Taylor Costume Critique: Selma

This weekend, I went to Laie Palms Cinema with my friends to watch Selma. Selma is a film set during the Civil Rights movement in the United States. The main character is Martin Luther King Jr. Other characters include Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife, Malcolm X, and many other people who left a profound imprint on the Civil Rights movement. The film was awesome. Films are supposed to have a way to manipulate the emotions and feelings of their audience through music and other things. Selma did a fantastic job.    

Ruth E. Carter

Name the production and the costume designer.

Selma's costume designer was Ruth E. Carter.

Are the costumes the right for the movie, in period and in style?

As I paid attention to the costuming in the film, I noticed a few different things. To give some background facts, fashion is something that moves slowly. The rich are the first ones to move onto the next fashion while the poor are the last. I noticed that the middle class and powerful stayed more up to date on the fashion of the times. I also noticed that the lower class people were still in nineteen fifties style appropriate wear. Also, older people had older clothes. The old man in the movie was still wearing fifties-appropriate clothing. The young boys were up on the times. I couldn't find any pictures on Google to showcase this (seeing as how the movie just came out and all) but it was just something that I noticed. I really like how Carter was smart about that. It made the film more real, and while this isn't a conscious idea to everyone who watches films, it stood out to me.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King (wife)

Something that I also noticed was that Carter  took the nineteen sixties style clothing, and took a more modern touch to it. I especially noticed this with Corretta Scott King's (Martin's wife) dress in the opening scene. I noticed the stones and beads on the dress. This is something that is very popular and fashionable right now. To be as glamorous as possible. She was a beautiful character. Because of the style of costuming here, she is as beautiful now as she was then.

What costumes did I like best? What was done well?

Oprah Winfrey's character, Annie Lee Cooper, was always dressed beautifully. Her dress colors were bright. Her coat was always clean and pressed. Her earrings were always nice and sensible. Her hair was always on point. Her makeup was always tidy. I love Annie Lee Cooper. I feel as though her costuming was very sensible and symbolic. Annie Lee Cooper was and is a symbol, representing the fact that Blacks were the same as Whites in every way except skin color and treatment. She defied the stereotype and was always beautiful, and that's why she was my favorite costume. When she was denied the ability to register to vote, she still looked beautiful. When she was beaten on the bridge, she was still dressed beautifully.