Nobody can ignore the importance of costumes in movies. Even a simple dress can help the film grab the attention of the audience and can even raise the profile of the actor or actress. However, sometimes costumes can raise eyebrows and even controversy. No one can predict how audiences will react to an outfit until it hits the big screen and these fickle audiences can take a dislike for all sorts of reasons. Today, let’s take a look at some of the most controversial costumes in movies.
Rebel Wilson’s costume in Pitch Perfect 3 received a lot of criticism after she posted a photo of herself in the costume with Brittany Snow and Chrissie Fit. Fans noticed that her costume was in a different style to the other two girls in the photo and definitely covered up more of her body. The criticism focused on body size discrimination, but costume designer Salvador Perez explained that the style was chosen by the actress herself as Rebel Wilson had explicitly stated that she wanted sleeves.
Lily James’s waistline became quite controversial in the movie Cinderella, as it appeared to the audience that her waistline had been edited to look narrower. People were disappointed and angry, as her extremely small waist seemed to be both unrealistic as well as providing a dangerous example to young girls. However, the producers responded by stating that there was no editing involved. It was just that James’ waistline was super slim.
Many people loved the outfit of Captain America in the first movie. However, the outfit was considered to be too cheesy for The Avengers. The costume was designed in a retro style, which the audiences didn’t seem to like. The costume designers reacted quickly and the costume was replaced by a more acceptable design in the next few movies.
The costume of Green Lantern was controversial ever since the trailer was leaked online. The problem was that the costume was completely using CGI technology. Even if the producers claimed that it would look amazing in the movie, audiences didn’t like it. In fact, even Ryan Reynolds, who played the Green Lantern in the movie admitted that he didn’t get a chance to see the CGI-costume until the first trailer.
In Jumanji, the outfit of Karen Gillan caught the attention of everyone the second that the first photo was published. The outfit was so skimpy! However, once film footage was released it put the costume in context. In the movie, four high-school students play an old video game together and each chooses a character to play. Karen’s skimpy costume was simply a reflection of a common way video games portray women.
Even if you haven’t watched the movie, you must have seen the famous shot where Marilyn Monroe stands on top of a metro grate and has to fight to keep her dress from flying up. It’s a little-known fact, but it was actually filmed on a real street and the crowd went absolutely crazy when it happened. How about if you were Marylin Monroe’s husband, would you have been outraged? Well, it was reported that this was one of the issues that caused their eventual divorce.
Tropic Thunder has long been considered as one of the weirdest and the most controversial comedy movies in history. In the movie, Robert Downey Jr. used face paint to portray an African-American character. Needless to say, a lot of people were offended by the outfit. However, according to the producers, it was a way to criticize a movie industry that often employs such discriminatory casting practices.
Audiences were panicked and outraged when they first saw Brie Larson in a green Captain Marvel outfit, when it should really be blue and red. In fact, in the comics, Captain Marvel did sport a green attire, before switching to the classic blue and red outfit. The producers have since come out with an official glimpse of the character in her blue red and gold costume and set everyone’s minds at ease.
In Nocturnal Animals, Jena Malone who played museum curator Sage Ross was given a very weird outfit. Audiences couldn’t believe that such an outfit should be seen in public, let alone in a movie. However, director Tom Ford admitted that the ridiculous outfit was designed in such a way on purpose, as he wanted the audience to remember the character from the very beginning since it was a relatively short cameo.
In the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, students from Hogwarts and two other magical schools gathered together for the Yule Ball. However, fans were pretty upset about the Patil twin sisters’ dresses, when Harry and Ron took them to the ball. The dresses looked like traditional Indian style dresses in the movie, but the criticism was that they looked more like a dress that an Indian woman would wear at home, not to a Ball.
In Jurassic World, Bryce Dallas Howard wore high heels. However, her character in the movie spends a lot of time running for her life, despite never seeming to take them off. It might have been more realistic if she had taken off her shoes first and run from dinosaurs in her bare feet. Nevertheless, Bryce herself commented that she would have preferred to run in heels rather than barefoot.
In the movie Brave, Disney created princess Merida, who wasn’t your typical “Disney-style” princess, as she was not that beautiful, but instead was powerful, skilled and strong-minded. Fans loved it as people were tired with typical beautiful Disney princesses. However, in newer 2D drawings, Princess Merida is once again dressed again like a typical Disney princess. People were furious and didn’t understand why they chose to go back. Well, Disney claimed that she was dressed up for her coronation as the 11th Disney Princess.
In Batman & Robin, one of the biggest issues was the Batman costume that George Clooney wore in the movie. The ‘Bat-nips’ became very controversial and the surprised the producers who claimed that it had been inspired by Greek statues, who usually have perfect bodies.
In Judge Dredd, fans were upset when Sylvester Stallone took off his helmet in the first 20 minutes of the movie whereas, in the comic, Judge Dredd never takes off his helmet.
Even though the X-Men was successful, the costumes were controversial as the group wore all black, despite the fact that in the comics they wore blue and yellow. Some people did like the decision though as it kept the heroes low-key.
