dog]].
443* ''Fancy and the Fox'' is done in the style of silent movies. As such, it's entirely in black and white and has title cards instead of normal dialogue.
444* While ''VideoGame/FobiaStDinfnaHotel'' is in colour, occasionally during the Pianist boss fight the screen will turn greyscale when she pounces upon you. None of the boss, or levels in that matter, have this effect.
445* In ''VideoGame/TheGodOfCrawlingEyes'' the protagonist Max is color-blind, so he sees everything in black and white. So does the player. [[MindScrew Even though it's not a first person game.]]
446* ''VideoGame/GatoRoboto'' is white sprites on a black background. Color palettes can be unlocked that change these 2 colors to different ones.
447* The host of ''VideoGame/TheHiddenObjectShow'' is in black and white while everything else is in full color.
448* One of the last levels of ''VideoGame/{{Hoa}}'', the DreamLand, which repeats the first few stages but with all the colour sucked out and the stages being two-dimoensional black-and-white. A ''jarring'' contrast since 80% of the game takes place in colourful-looking GhibliHills.
449* ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction'' has unlockable black & white and sepia settings.
450* ''[[VideoGame/IrisFall Iris.Fall]]'', an indie puzzle game featuring the spellbinding theme of "light and shadow", has a very limited colour palette. Your protagonist is notably pale white with black outlines, and there are several stages which are monochrome as well (intersect with a few stages in ''actual'' colour.
451* The flashback scenes in ''VideoGame/JonathanKaneTheProtector'' is in greyscale, as is a level where [[spoiler:Jonathan gets shot and left for dead by the villains, with the whole stage turning monochrome as seen from Jonathan's POV. He needs to reach his emergency medikit within 40 seconds or die, and if he made it the screen turns back to colour]].
452* ''VideoGame/IslandSaver'': Bankimals are presented this way at first as it's explicitly stated that the pollution on the islands has stripped them of their colour. They regain their colour once they are healed.
453* ''VideoGame/KaratekaMania'' and ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven'''s Karate Joe is only 1 shade, mostly blue or orange.
454* The Timeless River in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', which [[{{Retraux}} deliberately emulates the look of 1920s Disney shorts]] for time travel purposes. The only colored elements are in the HUD, and even those are desaturated.
455* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' is black-and-white.
456* A level in Rainbow Resort from ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'' for the Platform/{{N|intendoEntertainmentSystem}}ES has an all-B&W level, as a [[NostalgiaLevel throwback]] to ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'' for the original Platform/GameBoy.
457* In ''VideoGame/LANoire'' there is an option to play the game in black and white, for that FilmNoir feel. If you choose to play in color, the screen gradually changes to black and white when you're injured -- the closer you are to a GameOver, the less color there is. In addition, every case starts black and white at its title card, with color introduced shortly.
458* Being badly injured in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' to the point where you will die when incapacitated makes the screen go this, as a warning.
459* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
460** The Twilight areas of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''. According to the early trailers, the Twilight was originally supposed to be ''completely'' monochrome, but the development team decided to make it more sepia-like with lots of bloom, possibly as one of Nintendo's many {{Take That}}s against the [[RealIsBrown "realistic" graphics]] on competitor systems.
461** Also, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', with the rerun bosses in Ganon's tower. [[spoiler: Hyrule Castle]] in ''The Wind Waker'' is also monochrome (and frozen in time) before you get the [[spoiler: Master Sword]].
462** The flashbacks in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' start off in sepia monochrome for a few seconds before transitioning to full color.
463* ''VideoGame/{{Limbo}}'' has a foreground that's entirely in black silhouettes except for the protagonist's MilkyWhiteEyes, and a greyish, shadowy background.
464* In ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'', you can set up a monochrome filter on your custom stage.
465* In ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' two Japanese-style pagoda/temple training levels are this. The first is caused by a glitch, that makes it look like an old flickering movie, the second is actually made to be [[InvokedTrope deliberately monochrome.]]
466* ''VideoGame/MickeyMania'' for the Sega Genesis, CD, and SNES starts in black and white save for WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse himself, on screen graphics and collectible items. The first level is based on ''WesternAnimation/SteamboatWillie'', as part of the game's theme around playing through classic Mickey Mouse short cartoons. However, as you progress through the level, colour is slowly added to the Steamboat Willie universe, though mini-boss Pete and the title character (who is separate from Mickey in the game's universe) remain monochrome when encountered. Future levels are all based on colour Mickey Mouse cartoons and are animated accordingly.
467* ''VideoGame/{{Minit}}'' and its spin-off ''Minit Fun Racer'' are entirely black and white. Not even shades of gray: Just those two colors.
468* ''VideoGame/{{Minubeat}}'' is made up of simple, black-and-white contour graphics. Or white-and-black (you can invert the colors.)
469* ''VideoGame/TheMisadventuresOfPBWinterbottom'' uses this with SilenceIsGolden to invoke an old B&W silent film theme.
470* Indie game ''[[http://monochromagame.com/Monochroma/indexEN.html Monochroma]]'' has even the title telling its palette, with just some red along with the shades of gray.
471* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterPC'' has the B-movie levels, where the entire screen is filtered in either black-and-white or sepia. It doesn't make the enemies more difficult to kill, but it makes finding the monster spawners difficult, especially when the player is trying to find the correct spawner to destroy in correspondance to the monster type they're killed.
472* The entirety of ''VideoGame/MyBeautifulPaperSmile'', a horror game whose graphics resemble pen-drawn images entirely.
473* ''VideoGame/NotForBroadcast'': The in-universe camera feed in the {{Telethon}} level in its entirety, all capturing the {{Retraux}} feel of the TV shows of TheFifties.
474* ''VideoGame/NoUmbrellasAllowed'': The ending card of Ending 7-1 is entirely in grayscale to show [[DownerEnding how depressing your situation has become]] after [[spoiler:being [[EmotionSuppression Fixed]] with pension.]]
475* ''VideoGame/{{The Punisher|THQ}}'' for Platform/{{Xbox}} was considered too violent, and the game turns to black & white whenever you use one of the special interrogations to kill somebody. It's generally discouraged, [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential but c'mon, you know you want to see a drill through that guy's face...]] This is actually a good thing, as the game is a last gen game. The PC version doesn't have the B&W happen, and it looks pretty silly, but the console versions make the blood look like blood in B&W instead of pixels.
476* Graphics in ''VideoGame/PencilWhipped'' is designed to look like pencil drawings on a sketchpad coming to life. Some enemies might display a [[SplashOfColor splash of red]] when hurt though.
477* The Nightmare stages in ''VideoGame/PreDusk'' are greyscale, while the rest of the worlds usually contains limited colour palettes. Then again, you're a LivingShadow in this one.
478* ''VideoGame/ReturnOfTheObraDinn'': The entire game is only two colors and [[{{Retraux}} highly pixelated]] with shades of grey represented by a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dither dither]] effect, meant to mimic the colors of old CRT computer monitors, which also neatly resembles the pen-and-ink [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stippling stippling]] of the in-game era.
479* Characters in ''VideoGame/RogueLegacy'' can be "born" with various random traits. If they have nostalgia, the entire game world will be shown in sepia, while color-blindness means everything is in black and white.
480* The {{vaporware}} Wii Gothic horror title ''Sadness'' was supposed to be presented entirely in black and white.
481* ''VideoGame/{{Shift}}'' is completely in black and white to clearly show where you can shift into. When the character shifts into the black squares, he becomes white and vice versa. Whenever you die, though, a [[LudicrousGibs bunch of full-color blood appears]].
482* ''VideoGame/{{Skully}}'' has a monochrome character, Brent, who appears as a black-and-white figure 24/7. Justified since he's an air elemental who's made of clouds.
483* In ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Conviction'', hiding in shadows turns the screen black and white. This is to reduce HUD elements and has a fair bit of realism as you do see in black and white in darkness in real life, although they don't adjust that fast.
484* The entirety of ''VideoGame/Squad51VsTheFlyingSaucers'' is set in the 1930s and rendered completely in black-and-white, to emulate the atmosphere of old-timey AlienInvasion B-movies. The game even throws in some static for good measure.
485* Everything in ''VideoGame/SundayNightSuicide'' is rendered in black-and-white, emulating the subject short of its [[Fanfic/SuicideMouse origin]].
486* ''VideoGame/{{Superliminal}}'': One of the final sequences is purely black and white.
487* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
488** World 6-3 from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1''. However, it was actually colorized in [[VideoGame/SuperMarioAllStars the SNES remake]].
489** Several enemies, who are BossInMookClothing, at the end of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' are shown without any colors due to the fact that they are being produced at a factory and have not fully finished in their build yet.
490** World Flower-6 of ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' is also in black and white.
491* The "How to play" movies for the official maps in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' are black and white.
492* While rarely depicted in-game, ''VideoGame/TeslasTowerTheWardenclyffeMystery'' takes place on an alternate Earth whose inhabitants have lost the ability to see color due to a sabotaged experiment.
493* Indie title ''VideoGame/TowerOfHeaven'' was done in the style of an original Game Boy title, using shades of green rather than gray. [[spoiler:The ending sequence is in color.]]
494* The ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' series of games include optional black and white and sepia filters.
495* In the ''VideoGame/UncleAlbert'' games series, starting from ''Le Temple Perdu de l'Oncle Ernest'', the cutscenes about Uncle Albert are in black and white to simulate old movies.
496* ''VideoGame/VersusUmbra'': The CPU-intensive Greyscale relic does what it's supposed to - make the battle black, white, and grey.
497* ''VideoGame/WarioLand4'': Upon running out of time after you hit the portal switch in a level, the level loses all color, and Wario begins to leak coins. Should you run out of coins, you are ejected from the level.
498* ''VideoGame/WhiteShadows'' is entirely in black-and-white, befitting it's setting in 1940s London. The graphics even looks like an old movie from that period.
499* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has the Sha, monstrous beasts of negative emotion introduced in ''Mists of Pandaria''; their black and white figures stand in stark contrast to the colorful land of Pandaria. The Sha of Fear has some color, but it only reaches Limited Palette with a mix of purple and red.
500* ''[[Creator/{{Nitrome}} Yin and Yang]]'' is essentially two games in one -- one with everything black on a white background, and one with everything white on a black background. The two are kept separate, each with their own main character who can't directly interact with the other main character.
501[[/folder]]
502
503[[folder:Visual Novels]]
504* Mokuyoubi from ''VisualNovel/KokoroNoDokiDokiSenpai'' is completely black and white save for her hair ribbons [[spoiler:and underwear]].
505* ''VisualNovel/{{Misericorde}}'': Apart from the title screen, which has a tiny bit of color, the entire game is rendered in black and white. [[spoiler:The secret scene unlocked after you beat the game averts this trope by being in full color.]]
506[[/folder]]
507
508[[folder:Web Animation]]
509* In ''WebAnimation/BravestWarriors'', the afterlife mall, all its deceased residents, and the bus that ferries the dead to said mall, are all black and white.
510* The "Old-Timey" universe from ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner''. Partially averted with the Valentine's Day episode, "in [[color:pink:A COLOR!]]"
511* ''WebAnimation/MeetTheMillers'': It is completely black and white to reflect the time period the series is set in.
512* ''WebAnimation/{{Musophobia}}'': The NightmareSequence is done in black and white, barring the glowing yellow eyes of the rodents and the flashes of intense cyans and magentas throughout the scene.
513* The ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' episode ''Grey vs. Gray'', is shot entirely in black and white, to further the noir atmosphere. [[spoiler: And because every character involved is colorblind.]]
514[[/folder]]
515
516[[folder:Webcomics]]
517* ''Webcomic/{{Blip}}'': The comic's format was switched to black and white for a month, citing "budget cuts" as the reason.
518* ''Webcomic/TheDailyDerp''. The characters are all white, the backgrounds are [[http://dailyderp.tumblr.com/post/22490363320/daily-derp-resources-by-tetrapony-wanna-create various shades of grey.]]
519* In ''Webcomic/DreamKeepers Prelude'' [[http://www.dreamkeeperscomic.com/Prelude.php?pg=143 some contemplation]].
520* Almost all the strips of ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' are done in grayscale. [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2016-05-30 This strip]] explains this choice by pointing out how hard color composition is compared to composing in gray.
521* ''Webcomic/{{Endstone}}'' was originally done in black and white, except the covers.
522* A comic called ''Webcomic/Flick'' is about a series of miniature universes, each of which has a specific set of rules that pan out to different genres. One of them is film noir, which is entirely monochrome and very 40s-esque in style.
523* ''Webcomic/FrankieAndStein'' is done in only black and grey.
524* ''Webcomic/FreeSpirit2014'' uses shades of gray and white instead of colors, unlike the rest of the Website/PlatypusComix series.
525* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' rendered Dr. Disaster's space battle [[HardLight simulation]] in black and white.
526* In ''Webcomic/JennyAndTheMultiverse'', [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Man in Grey]] is always rendered in grayscale. Even his [[PaintingTheMedium speech bubbles]] are grey.
527* ''Webcomic/TheManorsPrize'' is drawn in grayscale to emulate the style of old black-and-white movies.
528* ''Webcomic/MelvinasTherapy'': Most of the stories are deliberately drawn in black and white, but color is sometimes used for certain effects, most notably during one of Bea's arcs.
529* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
530** Grayscale is used to display darkness [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0076.html seen through Darkvision]].
531** The two prequel books (''On the Origins of [=PCs=]'' and ''Start of Darkness'') are (mostly) in grayscale. Best explained by the author, Rich Burlew:
532--->You may be wondering why on earth this book is in greyscale, when ''OOTS'' has always been in glorious full color. Clearly, it is to give that "nostalgic" feeling, so that you really feel like you are peering into the past. After all, these are the "home movie" of the ''OOTS'' characters, and so black-and-white seemed appropriate. [[SarcasmMode I was outraged]] to learn that it was, in fact, less expensive and faster to produce, and insisted on paying the printer the full cost for a color book, simply to appease my conscience. That's just the kind of guy I am.
533* In ''Webcomic/{{Parallels}}'', [[http://www.mightymartianstudios.com/2012/11/18/parallels-sci-fi-webcomic-badlands/ black and white is used while the artist works on making color work better.]]
534* Not only is all of ''Webcomic/SamAndFuzzy'' done in black and white, but the entire website is. Whenever something with color appears on the front page, it's either a guest comic or a new print to buy.
535* The dark and serious superhero webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Shades}}'' takes this further. When someone has a minor flashback, the images are "actual" photographs, including polaroids for the 70s and B&W for WWII. The WWII fighter pilot has a longer flashback entirely in B&W, while a flashback to the middle ages is drawn as if on parchment (black on dust-yellow). Sadly, the flashback to 3000 B.C. was not drawn as a cave painting.
536* In ''Webcomic/SoulSymphony'', scenes in the real world are depicted in black and white. Scenes in the "Soul World" are depicted in full-color.
537* Inverted in ''Webcomic/WapsiSquare'', which is ''usually'' in black and white, except for [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/leave/ a few special occasions]].
538[[/folder]]
539
540
541[[folder:Web Original]]
542* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': SCP-316 is a camera that induces this effect on people.
543[[/folder]]
544
545[[folder:Web Videos]]
546* ''WebVideo/TheBritishRailwayStories'': The scenes shown during the opening narration used in the earlier episodes were shown in black and white, while the rest of the show was fully coloured. Black and white were also used for the {{Flashback}} scenes in episode 10, The Legacy Of Gadwall.
547* ''WebVideo/TheMusicVideoShow'' does this in [[https://youtu.be/Vyn0wENl-78 Episode 86]], which is in black and white because the video is on [[Music/TheTragicallyHip The Tragically Hip's]] "In View" music video, which is also in black and white. It's also dedicated to frontman Gord Downie, who passed away weeks before the episode was uploaded.
548* Creator/{{SyFy}}'s ''WebVideo/TheMercuryMen'' is filmed in black and white, reminiscent of ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' and old [[TheFifties Fifties]] serials.
549* ''WebVideo/PistolShrimps'' had their ''The Slap'' video done entirely in black and white, to parody older films and the {{exaggerated}} misogyny of the time.
550* The [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]][=/=][[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] crossover review of ''ComicBook/{{Warrior}}'' #4 uses this at the end, after counteracting the effects of the comic on reality by aggressively not caring, and going slightly overboard with it.
551* In ''WebVideo/DemoReel'', behind-the-scenes scenes are shot this way, while "filmed" scenes are in color. ''WebVideo/BradJonesDemoReel'' did this as well.
552* Whenever Creator/TessMasazza, the creator and main protagonist of the Italian Webseries ''Insopportabilmente Donna'' suffers a disappointment or something bad (or perceived as such) happens to her, the video turns into black and white and a sad song starts to play.
553* The ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' FanSequel, ''WebVideo/StarTrekContinues'', uses this a plot point in the episode "What Ships Are For", and it even has an InUniverse justification. Due to special radiation emitted by their sun, the inhabitants of Hyalinus are unable to see color, and as a result see everything in monochrome, something which also affects the crew of the ''Enterprise'' as they visit the planet, and as a result, [[PaintingTheMedium all the scenes taking place on Hyalinus are rendered in black and white]]. This also works to hide the plot twist that [[spoiler:Sekara and Thaius and several other "Hyalians" are actually Abicians]].
554[[/folder]]
555
556[[folder:Western Animation]]
557* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}''. Jonesy and Wyatt are on a double date with two girls at the movies. Jonesy is complaining that the film is in black and white when they have the technology for color and high resolution. Wyatt points out that it's a deliberate choice as a metaphor for the hard times depicted in the film.
558* Done in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'''s "BMO Noire", as it is a parody (and homage) to mystery film noirs.
559* All of the film and television images in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' are in black and white, most noticeably in the episodes "Beware the Grey Ghost" and "Almost Got 'Im".
560* The ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' episode "Sabotage" has the trope [[DiscussedTrope directly referenced]]. Damage to the Supercomputer is causing lots of bugs on Lyoko, including one that makes Ulrich's Avatar lose all colors. Playing along, he starts fighting a Tarantula ''[[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers Three Musketeers]]''-style with his katana.
561-->'''Ulrich:''' Since I am in black and white, let's do this old style. ''En garde!''
562* ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'' has a noir parody episode done in B&W. In another where the cast travels to a caricatured 1950s milieu, the scene turns black and white; Cornfed remarks that they do not approve of people of color.
563* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'':
564** An episode switches to black and white for most of the story; it is a parody of gritty ''ComicStrip/DickTracy''-style detective stories.
565** Also in the episode where Timmy is babysat by his grandfather and wishes to transform the world into a 30s cartoon everything turns black and white and in the style of the era.
566** When Timmy wished everyone on Earth to look the same, Cosmo and Wanda turned the world and everyone on it grey.
567* The first segment of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Reincarnation", done in the style of an early-'30s Creator/FleischerStudios cartoon.
568* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldSpecials'':
569** The first scenes of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldInTheRough'' were deliberately on Black and White and it even started with a warning telling the viewers not to adjust the TV's color set.
570** ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldHis9Lives'' has a B&W life when Garfield is a stunt cat for ComicStrip/KrazyKat.
571** ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldsBabesAndBullets'', a noir spoof that features colors only when Garfield is out of his fantasy.
572* The last episode of ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' was "It's Alive!", an homage to ''Film/Frankenstein1931'' that was entirely in black and white and had Ami as a MadScientist with Yumi as her hunchbacked assistant helping her build a FrankensteinsMonster Kaz.
573* The SeriesFauxnale of ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' [[spoiler:and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'']] feature black and white ''flash forwards'' [[spoiler:that is actually just Terry imagining what he'll do after LukeYouAreMyFather-ing Bruce.]].
574* Creator/TexAvery's MGM cartoon "Lucky Ducky" had two canine duck hunters chasing a small wiseacre duck when suddenly everything turns black and white after crossing a boundary line. The three walk back to the line and see a sign: "Technicolor Ends Here".
575* The bonus [[WesternAnimation/PixarShorts Cars Toon]] ''Mater: Private Eye'', which is exclusive to the DVD version. However, it's revealed at the end that some of the characters are actually indeed colorful.
576* One ''WesternAnimation/OggyAndTheCockroaches'' episode had the cockroaches causing Oggy's washing machine to overload, covering the entire house and garden with pink foam. When a rain cloud approaches over the house and washes away the foam, the area is left in black and white.
577* ''WesternAnimation/PepperAnn'' features a "contemporary noir" spoof, although only the flashbacks are black and white.
578* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', when the boys become detectives and wear "detective makeup" to make themselves look like they came out of a FilmNoir.
579* Downplayed in ''WesternAnimation/{{Pibby}}''. One scene in the trailer is set in an old black and white cartoon, though the main three remain in color.
580* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' features an EnemyMime who can absorb the colors (as well as sounds) of anything he touches, turning part of Townsville in grayscale.
581* An entire episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' was done in black and white, involving a story in which Gretchen is discovered for vandalism and explains via flashbacks to another student of how and why [[HowWeGotHere she ended up in that room in the first place]].
582* The second half of the ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode "Samurai vs. Ninja" has a battle sequence done in pure black, pure white, and no other colors whatsoever. Jack wraps himself with his white ''gi'' and appears as a white silhouette, while his ninja adversary is already camouflaged in black and becomes a black silhouette. The two characters then dash about attacking each other, appearing and disappearing into the black and white shapes of their environment.
583* The majority of the ''WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity'' episode "Baah-dern Times" consists of a silent film starring [[IdenticalGrandson Sheep and General Specific's grandfathers]], with the film being black and white to complete the homage.
584* [[ZigzaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''WesternAnimation/SimonInTheLandOfChalkDrawings2002''. Simon's world is presented entirely in black and white (except for Simon's chalkboard, which is dark green), while the land of chalk drawings is more vibrant and colourful.
585* The "King Homer" segment in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E5TreehouseOfHorrorIII Treehouse of Horror III]]", a parody of ''Film/KingKong1933''.
586* Scenes at the title camp in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'''s "[[Recap/SouthParkS6E14TheDeathCampOfTolerance The Death Camp of Tolerance]]" as a deliberate ShoutOut to ''Film/SchindlersList''.
587* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E24LegsFromHereToHomeworld Legs from Here to Homeworld]]", [[spoiler:White Diamond and her Pearl]] both have completely monochrome palettes, as does the inside of [[spoiler:White's]] ship.
588* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' has the episode "Everybody Comes to Hank's" where Dermott's mother being late to pick him up from work launches Hank into a Noir plot entirely in black and white (the other threads are done in color) where Hank picks up the clothing, lingo and mannerism of a 1930's private eye to solve the mystery of who is Dermott's dad. He even provides noir style narration for his investigation. The Alchemist, bored out of his mind, decides to tag along and help. Every other character they meet acts like a classic noir archetype until the mystery is finally solved. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Dermott's dad is Rusty and the woman he was always told was his sister was really his mother.]]
589* The ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' episode "The Black Cube" is this until the ending.
590* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Wishfart}}'' episode "Happy Green Weirdo Day!" uses this to represent TheMagicGoesAway as the setting's colors becomes increasingly grayer until Dez manages to restore the world's magic in the end.
591* The short ''WesternAnimation/TheWizardOfOz1933'' is the first depiction of the series in this manner: Kansas is monochrome while Oz is technicolor. The use of technicolor without permission led to the film never being legally distributed until it fell into the PublicDomain in the 1980s. The [[Film/TheWizardOfOz MGM film]] later reused this method of depicting Kansas in grayscale.
592* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wunschpunsch}}'' episode "Colorless Chaos" featured the evil wizards casting a spell that made the town black and white.
593[[/folder]]
594
595[[folder:Real Life]]
596* Security cameras often record in infrared light at night. Because of the limited color space, this gets recorded as black and white.
597* Some digital cinema cameras, such as the [[https://nofilmschool.com/2012/11/red-epic-monochrome-vs-red-epic-comparison Red EPIC Monochrome]], record only in black and white. This results in higher quality detail than desaturating from a color camera.
598* Sketching. Often limited to shades of white, gray and black because they're usually done with regular pencils - coloration is also a different skill entirely and needs practice to do convincingly, so many artists simply choose to skip it and leave the work monochrome.
599* In the '80s, monochrome computer monitors tended to have higher resolution than color ones, so people who did a lot of text work favored the former. This is why the original Platform/AppleMacintosh had a black-and-white screen.
600[[/folder]]
601
602!!Limited Palette
603
604[[folder:Comic Books]]
605* The Hunter Rose issues of the ''ComicBook/{{Grendel}}'' comic uses a palette of black, white, and red.
606* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' is printed in normal color. But whenever the Holiday Killer strikes, it switches to a Limited Palette (black, white, and blood-red) with Holiday's calling card as a non-red SplashOfColor.
607* ''ComicBook/MagicTrixie'': In "Magic Trixie Sleeps Over", when Magic Trixie goes to a sleepover with the vampire twins, she's dropped off in a cemetery that is only shown in black and white. The only colour shown is the red in the vampire twins' eyes.
608* ''ComicBook/RedFog'' is presented in saturated greys, excepted for the red used on the nazi armbands.
609* ''ComicBook/SecretPath2016'' is mostly presented in black, white, and blue. The few times it's fully coloured are at the beginning, in a {{Flashback}} to when Chanie was still with his family, and at the end when [[spoiler:Chanie says goodbye to his dead body]].
610* ''ComicBook/SimonSaysNaziHunter'' is presented in mainly black-and-white. The only exception is the use of red.
611* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanBlackAndGold'': All the stories are done in black and gold coloring but story "Without Love" is set mostly in black and white due up until the ending due to the emotion of love being taken away by Eros, the God of Love.
612* ''Comicbook/SupermanRedAndBlue'' is done entirely in different shades of the PrimaryColorChampion's costume colors. One story is black and white because the world's colors have been stolen by a 5th dimensional imp (not Mr Mxyzptlk).
613* ''Comicbook/HarleyQuinn: Black, White and Red'' was the first of the ''Batman: Black and White'' spin-offs, and adds the red of Harley's costume.
614 [[/folder]]
615
616[[folder:Films — Animation]]
617* The "Rhapsody in Blue" segment of ''WesternAnimation/Fantasia2000'' is done primarily in tones of blue, as well as bluish greens and purples, with the occasional red and yellow for emphasis. With the help of computer-controlled coloring, every pixel has some blue in it. The reds and yellows are just very red purples and very yellow greens.
618[[/folder]]
619
620[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
621* The 90s ''Film/DickTracy'' film used a color palette of red, green, blue, yellow, purple, orange, black and white to match the original comic strip.
622* ''Film/TheElementOfCrime'', notable because the movie was filmed in colors, and the reel was not altered afterward: instead, all the sets were lit only with low pressure sodium vapor lamps. Other gas discharge lamps are used sparingly to throw an occasional stain of red or blue.
623* In Erich von Stroheim's 1924 film ''Film/{{Greed}}'', a number of objects related to the eponymous theme were hand-painted yellow to appear golden.
624* The 2009 film ''Film/{{Ink}}'' uses this. While the real world appears in normal colors, the dream/other world the Storytellers and Incubi inhabit can be told apart by how it is washed out and only one or two colors actually appear vibrantly.
625* ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}'' has the eponymous TrappedInTVLand world in B&W, but as the brother and sister introduce CharacterDevelopment into the static world, elements of color enter to represent it as well.
626* The 1983 film ''Literature/RumbleFish'' is in B&W, except for the eponymous fish, which are in colour.
627* ''Film/SinCity'' even uses key bits or red and yellow... albeit, this might have something to do with being faithful to the source material. The movie has noticeably more color than the comic books. The titular character in "That Yellow Bastard" is yellow in both the book and the film, but the film--which is an adaptation of "That Yellow Bastard", "The Hard Goodbye" and "The Big Fat Kill"-- shows red blood, blue eyes, green eyes, red lips, a red bed, an orange pill bottle, red tail lights and a full color (though slightly desaturated) bar as well. The comic version of the story has no color whatsoever save for the "yellow bastard". Usually in the comics color is used to signify a character or item of importance, while the movie follows the Rule of Cool.
628* In the 2009 film ''Film/ASingleMan'', most of the sequences are filmed in color, but all the colors are flat, grey, and monochrome. The whole movie is filmed like this, except for the scenes when George experiences an emotional connection with another character or has a flashback, when the color scheme suddenly becomes brighter and tinted with red, blue, or yellow.
629* Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Film/{{Spellbound}}'' is black and white, but near the end, when [[spoiler:the head of the mental hospital is identified as the killer, he turns the incriminating gun on himself and fires,]] the blast being a moment of bright red.
630* In ''Film/{{Tron}}'', the computer scenes were shot in black and white, with the only color being the glowing highlights and edges of the computer world, mostly red, blue and yellow.
631* ''Film/TheTingler'' is in black and white, except for the blood red in a scene where the mute woman with a fear of blood is being scared to death.
632 [[/folder]]
633
634[[folder:Literature]]
635* Some versions of ''Literature/TheBible'' print Jesus' dialogue in [[color:red:red]].
636* ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'' is printed in three colors, although there are some variations between the different versions of the book. Normal text is printed in black, the word "[[color:blue:house]]" appears in blue, [[color:red:references to mythology]] or [[strike:[[color:red:struck out passages that are vaguely threatening to the reader]]]] appear in red. In addition, there are a few instances of the color purple, including the phrase [[color:purple:A Novel]] on the cover, the [[color:purple:edition number]], and one instance of a [[strike:[[color:purple:struck-out purple phrase]]]] in Chapter XXI. "[[color:red:Minotaur]]" may or may not be struck out, depending on whether it's used during one of the aforementioned mythology references.
637* A similar colored-text method is used in ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'', to distinguish scenes in Bastian's world from those within the realm of Story. In the paperback version, ''italics'' are used instead.
638* The various characters of ''Literature/ShadesOfGrey'' are blind to most colors, and have organized themselves into a hierarchy based on which colors they can see. The low-ranking protagonist can only see red.
639* ''Literature/EveryHeartADoorway:'' In the Halls of the Dead, colors are a sign of rank and must be earned. During her time back on Earth, Nancy refuses to wear anything other than pure blacks and whites, with the one exception of the pomegranate-colored hair ribbon which she ''had'' earned the right to wear.
640[[/folder]]
641
642[[folder:Music]]
643* The album covers of...
644** ''Music/DirkWearsWhiteSox'' by Music/AdamAndTheAnts is shot in black and white, but mostly black on the right side of the album.
645** Music/TheBand's album ''[[Music/TheBandAlbum The Band]]''.
646** ''Music/WithTheBeatles'', ''Music/AHardDaysNight'' and ''Music/{{Revolver|Beatles Album}}'' by Music/TheBeatles features the band members in black-and-white. All their other album covers are in color.
647** Music/{{Bjork}}'s album cover of ''Music/{{Debut}}'' is photographed in black-and-white.
648** Music/DavidBowie is shown in black-and-white on the album covers of ''Music/StationToStation'' and ''[[Music/HeroesDavidBowieAlbum "Heroes"]]''.
649** Music/TheClash's album covers, including ''Music/LondonCalling'' and ''Music/{{Sandinista}}'' are all black-and-white with colorful typography.
650** ''Music/BlueTrain'' by Music/JohnColtrane has a beautiful blue monochrome photographed album cover. ''Music/ALoveSupreme'' is in black-and-white.
651** Music/BobDylan's album cover of ''Music/TheTimesTheyAreAChangin'' is in black-and-white.
652** Music/EricDolphy's album cover for ''Music/OutToLunch'' shows a photo in monochrome blue.
653** ''Music/AllThingsMustPass'' by Music/GeorgeHarrison was in black-and-white on its original release. When it was re-released in 2001 the album cover was colorized.
654** Music/IggyPop is shot in black-and-white on the album cover of ''Music/TheIdiot'' and ''Music/LustForLife''.
655** Music/JoyDivision's album covers for ''Music/UnknownPleasures'' and ''Music/{{Closer}}'' are all fittingly black-and-white, for such gloomy music. This also applies to ''photos'' of the band as well; it can be surprising so see a picture of Ian Curtis in color.
656** Bettye Lavette's ''Music/InterpretationsTheBritishRockSongbook'' shows her in black-and-white.
657** Music/LedZeppelin's ''Music/LedZeppelin1969'' is a black-and-white image of the burning Hindenburg.
658** Music/LittleRichard's debut ''Music/HeresLittleRichard'' shows him in black-and-white against a yellow backdrop.
659* Music/{{Madonna}} is shown in black-and-white on the album cover of ''[[Music/MadonnaAlbum Madonna]]'' and ''Music/LikeAVirgin''.
660** The album cover of Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/BleachAlbum'' is a photographic negative of the band performing.
661** Music/ThePixies' album cover of ''Music/SurferRosa'' is shot in black-and-white.
662** Music/ElvisPresley's album cover of ''Music/ElvisPresleyTheAlbum'' is shot in black-and-white with green letter typography.
663** Music/LouReed's album cover for ''Music/{{Transformer}}'' is in black-and-white.
664** The cover of the Music/{{Ramones}}' [[Music/RamonesAlbum debut album]] is shot in black-and-white.
665** Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}: ''Music/StickyFingers'' is a black-and-white photograph and ''Music/EmotionalRescue'' shows X-Ray photos, shot in a blue color.
666** Music/QueensOfTheStoneAge: Arguably their most simplistic and striking album cover; the one for ''Songs For The Deaf''. An otherwise blank red background, save for the two-pronged trident (angled to look like a shadow cast from off-screen) and the typography, both in black.
667** Music/PattiSmith is shown in black-and-white on the album cover of ''Music/{{Horses}}''.
668** Music/TomWaits is shown in black-and-white on the album cover of ''Music/{{Swordfishtrombones}}''.
669** Music/FrankZappa is shot in black-and-white on the album cover of ''Music/AbsolutelyFree'' and ''Music/ChungasRevenge''.
670** Music/LeonardCohen appears in a sepia-toned image on the cover of ''Music/SongsOfLeonardCohen''.
671** Music/TheWhiteStripes' cover for Icky Thump would be entirely black and white, if not for the graphic of the album title being red. This can be averted on vinyl releases of the album where the title graphic is instead a sticker keeping the album sealed, so it can be removed entirely, leaving only the black and white cover photo of Jack and Meg. Their live album Under Great White Northern Lights is similarly based on a black and white photograph, but has the band's name in white lettering and the album title in red lettering.
672[[/folder]]
673
674[[folder:Music Videos]]
675* Music/{{aha}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3ir9HC9vYg&ob=av3e The Sun Always Shines on TV]] is completely monochrome for most of the video, then highlights the band members' faces and parts of the scenery towards the end.
676* Music/MariahCarey's performance in the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. Everything was in black and white, except the singer and her red dress.
677* Georgian pop group Ucnobi had the music video to their song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf1VbUNGbqU "Vagoni miqris"]] shot in grayscale with red highlights. May have to do with red and white being the national colors of Georgia.
678* The clip for "Seven Nation Army" by Music/TheWhiteStripes from ''Music/ElephantAlbum'' uses only White, Black and Red, the colors most often worn by the group.
679* Much like the White Stripes' example (and tying into the album on which the song features), Music/QueensOfTheStoneAge's ''Go With The Flow'' uses a palette of red, white and black. It's only when the innuendo metaphors at the end (such as the two hood designs on the colliding trucks) begin that these get interspersed with brighter colours.
680* The performance scenes in ''Suicide Commando'''s "Die Motherfucker Die" video are monochrome except for the performers' red shirts.
681* The prologue and epilogue of the music video of Music/MichaelJackson's ''Music/{{Bad}}'' are in black and white. When he starts dancing it changes to color.
682* The music videos of Music/{{Madonna}}'s ''Vogue'' and ''Justify My Love'' are shot in a glamorous black-and-white.
683* The American version of *NSYNC's "I Want You Back" is shot entirely in black and white, but the band's dance routine is shot in color.
684[[/folder]]
685
686[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
687* Most of the {{c|ollectiblecardgame}}ards in Filsinger's ''Legends OF Wrestling'' are in black and white, though some wrestlers get updated color cards that focus on their lesser known or latter day accomplishments. Special release cards from the Cauliflower Alley Club reunion pack onward also "debut" in color.[[/folder]]
688
689[[folder:Video Games]]
690* ''VideoGame/AllAloneWithMannie'': Since the game takes place at night, the most prominent colour in the game is black, with white being the colour of the outlines. The only other colour is red, like Mannie's eyes, the inside of her mouth, her paw pads, her necklace, and her weapon.
691* The Pale Realm in ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice''. Everything, beside Alice, the Meta Essence and weapons, is in black and white. After all, the place is a chess-themed palace. Guess which chess pieces live there. ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' has Alice enter [[SuperMode Hysteria]] when her health is down to a [[CallAHitPointASmeerp single rose]]. Everything is black and white except for blood. It remains as red as ever.
692* ''VideoGame/{{Badland}}'' uses exclusively black and yellow palette. Interestingly, there are no grays, even while there are shades of yellow.
693* ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'' has an artstyle that is meant to resemble the black and white cartoons of the 30s. This style is sepitatoned with various shades of yellow, brown, and orange, while most characters are pure black due to being made of ink.
694* The Skies Afire spell in ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend''. The sky turns blood red, and all colour disappears except for shades of grey, red and orange.
695* ''VideoGame/DarkEcho'' has this as a given. Most of the game is black, and the player's footsteps + the echoes they make are white to contraast.
696* In the Creator/AdultSwim game ''VideoGame/DeathVegas'', each character has only one item (or pair of items) with color.
697* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' uses a strongly saturated monochrome of gold colors as both a nod to the "golden age" of its setting as well as the FilmNoir genre. Other colors, such as red and greens, serve as a SplashOfColor. In-universe, it's because you're looking from behind Adam's yellow sunglasses. When the camera cuts outside his POV, it's much less yellow. To a much lesser extent, the previous two games did this, the original ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' using electric blue and ''VideoGame/DeusExInvisibleWar'' using purple.
698* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'' has all kinds of levels with a limited palette. You've got the obvious sunset levels where the foreground and all objects are in black barring DK's tie, the factory level in the trailer where the foreground and DK are black at the front of the screen, then become a kind of mauve colour in the background (and the objects become really faint) and a Rambi level from the same trailer where all characters and foreground objects are black bar DK's tie (and maybe Diddy Kong's hat), while the background is all vibrant orange and purple.
699* ''VideoGame/{{Downwell}}'' has four colors, the default theme using white, red and blue on a black background. 4-color palette swaps can be unlocked.
700* ''VideoGame/ExponentialIdle'' has absolutely zero colors other than grey and white (or black and white if you're playing with Dark Theme on), as a game heavily centered on math wouldn't really need color.
701* ''VideoGame/{{Fe}}'''s general palette is mostly shades of blue and violet, with important objects being given brighter colors, while areas occupied by the [[BigBad Silent Ones]] have [[RedSkyTakeWarning a red-orange hue]].
702* ''Free Spirits'' is in black and white with touches of color. For example, Lana has a yellow flower on her hat and bow on her dress, while the owner of her favorite speakeasy has a green tie.
703* ''VideoGame/GobletGrotto'' has its first couple of levels in dusty greyscale, but later levels all have their own Limited Palettes. The swamp-like level is in shades of brownish-red, the racetrack level and insides of a King is in dark blue, the Criminal Hive is treacle-like black, etc.
704* ''VideoGame/TheGodOfCrawlingEyes'' starts off in black and white due to main character Max having a genetic condition which prevents him from seeing in color. Shortly after a conversation with his mother about the drug he's started taking to treat the problem, some red is introduced.
705* The entirety of ''VideoGame/{{Hatred}}'' is in black and white, with certain special effects appearing in color such as blood, light up building signs, police car lights and large explosions.
706* ''VideoGame/Inked2012'': The game is mainly presented in white as part of its presentation. There are a few colours, though, such as blue to indicate water. The Artist's hands are two of the few objects in the game to be fully coloured.
707* The first half and the antepenultimate chapter of ''VideoGame/Journey2012'' have predominately orange colour scheme.
708* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
709** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Space Paranoids is mostly black-and-white with the only colors coming from the TronLines found throughout the world [[spoiler: and from the MCP]]. This also results in Sora and his friends having [[UndeathlyPallor cyan skin/feather/fur tones]], and with limited color on their [[TwentyFourHourArmor armor]], though this can be subverted if Sora uses [[{{Retraux}} Limit Form]], which results in the TronLines on his armor to take on the colors of his [[CallBack original outfit]].
710** Zigzagged with The Grid in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', which also has limited colors, but is far more colorful than Space Paranoids.
711* ''VideoGame/TheLostCrown: A Ghost-hunting Adventure'' falls somewhere between this and the Splash Of Color option, using black & white (or black & green, for night-vision camera views) as a base, but highlighting occasional elements of a scene with color to convey mood or make bloodstains apparent. It also {{lampshade|Hanging}}s itself, when Nigel remarks that Dr. Black's paintings "lack color".
712* The Wii game ''VideoGame/MadWorld'' is in stylized black and white with red blood to emphasize the ludicrous violence. And yellow for the map icons, and [[spoiler: blue alien blood]].
713* One GameMod of ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'', ''RED'', has a level consisting almost entirely of sandy brown textures titled "Jägermeister's Nightmare", intended as a TakeThat at a player named Jägermeister, who thought the game's color palette was too RealIsBrown.
714* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this]]. Each of the five acts has one distinct (and often thematic) color and the maps conform to a palette around that color, as if it were being used as a white balance. The Middle East in Act 1 is brown, South America in Act 2 is blue during night maps and green during day maps, Eastern Europe in Act 3 is yellow, Shadow Moses in Act 4 is a blinding white, and Outer Haven in Act 5 is grey.
715* Environments in ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' are predominately rendered in one color -- usually light blue, but it varies a bit -- with important objects highlighted in red. In the city itself everything that hasn't been highlighted is often simply just white or grey, ''even the trees and other vegetation''.
716* Most of ''VideoGame/MouthSweet'' is rendered in a Platform/GameBoy-like palette. Though the game starts with you choosing a colorful avatar, this decision is forcibly overridden in order to better fit [[PredatoryBusiness Chalfont, Chalfont and Chalfont Inc's]] dress code.
717* ''VideoGame/MuteCrimson'' is in either black-and-white or greyscale, depending on the version - with the addition of a shock of red to represent anything that can kill the player character, enemy or environmental hazard alike.
718* ''VideoGame/MyFriendIsARaven'' is presented in blacks, whites, and greys, though some deep brownish-yellows can come from sources of light. Plus, the text will sometimes turn red.
719* The Japanese adventure game ''Nostalgia 1907'' paints its period setting in sepia tones.
720* When using the demon morph SuperMode in ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'', Daniel's vision becomes black and white, with enemies tinted red and black.
721* ''VideoGame/{{Perihelion}}'' deliberately uses a monochrome color palette (with white not always being the second color) as part of the overall mood, with color only used to highlight important elements or emphasize pieces of the interface, characters, and backgrounds.
722* ''VideoGame/Progressbar95'': Progressbar 1 makes several of its elements like icons and characters black and white. There are a few elements with colors like the wallpaper and some windows, but even those largely stick to one color (wallpaper 1 is just blue, wallpaper 2 is just green, and so on).
723* Fully Nazi-controlled areas in ''VideoGame/TheSaboteur'' are in a Limited Palette -- black and white, with some reds and yellows and the occasional blue. In areas where their control has been loosened and the resistance has a foothold, it's in full-color. The border between liberated and occupied areas is Desaturated.
724* In ''VideoGame/{{Strangeland}}'' the titular land is depicted mainly in sepia tones, with scattered hues of yellow, purple, and red showing as the only colors that shows up outside them. [[spoiler:The "Deadland" part of the game takes it even further, being actually monochrome, with purple and occasionally spots of yellow being the only SplashOfColor.]]
725* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'':
726** The Pictochat stage is largely black and white (by extension, the Pictochat software on the DS is also mostly monochrome), although the characters are still colored. In addition, flashbacks in the Adventure mode cutscenes are black and white.
727** King Dedede also has a colour swap which gives him a monochrome colour scheme in reference to [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand his debut appearance]], but his hammer remains the same, and he retained it in the next installment. Kirby also gets one, with his copy ability hats remaining the same. (Except Jigglypuff's in Brawl, since Kirby gets its ears and hair in his colour scheme.)
728* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'':
729** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' has this in one area, namely the Boggly Woods and the Great Tree contained therein. Well, the backgrounds and creatures fit this bill anyway -- the ground is more like an [[AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield Amazing Technicolor Carpet]].
730** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': The general setting of Castle Bleck. While the enemies and characters are in color, the entire OminousFloatingCastle, possibly to show it's in the void, is completely monochrome.
731* ''VideoGame/TimothyVsTheAliens'': While the game is based on old FilmNoir movies, everything of Earth origin is presented in black in white. However, the aliens and anything from them, including [[PlayerCharacter Timothy]]'s ace card, is fully coloured.
732* ''VideoGame/{{Witchkin}}'' invokes the look of old early-20th-century photos and films by presenting itself via brown filter.
733* ''VideoGame/ZeroRanger'' exclusively uses orange and green and a few extra shades thereof. Turning on ColorblindMode switches green with blue. [[spoiler:After completing the game once, you gain access to other two-hue palettes.]]
734[[/folder]]
735
736[[folder:Visual Novels]]
737* MonochromePast was part of the basis of Detective Tyrell Badd's design in ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations''. Since he appeared in a flashback case, the artist decided to make him desaturated and give him a grey skin tone in addition to giving him the look and attitude of a FilmNoir detective. The only bright things about him are his [[RealMenWearPink red handmirror and pink lollipop.]]
738* Despite the locations being full colour, the character sprites in ''VisualNovel/HotelDuskRoom215'' and its sequel ''VisualNovel/LastWindow'' are almost entirely in black and white, likely to add a FilmNoir feel to [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kyle Hyde's]] investigations.
739* In ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'', all of Shiki's flashbacks are done in a sepia tone. This is done in part to disguise a plot point, [[spoiler:mainly the identity of which of the twins Kohaku and Hisui he met and when -- the two are identical apart from eye color]] and the flashbacks later switch to color once this is revealed.
740* ''VisualNovel/WeKnowTheDevil'' uses desaturated and compressed character sprites on top of washed out photo backgrounds for a lo-fi 80's horror aesthetic, with full color [=CGs=] to give the endings extra kick.
741[[/folder]]
742
743[[folder:Web Animation]]
744* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': The climax of the fight between [[VideoGame/KillerInstinct Sabrewulf]] and [[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} Jon Talbain]] takes on a monochrome palette, with the only color remaining being the red of the moon and blood.
745* ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' does this intentionally with a few notable exceptions (most notably the blood).
746* In ''WebAnimation/MrPlastimime'', everything but Betsy's lips, the balloon Graeme blows up, and [[spoiler:and the flames from the fire in her apartment]] is black and white.
747* The characters in ''WebAnimation/{{Tankmen}}'' are this, while the background and environment are shades of orange and yellow, to match the style of the ''Website/{{Newgrounds}}'' logo they originate from.
748[[/folder]]
749
750[[folder:Webcomics]]
751* ''Webcomic/ABeginnersGuideToTheEndOfTheUniverse'', except for when the protagonist deliberately goes out of his way to [[RealityWarper manifest]] something colorful into existence - most notably Snuffy the Pooch, a purple dog.
752%%* ''Webcomic/AmericanBarbarian'': [[http://www.ambarb.com/?p=197 All blue and black in the dark.]]
753* ''Webcomic/AndShineHeavenNow'':
754** Used in two flashback arcs, namely the two arcs that feature Literature/JeevesAndWooster as prominent characters. While the first one technically goes under Desaturation, the more current arc fits this to a T: the comics is done in a sepia tone, and the only colors used are for Alucard's vampire eyes... and the fangirls.
755--->'''Alucard:''' What ''is'' this thing, and why does it get to be in color?
756** Another comic in the same universe, ''The Eagle of Hermes'', does this as well: the comic is in black and white, and the only color given prominence is, again, red...except for one peculiar instance on a title page where the ''blue'' of [[Series/TheDailyShow Jon's]] tie is highlighted.
757* Variation in ''Webcomic/AntiheroForHire'', where the Christmas comics are drawn only in green and red.
758* This was how the Roaring Twenties were portrayed in ''Webcomic/AnsemRetort'': all in black and white, with the four modern day time travelers being the only ones in color. It even got lampshaded when Zexion started to sell stocks ([[{{Jerkass}} in the month right before the Great Depression began]]):
759-->'''Zexion:''' I'll take 4000 shares, my colorful friend.
760%%* ''Webcomic/BeyondTemptation'' pulls this off with black, white and red.
761* In ''Webcomic/{{Blip}}'', during a PensieveFlashback, Liz's memories are rendered entirely in purple and magenta.
762* ''Webcomic/CountYourSheep'', starring a young girl named Katie, is usually colored in shades of blue. Flashback episodes featuring her mother Laurie as a girl are in shades of mauve. In a strip where Laurie was pregnant with Katie the strip switched from mauve to blue the moment Laurie went into labor.
763* ''Webcomic/DeadWinter'' is nearly entirely in grayscale, except for [[ProfessionalKiller Monday's]] red CoolShades; and Lizzie's bandana and [[DreamSequence mental landscape.]]
764* ''Webcomic/{{Dissonance}}'' colors anything yellow that should be yellow, but everything else is some shade of grey.
765* ''Webcomic/GirlsInSpace'' After an explosion in the 'Greyverse', all colour is drained from the normal universe making the [[http://www.girlsinspace.co.uk/comic/colourblind-cover/ Colourblind]] story appear in Black and White.
766* ''Webcomic/GuildedAge'': Scenes set [[spoiler: outside the game]] are sepia toned, with a few [[SplashOfColor splashes of color.]] Such as the [[spoiler: PeopleJars and Mr. Daedalus' tie]].
767* ''Webcomic/{{Gumshoe}}'': The entire comic is drawn this way in homage to [[FilmNoir Film Noir]], featuring a limited palette of pinks and blues.
768%%* ''Webcomic/TheIntrepidGirlbot'' is shaded in bright, warm colors, mostly orange.
769* In ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked'', only red gets coloured in. It fits in with the DarkerAndEdgier/Dark comedy fairy-tale style. Also lampshaded, a little girl notices [[Literature/LittleRedRidingHood Red's]] signature cape, and comments that it's a "funny colour".
770* Every chapter of ''Webcomic/PepsiaPhobia'' is done in black, white, and a few shades of one color. This color changes with every chapter.
771%%* ''Webcomic/{{Pibgorn}}'' for the FilmNoir setting, [[http://www.gocomics.com/pibgorn/2004/01/13/ except for dialog]].
772* ''Webcomic/PlanetOfHats'', a ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' comic uses colour only for the Starfleet uniforms, the clothes of civilians, and occasionally blood.
773%%* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-04-01 Slick confronts the new, green succubus in a scene where everything except him, and an explosion in one panel, is shades of green, followed by evening scenes where everything but him is shades of blue.]]
774* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': The cover of [[https://www.sleeplessdomain.com/comic/chapter-17-page-1 Chapter 17]] is an homage to the FilmNoir aesthetic, depicting the main characters in a heavily desaturated [[PrivateDetective private eye]]'s office. The only splashes of color on the page are the girls' vivid hair, and the hint of purple light leaking in between the blinds of a window.
775* Used in ''Webcomic/SoreThumbs'', in one story arc where [[spoiler: Cecania is shipped off to Guantanamo Bay]]. Cecania has pink hair, and it is the first time the audience gets to see it. The guard mentions "I find I enjoy the color of your hair. [[LampshadeHanging I was unaware that more than two colours existed.]]"
776%%* ''Webcomic/SouthBrook'' does this very thematically.
777* In ''Webcomic/StarImpact'', the prologue, flashbacks, and post-chapter epilogues are all depicted in one color, sometimes with one or two other colors as accents. {{Justified|Trope}} in the caption for [[https://www.starimpactcomic.com/comic/chapter-1-page-52-55 Chapter 1, Pages 52-55]], which featured [[StarterVillain Urchin]]'s [[ThenLetMeBeEvil backstory]]:
778-->''"I didn't want to devote a whole couple of weeks to Urchin's backstory so I decided to [[InfiniteCanvas knock it out in one go]] while using a style that would both make the flashback stylistically unique and easier to push out at this speed."''
779* ''Webcomic/TheStoryOfBlackPearl'': As a reflection of how Black Pearl's senses have been dulled, scenes from her point of view are cast in grayscale, while her memories of happier times are either tinted heavily pink or filled with color.
780* ''Webcomic/WallyAndOsborne'': The only colors employed are black, white, blue, orange, and mixtures thereof. Rather impressively, the strip even managed to depict ''[[http://www.wallyandosborne.com/comic/polar-bear-training/ a rainbow]]'' in limited colors.
781[[/folder]]
782
783[[folder:Web Original]]
784* In ''Blog/AskPrincessMolestia'', the comics are mostly done in a single lilac palette, with the occasional SplashOfColor. When later comics are done in full color, Molestia retains her lilac mane so she's differentiated from the canon Celestia.
785* The ''VideoGame/ColourMySeries'' takes place in a world where almost everything is black and white. Color and emotions are forbidden. However, the protagonist, who has found love, can use color to manipulate things within the world. Clicking on certain objects will fill spots with color sometimes, too.
786* WebVideo/FreshyKanal's ''Rap Battle!'':
787** "Mr. Bean vs. Charlie Chaplin" is in color for Mr. Bean's parts, but is in black-and-white for Chaplin's since all but one of Chaplin's movies is black-and-white.
788** Norman Bates' scenes in his battle against Jack Torrance is almost completely black-and-white as a reference to [[Film/{{Psycho}} his film]] being black-and-white, although the blood is red unlike in the film.
789[[/folder]]
790
791[[folder:Western Animation]]
792* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' does this in some of the shorts set before color films (Babblin Bijou, Newsreel of the Stars, etc) -- the only color found would be the Warners' noses.
793* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
794** In the first season finale, the world goes red and then grayscale when the Moon Spirit is endangered and then killed. The only exceptions are fireblasts, the blue Avatar magic of [[ProductionNickname Koizilla]], and the still-blue eyes of Yue, which signify that a bit of the Moon Spirit survived in her, and [[HeroicSacrifice can be returned]].
795** Aang's childhood memories, of the Air Temple, are heavily yellow and glowy, to show nostalgia. To a lesser degree, the same is true of Zuko's. Sokka and Katara, not so much.
796* ''WesternAnimation/BlueEyeSamurai'', while normally animated with full color, had [[https://youtu.be/Za2Z_JRxCuk?si=TZXHyZc0o8N5mqy0 a "Special Edition" version of Episode 6]] released on Website/YouTube. Unlike the original episode, it's in black and white except for some bits of red and blue, like blood and Mizu's distinctive blue eyes.
797* In a ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' [[NoirEpisode episode parodying film noir]], the first scene has everything in black and white apart from Stumpy's red lipstick and high heels (he's dressed as a girl).
798* In the 2018 reboot of ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', [[spoiler:Horde Prime's clones look like Hordak, but with green eyes, white hair, and black, white, and gray clothing. The fact that Hordak has a different color palette suggests that he is different from his clone brethren]].
799* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' has this happen in the 13th episode. It's a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind where most of the episode is a flashback in black and white but with the Spider-Man suit in full color. The mental fight [[spoiler: with the [[EnemyWithin Venom symbiote]]]] is like this too, until Peter imagines his TrueCompanions and many other characters from the story which is in color, and then it returns to reality.
800* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'' episode "The Color Smurfy", the world becomes black-and-white with the only color existing being Smurf blue when the Smurflings accidentally destroy Spectra's color wheel. The only place where color still exists is the Rainbow Pool, which the Smurfs must go to in order to get liquid light so they could restore Spectra.
801[[/folder]]
802
803!!Desaturation
804
805[[folder:Advertising]]
806* Several US companies are doing commercials with faded color. Not really monochrome or sepia, but just faded enough to stand out. Or at least they would stand out, if every other advert wasn't doing it now.
807[[/folder]]
808
809[[folder:Anime]]
810* ''Anime/BoogiepopPhantom'', justified because almost all the series is a gigantic {{Flashback}} (just see the borders of the screen for an extra clue). The last episode features vivid colors and full-screen image.
811* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' used either very mild desaturation or a muted color palette when depicting what lay on "the other side of the Gate." This had the end result of making the other side of the Gate seem less "fantastic" or "alive". [[spoiler:Note, for instance, that Noah has more realistic hair colors than Rose in TheMovie.]] This is made even more poignant when it's revealed that "the other side of the Gate" is [[spoiler:''our'' world]] and that ultimately, [[spoiler:the Elrics become stranded in our reality, forced to see history unfold and unable to return]].
812* The first establishing shots of the first (chronological) episode of ''[[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' are another example, presumably in the mundane/nonmundane contrast vein. Everything suddenly gets a lot more colorful once the narrator meets the title girl.
813* The beautiful anime short ''Anime/{{Kigeki}}'' is almost completely desaturated (giving it an appropriately Gothic feel) making certain vivid colours like the little girl's green eyes and the [[RainOfBlood copious amounts of blood]] stand out.
814* The DownerBeginning of ''Manga/KotouraSan'' anime applies a desaturation variety to mark Haruka's [[FromBadToWorse progressive, downward spiral]] of [[BreakTheCutie broken-ness]] that was brought by a [[{{telepathy}} power]] that [[PowerIncontinence she couldn't turn off]]. Her first meeting of Manabe at 10:38 [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/K-s-1-shatter_8830.jpg shatters]] this desaturation filter.
815* ''Anime/MyHime'' not only does almost all flashbacks in sepia, but they're slightly blurred, presumably to simulate the distortion of human memory.
816* The Nue arc (Episodes 8 & 9) of ''Anime/{{Mononoke}}'' uses desaturation and color in a very unique way. The arc revolves around the smell of incense; to simulate this without having to go into verbal descriptions, when the characters inhale the incense, the entire scene gains full colour momentarily before fading into monochrome once more. When the legendary incense is lit at the end, the mansion in which the story is set becomes brightly coloured and the wall murals come to life. [[spoiler:But the smell quickly fades away, revealing that the entire building was just an uninhabited ruin under enchantment.]]
817* Borderline: ''Manga/{{Monster}}'' intentionally had a low-key, brownish-grey color palette with very little use of strong colors to enhance its atmosphere as a realistic, psychological thriller.
818* Possibly unintentional example: the original (and international) video releases of ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion: Death & Rebirth]]'' and ''The End of Evangelion'' contained a muted color palette and a radiant "glow" effect, giving them an appropriately dreamlike atmosphere. The ([[NoExportForYou Japan-only]]) ''Renewal'' edition contained a brighter color palette.
819* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':
820** The first episode was very low in coloration, as it took place underground, where there was little light. As soon as they get to the surface, the rest of the series is filled with color. Episode 5 was the same way, except even moreso, to the point of being nearly black-and-white, as it took place in an underground village with even ''fewer'' resources and less light.
821** Gainax also made various close-up shots of characters desaturated (Often going to completely black and white), usually because they were doing something epic and/or dying.
822** The "Celestial Being" [[ShowWithinAShow movie within the movie]], which is basically a big Gainax homage with bits of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack Char's Counterattack]]'' and ''[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam G Gundam]]'' thrown in, had a monochrome close up of Setsuna.
823** The brawl between Simon and the Anti-Spiral at the climax of ''Lagann-Hen'' also has a desaturated palette, though some colors are added for emphasis (Red for blood, green for the glow of Simon's drill)
824[[/folder]]
825
826[[folder:Comic Books]]
827* The short-running ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' comic ''Hearts of Steel'' takes place in the 1860s rather than the usual modern-day setting, and uses faded colors and a general sepia-toned color scheme to reflect the time period. Might also qualify as RealIsBrown.
828[[/folder]]
829
830[[folder:Films — Animation]]
831* ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'' uses drab colors for the living world. The world of the dead, however, is bright and colorful.
832* ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' contrasts the gloomy [[MonsterTown Halloween Town]] and Christmas Town this way.
833[[/folder]]
834
835[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
836* Creator/TimBurton has always been a fan of this trope, to fit with the general gloomy nature of his films. Many of the examples below involve him in some role or the other.
837** To show how deep the connection goes, his first two shorts, the stop-motion ''Vincent'' and live-action ''Frankenweenie'', already used this trope.
838** His ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}'' [[Film/BatmanReturns films]] come pretty close at times.
839** Not B&W per se, but the first sequence of ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'' shows a huge set painted in monochrome tones, with the scientist played by Creator/VincentPrice as the only bright color character.
840** ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'', has all its colours bleached and only the blood is brightly hued.
841** ''Film/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' is desaturated before the factory proper -- or maybe oversaturated after.
842** In ''Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' even the cheerful and sunny beach is sparsely colored, it is practically a relief to see all that bright, happy red blood liven things up.
843* ''Film/Thirteen2003'': As the situation with Tracy becomes more bleak and troubling, the colors of the film itself become more faded and pale, as opposed to the more vibrant colors used earlier on.
844* Most of ''Film/Avalon2001'', a film about a virtual reality {{M|assivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame}}MORPG in a dystopian future, is deliberately shot in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TTgzumaI0w murky sepia]]. The movie switches to normal color and lighting at the end, when [[spoiler:the protagonist arrives in the level "class real", which looks much like our world]].
845* ''Film/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid'' uses sepia thrice: in the intro, in a travel {{montage}} and the finale... [[spoiler:[[BolivianArmyEnding you know it...]]]]
846* ''Film/ClerksII'': The entire movie was desaturated. The only scene that isn't desaturated and is presented in its original form is the dance scene.
847* ''Film/{{Cypher}}'' is shot predominantly in a heavily desaturated, high contrast and near-monochrome world of drudgery, suits and concrete. It's only at the end, [[spoiler: when Sebastian has realised his true identity and is sailing with Rita,]] that true colour returns.
848* In ''[[Creator/StephenKing Dolores Claiborne]]'', scenes set in the present are desaturated and faintly blue-tinted to give a cold look. Flashbacks are in full color with reds and yellows emphasized.
849* ''Film/DoubleJeopardy'' employs mild desaturation at the beginning of the film, with the color saturation increasing through the movie, in order to subtly heighten the audience's suspense as the chase continues.
850* ''Film/EdenLog'' is very heavily desaturated.
851* Some scenes in ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', such as Harry in the cave force-feeding Dumbledore liquid in order to get a horcrux, are so desaturated that they have little or no color to them.
852* Mexican film ''Film/LaLeyDeHerodes'' uses sepia tones and era music for its set on the 1940s.
853* The Creator/DolphLundgren vehicle ''Film/MissionaryMan'' (2007) is an accidental example: the film stock was ruined during processing, so they decided to desaturate it. The effect, however, suits the film's modern-western theme well.
854* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' (the one starring John Hurt) wasn't desaturated, but it used bleach bypass, which produces a different kind of harsh, bleak look.
855* The scenes ''Film/OBrotherWhereArtThou'' are all thoroughly desaturated.
856* ''Film/ParanormalAsylum'': At least one shot done through Mark's and Andy's camera is shown in grey.
857* Creator/MelGibson's mobster flick ''Film/{{Payback}}'' is shot in faded colors for most of the film, representing the present day. However, flashbacks to the past are in full color, while flashforwards are in [[TheFutureIsNoir black and white]]. [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism The film's tone is not a happy one]].
858* In ''Film/TheRoad'' the colors are bleached to give a bleak, desolate, post-apocalyptic scenery.
859* ''Film/TheRover'' is set in Australia, "ten years after the collapse." Bright colours seem to have been the first thing to run out after the collapse. The overall colour palette is muted, with a lot of beige landscapes and hazy skies.
860* ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' desaturated almost the entire movie for a grittier feeling. This results in a very gray D-Day.
861* ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'' was desaturated then resaturated to make it dreamlike, more like a painting than a photorealistic movie. Real {{Zeerust}}.
862* The film version of ''Sir Henry at Rawlinson End'' was shot in slightly sepia-tinted monochrome, allegedly to imitate the look of an Creator/EalingStudios comedy and ''not'' because the budget wouldn't stretch to color....
863* ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'': The pre-titles opening sequence replays [[spoiler:Spock's death and funeral]] from ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', initially greyed out before gradually becoming colorful again.
864* The shooting at the end of ''Film/TaxiDriver'' has been desaturated by director Creator/MartinScorsese to turn down the violence.
865* Scenes set in the real world in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' were desaturated for that film noir look. This contrasts with the opening cartoon and the scenes set in Toontown, which are fully saturated.
866[[/folder]]
867
868[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
869* The [[Series/FargoSeasonThree third season]] of ''Series/{{Fargo}}'' undergoes a similar filter to Creator/TheCoenBrothers movie ''Film/InsideLlewynDavis'', supposedly as some sort of meta season-wide shout-out, or maybe to emphasize the drawn out nature of this season as opposed to the first two.
870* In the 5th season episode of ''Series/{{House}}'', after the characters find [[spoiler:Kutner dead]] much of the rest of the episode is darkly lit and desaturated to reflect the somber mood.
871* Vladimir Bortko's miniseries adaptation of ''Literature/TheMasterAndMargarita'' portrays the "Soviet" segments of the original novel in sepia and the "Yershalaim" and "Woland's party" segments in color.
872* ''Series/MythBusters'' has two examples. First, they've shown (Reenacted, obviously) Civil War footage in near-monochrome. As if that wasn't silly enough, they switch to a desaturated/faded color look for their flashbacks. Apparently modern color technology was invented sometime after 2003, as their flashbacks always end up looking like 60s movies.
873* The biggest part of the time, the Dutch series ''Kroongetuige'' (crown-witness) uses dimmed colors, with a slightly grey/blue mixed in. Even the TeamShot is done in this style.
874* ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017'' is desaturated to help maintain the dreary, depressing tone, and the only episode which isn't desaturated is "The End". Especially if you’ve been binge watching the show, the shift can be rather jarring.
875[[/folder]]
876
877[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
878* Pictures of Johnny Wave, a Heavyweight Champion of Magnificent Championship Wrestling, are old fashion brownish. This is partly a {{stealth pun}}, he's such a SurferDude even his photos are washed out.[[/folder]]
879
880[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
881* Ironically, Filsinger's cards based on Olde Wrestling tend to have a more desaturated look, perhaps to distinguish them from the Legends Of cards, to look as if they were made between the US prohibition and second world war periods, or both.[[/folder]]
882
883[[folder:Video Games]]
884* ''VideoGame/NinetySix'' is presented in blacks and greens.
885* A couple examples from the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series: when your character is wounded, his vision will wash out to black and white (with the exception of some encroaching red mist). However, this is played straighter in ''Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' when one character [[spoiler: emerges from his downed chopper after being caught in a nuclear blast]]. The resulting reddish-brown-tinted hell you witness can verge on horrifying.
886* ''VideoGame/TheCatLady''[='s=] graphics are predominantly dark and desaturated.
887* ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R. 2]]'' does this with both its own nuclear aftermath and a few of Alma's hallucinations. It's less brown than Call of Duty's version, and it doesn't just ''verge'' on the nightmare fuel.
888* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' uses various shades of brown when playing as a special infected in VS mode to visualize on how a zombie's eyes would work. The sepia tone reverts to normal colors when thhites, and greys, though some deep brownish-yellows can come infected player is killed.
889* In corrupted areas in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2008'', everything is shown in dull, faded colors -- sometimes taken to the point of nearly being genuine monochrome -- except for the lead characters. Healing an area makes its colors varied and vibrant.
890* The "Old Movie" filter in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' uses this.
891* Most of the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series does this, along with using an old movie-style noise filter.
892* One of the many ''VideoGame/MarioPaint''-inspired {{Easter Egg}}s located within the title screen of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'' applies a sepia filter to whatever is on the screen, complete with 8-bit music reminiscent of the original Platform/GameBoy.
893* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'':
894** ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'' uses sepia for all flashbacks in the story, including one flashback to a scene you played through normally.
895** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'', the island of Iluya is rendered in shades of grey [[spoiler:after being hit by the Kooluk's [[{{BFG}} BF]] [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Rune Cannon]]]].
896* ''VideoGame/ZanZarahTheHiddenPortal'': The London level uses a deliberately color-muted sepia palette to clearly distinguish it from the colorful landscapes of Zanzarah proper.
897[[/folder]]
898
899[[folder:Webcomics]]
900* ''Webcomic/BetweenFailures'' used black and white colors with shades of gray, [[spoiler: until comic #229, then changed to full color due to the protagonist seeing the world in shades of grays only up to that point]].
901* ''Webcomic/DreamKeepers Prelude'': [[http://www.dreamkeeperscomic.com/Prelude.php?pg=157 a fantasy]] FilmNoir.
902* In ''Webcomic/{{Erstwhile}}'', [[http://www.erstwhiletales.com/fcd-01/#.T293s9m6SuI used for]] [[http://www.erstwhiletales.com/fcd-02/#.T293mdm6SuI the evening scene]].
903* In ''Webcomic/FarOut'', the colors are heavily shifted toward orange.
904* The first volume of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' used to be uncolored. It was upgraded since then, though, and now makes extensive use of this trope. The first pages are in grayscale with a few colored spots (notably the heroine's green eyes), but once Agatha loses her [[OrphansPlotTrinket locket]], it gains desaturated tones. Except when she gets mad -- then the colors shortly become vibrant. [[spoiler:This reflects the Spark-suppressing properties of the locket, which are slowly fading away until the start of volume 2.]]
905* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' has the WholeEpisodeFlashback chapter Ties, which is sepia-toned. There's also Zimmingham, in which the characters appear normally-colored -- although the humanoid Nobodies that live there are rather desaturated -- but the city itself (and the {{Imaginary Enem|y}}ies that presumably come out of it) has a rather limited and predominantly greyish-brown palette.
906* ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'' is made in sepia tones to resemble pictures from TheRoaringTwenties, since that's when the comic takes place.
907* ''Webcomic/LeifAndThorn'' uses sepia-toned desaturation for the Hedge & Grassie strips. (It's a takeoff on ''Radio/TheBurnsAndAllenShow'', both the radio series and the black-and-white TV show.)
908* ''Webcomic/{{Memoria}}'': [[http://files.fobby.net/0000/7d47/memoriapg61.png Starlight Valley]].
909* ''Webcomic/{{Newheimburg}}'' is drawn entirely in grey hues.
910* ''Webcomic/{{Parallels}}'' has a pale blue planet -- with a little yellow.
911* ''Webcomic/TheThingThatWouldNotLeave'' is entirely in sepia.
912* In ''Webcomic/ThistilMistilKistil'', [[http://tmkcomic.depleti.com/comic/ch04-pg22/ by moonlight]]. [[http://tmkcomic.depleti.com/comic/ch05-pg17/ And again]].
913* The Greyzones of ''Webcomic/TheWayOfTheMetagamer'' cause desaturation. The sequel, ''The Way of the Metagamer 2: InNameOnly'', is monochrome with the occasional SplashOfColor.
914* In ''WebComic/YokokasQuest'', Yokoka on [[https://yokokasquest.com/comic/chapter-8-status-screen/ her status screen after chapter 8]], [[spoiler: after having her HP reduced to zero]].
915[[/folder]]
916
917[[folder:Web Original]]
918* In ''[[WebVideo/StampysLovelyWorld Stampy's Lovely World]]'', episodes involving [[BigBad Hit The Target]] are usually edited to have desaturated footage, instead of the normal bright, colourful, happy episodes, as shorthand that the episode in question is going to be DarkerAndEdgier and considerably more suspenseful. The nightmare sequences in Episode 351, "Nightmares", are also presented with desaturated footage.
919[[/folder]]
920
921[[folder:Western Animation]]
922* ''WesternAnimation/BooBoomTheLongWayHome'': The PreviouslyOn segments at the start of each episode are animated to resemble a 1940s'era sepia colored film.
923* ''WesternAnimation/LetsGoLuna'': A decent chunk of the episode "Spring Has Not Sprung" is presented in a duller color scheme when the clouds block out the sunlight.
924* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'''s Season 3 finale, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure Magical Mystery Cure]]", the colors are desaturated during Twilight's BSODSong to reflect the mood.
925** The TownWithADarkSecret in "The Cutie Map" has its denizens and surroundings desaturated to show a lack of diversity and emphasis of forced conformity. The Mane 6 are still colored brightly, but become desaturated as well when their cutie marks are magically replaced.
926** Most of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E16RarityInvestigates Rarity Investigates]]" is done in sepia black-and-white, to invoke 70s FilmNoir.
927* Used beautifully in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', in which recess is canceled indefinitely. As the kids' days get less and less interesting, the color slowly drains out of the picture until it finally becomes pure black & white. Of course, when recess is inevitably restored, the color returns.
928[[/folder]]
929
930[[folder:Real Life]]
931* Many cities or homeowners' associations limit the colors with which houses can be painted as well as the color of objects placed in front of the house.
932[[/folder]]
933
934!!Multiple
935
936[[folder:Anime]]
937* Played with in the ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' movie, where places [[AlienInvasion directly struck by the Pict]] are ''literally'' drained of their color, leaving behind a monochrome shell of their former selves.
938[[/folder]]
939
940[[folder:Comic Books]]
941* ''ComicBook/AllStarComics'': While most of the Fairytale Lands are far more vibrantly colored than Earth's normal dimension, the Loreli is in pure grayscale from black to white.
942[[/folder]]
943
944[[folder:Comic Strips]]
945* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'': Gary Larson mentioned a variation: One of his (black-and-white) strips featured a waddle of penguins, one of them bursting into song ("Oh I gotta be me, I just gotta be me!"). However, when printed someone in editing had made the singing penguin pale yellow, reversing the entire point of the strip.
946* In one Sunday ''ComicStrip/PricklyCity'' strip, Carmen and Winslow are sitting on a butte, in grayscale. In the second panel, Winslow hugs Carmen; the background is sunshine yellow and all the panel yellow tinged. The third panel has reverted to full color, with a blue and purple and cloudy background.
947[[/folder]]
948
949[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
950* ''Film/BillyClub2013'': The {{Flashback}}s shown early in the movie are shown in a whitened tint. Of course, it gets dropped as the movie progresses.
951* In ''Film/TheGiver'', because humanity has lost the ability to see color, the first part of the film is initially in black and white, save for [[SplashOfColor splashes of color]] when Jonas "sees beyond." When he is given the memory of color red tones begin to show (as his first color was red). By the time he regains more memories the film is in full color. When he leaves the Community it is once again shot in black and white until [[spoiler:Jonas manages to return the memories, at which point it's shot in color again]].
952* In ''[[Film/{{Halloweentown}} Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge]]'', Halloweentown loses its color as its citizens fall victim to the "Grey Spell", which [[HumanityEnsues slowly changes them into drab humans]]. Those in early stages of the spell appear black and white, with remnants of their otherworldly physical traits and/or fashion sense providing splashes of color, while those in later stages appear completely monochrome.
953* ''Medicine For Melancholy'' uses a very limited palette, ranging from black and white to sepia to desaturated color depending on how well the characters are connecting. Given it's a film about how colored people are being driven out of San Francisco, it's a very deliberate choice.
954* ''Film/Pitch2009'': The film is mostly in black and white. Exceptions are a scene of Jim and Belial in heavenly/hellish surroundings, which is in color, and the spirit of Gene's mom, which is in color while her surroundings are in black and white.
955* ''Film/ARoomInTown'' has the workers, their wives, and the police initially filmed in black-and-white until the riot breaks out, at which point it switches to color.
956[[/folder]]
957
958[[folder:Literature]]
959* ''Literature/CommanderToad'', a series of children's books parodying ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/StarTrek'', switches between color (ColorWash of green, red, and brown) and grayscale pencil illustrations every 2 pages. A sole exception is the last book of the series, ''Commander Toad and the Voyage Home'', which uses only full-color illustrations, which makes sense it was published ''[[SequelGap a decade]]'' after the previous entry.
960* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': PerceptionFilter potions cause the user to see the world in greyscale while they're active. Anybody who shakes off the effect and is able to notice the user snaps back into full colour.
961[[/folder]]
962
963[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
964* ''Series/BandOfBrothers'' has many of the battles with everything but red heavily desaturated (with [[DarkestHour the desperate Battle of Bastogne]] being practically monochrome, due to all the snow), with the more peaceful scenes away from the fighting being in beautiful natural colors.
965* The Creator/{{HBO}} TV movie ''Film/TheCatsMeow'' takes place during TheRoaringTwenties and is about the LoveTriangle between William Randolph Hurst, his actress mistress Creator/MarionDavies, and Creator/CharlieChaplin [[spoiler:who Hurst tries to kill but winds up mortally wounding another guy instead]]. Because all the characters are involved in the silent movie business, their [[GorgeousPeriodDress fancy clothes]] are black, white, and grey (which makes it look like a live-action Creator/EdwardGorey story) and [[spoiler:the victim's funeral]] is in black and white.
966* In ''Series/FromTheEarthToTheMoon'', the episode "1968" is filmed in black-and-white on Earth (where things are [[CrapsackWorld going to hell in a handbasket]].) Meanwhile, Apollo 8 up in space is filmed in color, reflecting the telegram read after their successful lunar orbit which stated "You saved 1968."
967* In ''Series/{{The Librarians|2014}}'', Flynn and Eve end up inside an old noir film. Naturally, they're entirely black-and-white, and Flynn immediately wonders what happened to the color. When the other Librarians end up in a Western film, the colors are deliberately muted to the film quality of that era. Then they end up in a black-and-white {{Zeerust}} sci-fi film... except they're still the same colors as in the Western film, while everything around them is monochrome. In the season 4 finale, the world [[spoiler:without the Library]] isn't quite black-and-white, but it's certainly close to it. This is done in order to demonstrate the utter creative sterility and blandness of it all.
968* ''Series/RedDwarf'': [[WhatCouldHaveBeen The original plan]] for indicating that a character was [[ProjectedMan a hologram]] was to have them appear in monochrome while everyone else was in normal colour, but getting a consistent and convincing effect in post-production ''or'' with stage makeup was deemed too expensive and time-consuming and the idea was dropped.
969[[/folder]]
970
971[[folder:Music]]
972* The band Music/{{PVRIS}} really likes their black-and-white aesthetics. All of their music videos are either pure black and white, or really desaturated, with just the occasional SplashOfColor. This also extends to their album covers, photoshoots and promotional pictures, stage setup when performing live, instruments and sound equipment, and most of the clothes they wear.
973[[/folder]]
974
975[[folder:Video Games]]
976* ''Super VideoGame/MeatBoy'' likes to play with colors. Some of the levels and one chapter is entirely black and white where only your character and their stains leave color. Other levels, which are more common in DarkWorld levels, have limited monochrome or dichromatic color palette and sometimes only silhouette can be seen.
977* In ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne'', [[InterfaceScrew the player's vision temporarily turns grayscale]] when [[TapOnTheHead meleed by an enemy]]. Nearby explosions cause [[RedFilterOfDoom red-out]] and [[ShellShockSilence tinnitus]]. The red filter is also used as a CriticalAnnoyance.
978* In ''VideoGame/DisneyPrincessEnchantedJourney'', the Bogs drain color from Snow White's world, and you must restore the color.
979* ''VideoGame/WhiteSky'' has the real world be black-and-white and the only color found anywhere is Toby's bright pink house. Upon entering his world, there are two instances where it is splashed all over with blue or red.
980* ''VideoGame/GreyArea2023'': The titular Grey Area is entirely monochrome (hence the name). Hailey and [[spoiler:the Goddess of Ichor's true form]] are the few sources of color in this area. When Hailey returns to the real world in Chapter 4, she'll point out that "at least it's not grey anymore." In Chapter 5, [[spoiler:parts of the real world also become monochrome [[WhenDimensionsCollide when the Grey Area starts merging with it]]]].
981[[/folder]]
982
983[[folder:Webcomics]]
984* ''Webcomic/AllRosesHaveThorns'' starts off being completely in gray tones, save for blood and eye colors. But as time goes on and it gets closer to modern day, it slowly grows more saturated with colors. To the point that by the 19th century the comic is now nearly full-color.
985* ''Webcomic/{{Archipelago}}'' is black-and-white on the whole, but uses multiple colors to accentuate magical effects. The character will be monochrome, but when they cast a spell, or when their [[OurSoulsAreDifferent soul is torn from their body,]] their colors are revealed. Also, dramatic events like flashbacks are portrayed in full color.
986* ''Webcomic/{{Derelict}}'' uses desaturation, except for the pinwheel, which is in full and brilliant color.
987* In ''Webcomic/DragonMango'', most strips are in black and white. Some are in color. [[http://dragon-mango.com/comic/chapter05/dm05-34.htm Some are mostly black and white with fillips of color.]]
988* In ''Webcomic/{{Hexenringe}}'', characters from the dimension of Maragan known as Imagina tend to be black and white if they are manga characters. They stay that way even if they cross over to Mundana (our dimension).
989* ''Webcomic/NextTownOver'' sometimes uses [[http://squidbunnies.com/nto/?p=4 desaturation with a splash of color.]]
990* In ''Webcomic/PrincessChroma'', the entire plot is based around this concept. The world is being taken over by "Monochromes" and it's up to June to become a MagicalGirl and defeat them. Whenever there's a color shift of any kind, something big is bound to be going down and the fact that the world is in monochrome by default shows just how bad the situation on Earth is.
991* ''Webcomic/QuestionDuck'': black shading to white, or red, or yellow -- not invariably.
992* In ''Webcomic/{{Strays}}'', [[https://web.archive.org/web/20121127202313/http://www.straysonline.com/2012/11/page-249/ Meela's story is desaturated, with a splash of red.]]
993* Color in the otherwise black-and-white world of ''Webcomic/{{Zelfia}}'' indicates magic. There are also full color [[FlashForward flashforwards]] that serve as [[MilestoneCelebration Milestone Celebrations.]]
994[[/folder]]
995
996[[folder:Web Original]]
997* ''WebVideo/BedtimeStoriesYoutubeChannel'' uses mainly black-and-white colors for their illustrations and animations, with the only other color usually being red, usually to represent [[RedEyesTakeWarning dangerous, red-eyed creatures]] or blood.
998* ''Webcomic/UnnaturalSelection'' uses limited palette backgrounds with pure black-and-white foreground objects. Some other [[InteractiveComic quests]] use a similar color scheme, such as ''Panic Galaxy'' by a different author.
999[[/folder]]

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