How the dawn of film inspired the dusk of stereotypes

In 1922, the world of film changed forever with the premier of Robin Hood and the introduction of the Hollywood red carpet.  Since the dawn of film, these red carpet events have been the perfect opportunity to showcase a designer’s most sophisticated and outlandish pieces.  

Hours before the event’s host welcomes the world to that evening’s show or the lights dim and a carefully crafted musical score begins playing, we’re able to tune in for full coverage on America’s stars and their outfits. But in the midst of “Who are you wearing?” and “Tell me about this piece,” celebrities are using their platform to go above and beyond just making the front page.

Beginning a few months before the new film “A Simple Favor” was released, actress Blake Lively she had quite the exciting experience teasing different aspects of the movie. She deleted all of her instagram posts, only followed users named Emily Nelson and began exclusively wearing suits as eye-catching as they come, ranging from plaid to neon green to a sophisticated petal pink (my personal favorite).  

When Catherine Kallon, founder of the Red Carpet fashion awards, joked on Lively’s dozens of suits, the actress took no time in making sure her opinion was heard.  “Would you note a man wearing lots of suits during a promo tour?” she said on Instagram. “So why can’t a woman? Just sayinnnn. No double standard ladies.”

Lively wasn’t the only one using her position on the Red Carpet to spark conversation. Kristen Stewart also caught the public eye in May of this year when she took only a few photos at the Cannes Film Festival before removing her heels to conquer the rest of her walk barefoot.

It’s known that the Cannes Film Festival requires all its women to wear high heels when they walk down it. In fact, in 2015, some women in their 50s, were turned away from the Festival’s screening of Carol because they wore flats instead of heels, regardless of the fact that a number of them had medical conditions, according to Screen Daily.

Going beyond fashion commentary through action, stars also use their interviews to speak on issues they’re passionate about. At her E!News interview for the Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet, actress Gina Rodriguez called out Hollywood for having Latinos as stars few and far between.

“Yay, Sony, for putting a Latino in the lead, because barely people do that,” Rodriguez said. “I mean, we do make [up] 55 million plus in the country — no big deal — you should throw us in a movie or two…We do buy 1 in every 4 tickets every single weekend…So it would do you a service. And not only service, it would be — I don’t know — integrity.”

Each red carpet premiere and awards show that passes brings new stars that spark new, pertinent conversations. Individuals like these are proving that there is more on a woman’s minds than shoes.

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