The Deep Meaning of Eye Colors in The First Purge

The Psychological Manipulation of Contact Lenses

The First Purge offers an origin story for the chaotic central event in the Purge films. In the movie, people staying in the city have the option to make more money by wearing special contact lenses to record the night. These contact lenses play a significant role in the psychological manipulation of the participants, as they create a feeling that authority figures are always watching. This encourages the participants to act in ways that they think the administrators would want.

A hand holds a contact lens case in The First Purge.

Additionally, characters in The First Purge who wear the lenses and engage in murder get more money than they would if they just stayed in the city. This exploitation of citizens’ poverty by the administrators highlights the manipulative nature of the contact lenses. The lenses serve as a tool to control the actions of the participants, especially those who are financially disadvantaged and desperate.

A closeup of Isaiah's face shows his blue eye contacts in The First Purge.

The Symbolism of Contact Lens Colors

The colors of the contact lenses in The First Purge hold a deeper meaning that reflects the characters’ allegiances and political themes. Despite the functional purpose of contacts, the movie uses different colored contact lenses to symbolize the characters’ affiliations and beliefs. Characters who agree with the purge have blue contacts, those who disagree have red, and those who are neutral have green. These coded colors help the audience keep track of the characters in a darkly lit movie with a large cast.

Capital A wears green eye contacts in The First Purge.

The contact lens colors also reflect American political themes, with red representing the Republican Party, blue representing Democrats, and green representing third parties. Characters with each of these contact lens colors mirror the actions and beliefs of the corresponding political party, adding depth to the narrative and character portrayal in The First Purge.

A looter looks upset while wearing red eye contacts in The First Purge.

The Deeper Symbolism of Color in The First Purge

While the most obvious example of color symbolism is the contact lens colors, The First Purge incorporates color into other aspects of the cinematography to classify the settings and characters. Red is used as a symbol of antagonism, while blue signifies the protagonists throughout the film. Additionally, green is used to signal neutrality and areas within the movie.

Skeletor smiles evilly while wearing purple eye contacts in The First Purge.

The use of color symbolism in The First Purge goes beyond the contact lenses, extending to the cinematography and set design. This use of color adds depth to the narrative, character portrayal, and overall thematic elements of the film, making it a strong prequel in the Purge movie series.

A red baseball cap has the words