Reservoir Dogs: Every Character’s Color & Meaning Explained

Quentin Tarantino gave the main characters of Reservoir Dogs codenames based on colors, but what do these mean and how do they fit the characters?

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The main characters in Reservoir Dogs use colors as their names in order to keep their identities a secret and avoid problems with the law, but what do those codenames mean and what do they reveal about each character? Quentin Tarantino is now one of the most popular filmmakers in the industry, and it all began with the crime movie Reservoir Dogs in 1992. Although controversial when it was released, all due to its graphic violence (which would go on to become Tarantino’s trademark style), Reservoir Dogs is now considered one of the most influential independent movies as well as one of Tarantino’s best works.

Reservoir Dogs is all about a group of thieves whose planned heist of a jewelry store goes terribly wrong, and to make it worse, there’s an undercover cop among them. The group is led by crime boss Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son Eddie “Nice Guy” Cabot (Chris Penn), and is formed by Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Pink, Mr. Blue, and Mr. Brown. Reservoir Dogs has become a favorite among Tarantino fans thanks to its dialogue (especially that in the opening scene), the performances of the cast, and the story, as it didn’t take long to reveal to viewers who the cop in the group was.

Reservoir Dogs also caught the attention of viewers thanks to the names of the characters, as their real identities remain unknown (except for those of Mr. White, Mr. Orange, and Mr. Blonde), and while Tarantino is said to have assigned the names as he saw them in a crayon box, the audience has found that there is a connection between the symbolism and meaning of each color and the role of each character in the story. Here’s what the color codenames say about each character in Reservoir Dogs.

Mr. White

Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) was an old friend of Joe Cabot and thus had already worked together, so he knew the drill. Mr. White’s real name as revealed in Reservoir Dogs is Larry Dimmick, and he’s believed to be related to Pulp Fiction’s Jimmy Dimmick (played by Tarantino). The color white is commonly associated with purity, reverence, peace, and humility, and in Eastern cultures, it’s also associated with death. In Reservoir Dogs’ context, Mr. White’s codename has been interpreted as being the White Knight or the “nice guy” of the group, and this color also shows that he’s an honorable man. Mr. White was the only one who cared about Mr. Orange being hurt and did his best to keep him alive, as he trusted him until he revealed his real identity and that he was the rat. Mr. White chose to see the good in Mr. Orange and was the only one who gave him a chance.

Mr. Orange

Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) was the last one to join the team and he was the undercover cop among them. His real name was Freddy Newandyke, and he was tasked with arresting Joe Cabot, but that didn’t go well. Mr. Orange was shot during the heist and spent the majority of the movie fighting to survive while the rest tried to figure out what went wrong and who was the rat. Orange is associated with energy, balance, warmth, excitement, and is a color that demands attention, which aren’t exactly traits that one could associate with Mr. Orange, except for the part of demanding attention. However, the negative side of orange is related to insincerity, exhibitionism, and self-indulgence, which fit the character better. In the context of Reservoir Dogs, orange can be interpreted as both what Freddy had to do as Mr. Orange (play it cool, be social, earn their trust) and what his real side was all about. Tarantino also used orange to hint at the identity of the rat throughout Reservoir Dogs, and some viewers have pointed out he even played with the color blue, the opposite of orange in the color wheel, to show how Mr. Orange was the opposite of what he claimed to be.

Mr. Pink

When Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is assigned that specific color, he asks for a change as pink is mostly associated with femininity, though that’s not all there is to this color. Pink is associated with acceptance, calm, love, romance, and conveys a sense of safety and vulnerability, though on the negative side, it’s linked with being unrealistic and overly optimistic. In this case, Mr. Pink’s name is quite ironic as he’s the opposite of the meanings associated with the color: he doesn’t care about the rest of the group and puts himself first, only proving that he was right in wanting to change colors as he doesn’t relate to it at all.

Mr. Blonde

Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), whose real name was Vic Vega (the brother of Pulp Fiction’s Vincent Vega), was the most violent and impulsive member of the group, but also the one Joe Cabot trusted the most as they were close friends. Mr. Blonde is the only one who isn’t given a proper color as a codename, which is interpreted as him not being like the rest of the thieves. Mr. Blonde isn’t one to follow the rules: he began shooting the hostages, took a cop hostage and tortured him, and took a while to arrive at the warehouse when he should have driven there immediately after the heist went wrong. Some viewers have interpreted Mr. Blonde’s name as the stereotypical “dumb blonde”, but he was far from that.

Mr. Blue

Mr. Blue (Edward Bunker) is the most mysterious member of the group, as he was mostly quiet during breakfast and didn’t make it back to the warehouse. The color blue is associated with peace, cold, calm, stability, truth, confidence, security, loyalty, trust, and responsibility, and while Mr. Blue didn’t stick around for long in Reservoir Dogs, he did give the idea of being one of the most responsible and loyal members of the team, and he wouldn’t have ratted on anyone no matter what. Mr. Blue’s fate was left unknown in Reservoir Dogs, but in the video game, it was shown that he hid in a movie theatre after the heist, where he was killed by the police.

Mr. Brown

Mr. Brown (Tarantino), just like Mr. Blue, didn’t get much screen time, but he delivered some great lines during the opening scene at the diner. Brown is associated with Earth and stability, reliability, and comfort, but it’s also considered dull and unsophisticated until combined with other colors. Surely, his point of view on Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” can be considered as “unsophisticated”, and the conversation gets more interesting once the rest give their opinion. Unfortunately, not much is known about Mr. Brown as he was shot in the head by a cop during the heist and died while driving away with Mr. White and Mr. Orange. Mr. Brown might have been reliable, but he might have also not been the most interesting character of the bunch.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/reservoir-dogs-tarantino-color-names-meaning/