11-22-2015, 04:06 PM
Yes, it's me. Obviously this is going to be related to Resident Evil. To be specific, it's related to the evil conglomerate that started it all, the Umbrella Corporation. And uh... to be even more specific, their logo of choice, the well known red and white umbrella. Today I'm going to be digging deep into the meaning and reasons behind why this logo, specifically, was (possibly) chosen.
The Umbrella Corporation has multiple branches, ranging from foods and cosmetics to far more sinister agendas, such as viruses and bio weapons. While not exactly having been mentioned in the games outright, these branches have different logos and names.
Managed to snag this picture online, with the different branches explained:
![[Image: umbrellainc.PNG]](http://mathieuredfield.free.fr/images/divers/umbrellainc.PNG)
For the purposes of this trivia, you can ignore the Technology and Military sections.
As you can see, Umbrella's divisions can be divided to the basic Umbrella but also White Umbrella, the section dedicated to what made Umbrella so infamous to begin with, the bio organic weapons, which is included in the Research and Development program.
Like I said, the sections aren't really mentioned anywhere in the games. However, in S.D. Perry's novel series based on the franchise, White Umbrella is more than a prominent threat. The novels may not be canon but this wiki article is the closest we can get to knowing more about it: http://residentevil.wikia.com/wiki/White_Umbrella
So, in all, you could say that, since "regular" Umbrella and White Umbrella's logos are exactly the same, the corporation's facade of furthering health industry could be called "Red Umbrella" and the logo is there to represent both colors.
Okay, so this is all just my ramblings and not something trivia worthy. Yet. My trivia is not really about the seperate sections but they do play a part in it. Just bear with me, it'll make sense in a moment.
In Japan, or Eastern Asia generally, these two colors have specific meanings. Red is considered the color of life, while white is considered the color of purity and cleanliness. However, white is also considered the color of death and white carnations are often left on graves of people. This could very well play to the colors of the logo and Umbrella's motives in general: the viral and weapons research represented by white, aka death, and the drugs and food business represented by red, aka life. Furthermore, white also meaning purity could be part of the whole facade the corporation is holding up on the surface, creating a double meaning for it.
It doesn't end there. After the resurfacing of Umbrella as Neo Umbrella in Resident Evil 6, we got to see a new version of the logo:
![[Image: latest?cb=20150110140636&path-prefix=es]](http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/residentevil/images/9/96/NeoUmbrella.png/revision/latest?cb=20150110140636&path-prefix=es)
As you can see, the colors here are green and white. White can still be associated with death, with this new company's more openly evil business practices. Green, however, means eternal life, which can be associated with Umbrella being resurrected and being seemingly like a cockroach, never dying. It also means youthfulness and freshness, which can be tied to this being a new resurrection of the company.
Since Neo Umbrella's logo, and the organization itself, is a bit ambiguous, I'll leave it out of the actual trivia.
The links in this post are all for the colors in general so you'll need to do a bit of scrolling. Sorry about that. Anyway, this is just a theory so I'm submitting it as such.
The Umbrella Corporation has multiple branches, ranging from foods and cosmetics to far more sinister agendas, such as viruses and bio weapons. While not exactly having been mentioned in the games outright, these branches have different logos and names.
Managed to snag this picture online, with the different branches explained:
For the purposes of this trivia, you can ignore the Technology and Military sections.
As you can see, Umbrella's divisions can be divided to the basic Umbrella but also White Umbrella, the section dedicated to what made Umbrella so infamous to begin with, the bio organic weapons, which is included in the Research and Development program.
Like I said, the sections aren't really mentioned anywhere in the games. However, in S.D. Perry's novel series based on the franchise, White Umbrella is more than a prominent threat. The novels may not be canon but this wiki article is the closest we can get to knowing more about it: http://residentevil.wikia.com/wiki/White_Umbrella
So, in all, you could say that, since "regular" Umbrella and White Umbrella's logos are exactly the same, the corporation's facade of furthering health industry could be called "Red Umbrella" and the logo is there to represent both colors.
Okay, so this is all just my ramblings and not something trivia worthy. Yet. My trivia is not really about the seperate sections but they do play a part in it. Just bear with me, it'll make sense in a moment.
In Japan, or Eastern Asia generally, these two colors have specific meanings. Red is considered the color of life, while white is considered the color of purity and cleanliness. However, white is also considered the color of death and white carnations are often left on graves of people. This could very well play to the colors of the logo and Umbrella's motives in general: the viral and weapons research represented by white, aka death, and the drugs and food business represented by red, aka life. Furthermore, white also meaning purity could be part of the whole facade the corporation is holding up on the surface, creating a double meaning for it.
It doesn't end there. After the resurfacing of Umbrella as Neo Umbrella in Resident Evil 6, we got to see a new version of the logo:
As you can see, the colors here are green and white. White can still be associated with death, with this new company's more openly evil business practices. Green, however, means eternal life, which can be associated with Umbrella being resurrected and being seemingly like a cockroach, never dying. It also means youthfulness and freshness, which can be tied to this being a new resurrection of the company.
Since Neo Umbrella's logo, and the organization itself, is a bit ambiguous, I'll leave it out of the actual trivia.
The links in this post are all for the colors in general so you'll need to do a bit of scrolling. Sorry about that. Anyway, this is just a theory so I'm submitting it as such.