The Step and Repeat Wall Moves Off the Red Carpet
I'm disappointed. Where were the paparazzi during the hundreds of times I made my glamorous (and not so glamorous) arrival at birthday parties, weddings and baby showers? How many camera worthy moments were wasted posing in front of birthday presents, limos and diaper cakes when I could have been captured at my most radiant in front of a step and repeat backdrop?
You've seen the photos. You've seen the signature poses. It's the Academy Awards or the Grammy Awards and in strut the celebrities across the red carpet, stopping briefly at the step and repeat wall to give the paparazzi its fill.
There's Demi and Nicole and the Twilight cast making the art of posing look effortless. There's the Cosmo pose, the big smile pose and the usual hand on hip pose, all perfectly executed in front of a banner littered with the corporate logos of sponsors or the name of the event. It all blends together, logo and star. We watch, transfixed. It's the glamorous life.
Recently, the step and repeat backdrop has begun to move off the red carpet and into the lives of everyday people: Bat Mitzvahs, birthday parties, weddings, and sorority pledge dances, to name a few.
Has celebrity culture become so pervasive that we all harbor a desire to pretend we're celebrities? Is the step and repeat backdrop a symbol of celebrity narcissism or of our own narcissism? Earlier this year, the musician and artist Elijah Blue (son of Cher) used the step and repeat in an art installation commentary on the popularity of reality TV and the cheapening of celebrity.
On the other hand, the step and repeat in the realm of everyday people is a memorable way to inject a bit of fun and flash into an event. It's like turning on the karaoke machine or going to the mall for some glamour shots. The photos are much more likely to be remembered and kept rather than discarded. Everyone seems a lot more photogenic in front of a step and repeat wall, especially after a little Photoshop action.
With the step and repeat backdrop no longer exclusive to the rich and famous, the rest of us better start practicing our poses. Look out Hollywood, this ordinary mom is going glam.
Photo: PacificCoastNews.com
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