The 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Best Dressed and Eco-Dress; Or, Women and Oscar

The Oscars are Hollywood's Superbowl right down to outrageous commercials, celebrity hype, event-specific clothing choices, and viewing parties that include a creative array of snacks.   The Superbowl is raucous, explosive, and passionate.  The Oscars are classy, prestigious, and showy. 

This year, Hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were certainly showy, but they punted class well beyond the edge of the red carpet nearly every time they took the stage.  They arrived onstage from above surrounded by feather-clad showgirls—a carryover from the smashing opening number from “How I Met Your Mom” performed by Neil Patrick Harris— and began by pointing to various celebrity audience members with jokes that bounced between fairly punny and just plain dumb.  The schtick-factor over the course of the entire evening was incredible.

Another thing that the Superbowl and the Oscars have in common is that they are both—in somewhat different ways— Male-Centric events.  The Superbowl features two teams of sweaty men and cheerleaders, while at the Oscars Men sport Tuxedos, escort exquisitely adorned ladies down the red carpet, and wield a different sort of power. Out of 82 years of Oscar hosting there have only been 11 women in the role, and Whoopi Goldberg is the only woman to ever have hosted solo.  In 1992 at the 64th annual Academy Awards ceremony host Billy Crystal made the comment that Barbra Streisand was not nominated for Best Director of “Funny Girl” which took home several awards because she is a woman.  

Although the evening of the 82nd annual ceremony was punctuated with male hosts Katherine Bigelow was the first woman to win Best Director for “Hurt Locker” which took 6 Oscars total including Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Writing of an original screenplay.  In a “Fresh Air” interview on NPR that aired the afternoon of the Oscars Bigelow explained that the movie's biggest challenge was making explosions look real.  The array of wins would indicate that she succeeded, with a bang.   And to top it all off, she looked stunning!

 When asked what it is that makes a great Oscar dress, Jennifer Lopez replied, “You have to be able to wear it.”   Perfect answer.  Of all the dresses on display Sunday night, only one could be classified by   the sustainability concerned as “Eco friendly” and therefore truly wearable.  Suzy Amis Cameron, wife of Director James Cameron wore a dress made of “peace silk” and dubbed “avatar blue” by James.  The dress was designed by a senior at Michigan State University as part of a fundraiser.  

The Oscars pay tribute to the extraordinary in Hollywood, and often amount to little more than a tabloid spectacle, a chance for us small people to oggle at celebrities' dresses and listen to them talk, as themselves.  This year, it was refreshing to witness, amongst the buzz, empowered women and an eco-friendly clothing choice.