Why does Switch wear white?
I've always had an affinity for side characters, just in general. I'm not sure why, maybe it happened after watching Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead or something, it's just fun to speculate about them because they usually never get as flushed out as the main characters. Also the only burning inquiry I really had after watching the movie was, instead of something like "will Neo be able to save humanity?" my question was "why did Switch wear white when everyone else wore black that one time?" I have a few theories as to why that might be the case.
1.) She just feels like it.
Just by observing the facts the movie presents, Morpheus explains that one can look and dress however they want when in the Matrix, which is why the characters look slightly more bad ass while in the Matrix, Mouse I believe showed the biggest change while in the Matrix. So going by that logic Switch decided to wear white simply because she wanted to and looked good in it.
1.) She just feels like it.
Just by observing the facts the movie presents, Morpheus explains that one can look and dress however they want when in the Matrix, which is why the characters look slightly more bad ass while in the Matrix, Mouse I believe showed the biggest change while in the Matrix. So going by that logic Switch decided to wear white simply because she wanted to and looked good in it.
Also in the scene where Switch is first introduced, however, she chooses to wear black. She is the only character in the Matrix who completely switches colors in her attire. I suppose that's why she's called "Switch"? But the more speculative question is why does she choose to wear white in the first place?
2.) She's an outcast
Technically the whole Resistance are outcasts, which, in my opinion, is why they all choose to wear black, so is it possible that Switch feels like an outcast within her own group? The reasons I think this is projects further into the scenes she's in. I believe that she is a very strong-willed character, going back to the first scene where she says "its our way, or the highway." She can do whatever she darn well pleases. Her wearing white may show another aspect of her personality, that she doesn't conform to any norm, even when it comes to her friends.
Technically the whole Resistance are outcasts, which, in my opinion, is why they all choose to wear black, so is it possible that Switch feels like an outcast within her own group? The reasons I think this is projects further into the scenes she's in. I believe that she is a very strong-willed character, going back to the first scene where she says "its our way, or the highway." She can do whatever she darn well pleases. Her wearing white may show another aspect of her personality, that she doesn't conform to any norm, even when it comes to her friends.
All throughout the building scene she distances herself from the rest of the group, either going ahead or hanging in the back, she also often has her back turned from the group. I do not think that this is her being shy, but rather her feeling of being an outsider due to her strong personality.
3.) She complements with Apac
While checking out the scenes she's in again, I noticed that she had a little friend always with her. Apac was present in almost all the same scenes Switch was in, in the car, waiting outside for their group, and they also fought together and died together. But, to be honest, I had completely forgotten Apac was even a character until he said his like, one line to Neo, "I hope the Oracle had some good news," or somethin'. I don't think making Apac so forgettable and passive was unintentional.
Even though Apac and Switch seem to be opposite from each other, they also seem to be a couple. This is mostly shown through how quickly Switch ran to Apac after he died. There's like a little unspoken tragic love story between Switch and Apac, the opposites that attract to each other, and the black and white clothing emphasizes that relationship.
So in conclusion, I still don't really know why Switch wears white, so I went ahead and Googled the question, the best response I found related a lot to my theory and goes as follows: "Not all the rebels wear black, they each have a distinctive style, Trinity in black PVC, Morpheus in alligator skin over a purple business suit, Switch in white."
Hold the phone, Morpheus wears purple? (*one google search later*) Yup, that's totally a thing...Well, Switch still has the most contrasting colors than anyone else, so I'm sticking by my observations! So there.
Hold the phone, Morpheus wears purple? (*one google search later*) Yup, that's totally a thing...Well, Switch still has the most contrasting colors than anyone else, so I'm sticking by my observations! So there.
Sauces:
The Matrix. Prod. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. By Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. 1999.
"The Matrix (1999)." Movie Mistakes. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print.
The Matrix. Prod. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. By Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. 1999.
"The Matrix (1999)." Movie Mistakes. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print.