Feeling a bit blue, folks? Well I’ve got blue folks for you. A whole list of blue folks. Some serious, some silly. Blue-skinned, blue-furred or just blue in the face. Some people, some people-like creatures. One sort of blob. Plus one god.
A List of Blue Folks
- Smurfs. (By the way, I’m actually very disturbed by the Unicef Smurf commercial. Which is I guess the message they were going for.)
- Sesame Street offers Cookie Monster and Grover.
- Then there’s the more contemporary Bloo from the cartoon Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
- Blue Man Group. A group of men who are blue. Well, who paint themselves blue to perform some sort of performance. In the show Arrested Development, the character Tobias, a blue man who has aspirations to be a Blue Man, spends several episodes painted blue.
- The Tick. Mighty blue justice. A big blue superhero from the animated and live action TV shows.
- Various X-Men characters. The movies add one new blue mutant with each sequel. The first had Mystique, the second added Nightcrawler, and the third added Beast.
- The Wee Free Men and other books by Terry Pratchett featuring the Nac Mac Feegle. Little blue people based loosely on the Picts of Scotland, who would paint their skin blue before battle. (See also Braveheart, which depicted blue face-painting that may or may not have been historically appropriate.)
- The Blue Fugates. An Appalachian family prone to methemoglobinemia, a medical condition causing the appearance of a bluish tinge to the skin. You can read more about them and other historical and mythical blue figures, like
- Blue Moovians. Ancient blue humanoids. Who knew?
- The Tuareg, a Berber ethnic group. Not actually blue, but
The Tuareg are sometimes called the “Blue People” because the indigo pigment in the cloth of their traditional robes and turbans stained the wearer’s skin dark blue.
- The Hindu deity Krishna.* You can also learn more about why Krishna is colored blue.
*(Note: I hesitated to include Krishna in my list, even though he is so very blue, seeing as he is an actual god and all. I don’t want to be disrespectful. However, upon remembering that he is often depicted as a playful god, I hope that his inclusion in my playful list will not offend. (cf. This line from a story in Shri Shyam Katha: “Then the playful Lord Krishna said. ‘First you promise me and then I will ask for a boon’” (Note: I must share that the preceding quotation made me giggle, as my most recent encounter of the word boon was about something else.)))
13 responses so far ↓
YTSL // April 14, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Ooooo, Smurfs! Talk about a blast from the past!! ;b
Also, on the subject of blue individuals: There’s Mott the barber from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Have to confess though that I’ve forgotten what world within the Federation he hails from… ;(
jwbates // April 15, 2007 at 12:47 am
“They can tak’ oour lives but they cannae tak’ oour troousers!” - Traditional battle cry of the Nac Mac Feegle
alejna // April 15, 2007 at 1:23 am
YTSL-
You know, it’s been such along time since I’ve watched any Star Trek. I totally forgot about him. Thanks for the addition! (I bet there are other aliens I’ve missed, too.)
jwbates-
troousers!
jwbates // April 15, 2007 at 12:49 pm
“Ye’ll tak’ the high road an’ I’ll tak’ yer wallet!”
jen // April 15, 2007 at 4:23 pm
you know…i’d never really pondered the amount of blue creatures before.
alejna // April 15, 2007 at 7:06 pm
jwbates-
You said it!
jen-
Blue does seem to have an appeal. Many more mythical blue people-types than, say, purple.
NotSoSage // April 15, 2007 at 7:23 pm
You’re hilarious.
I’ve missed you. I’ll be around more this week.
Jaŋari // April 15, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Don’t forget Mr Blue from Reservoir Dogs (though by memory, he ‘exited’ the script early on).
There’s a brilliant blues track by Brian Jackson called H2O G-A-T-E blues (Watergate blues) in which he argues that since there are 3,000 discernible colours in the spectrum, and 6 colours, then there must be 500 shades of the blues. It’s a great piece of musical poetry.
alejna // April 15, 2007 at 10:12 pm
NotSoSage-
Thanks!
Jaŋari-
I hate to discriminate on the basis of color, but only blue-skinned (or blue-furred) folks have been included on this list. Or at least those that have an overall blue appearance. I’m afraid that Mr. Blue was not so very blue (unless I’m forgetting something). He can join if he paints himself blue, though.
Cool bit about the shades of the blues. Nifty.
jwbates // April 15, 2007 at 10:13 pm
“Ta’ can onlie be one t’ousan!”
jwbates // April 15, 2007 at 10:15 pm
“Crivens! I kicked meself in ma ain heid!” - Less traditional, yet not uncommon, battle cry of the Nac Mac Feegle
Brian // May 2, 2008 at 1:51 am
Let’s not forget Gumby.
mehmet baytur // June 26, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I she is it is pencıl
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