Do you have Red Carpet Body Language?

Red carpet body language is a unique phenomenon. What do celebrities do in the face of the stress of all those people observing their entrances? Many of them give the same posture or pose every time they are on the red carpet. Each of their
chosen poses creates with the repetitions of it being photographed in magazine after magazine, an iconic image in the viewer’s eye. When the public thinks of each of these celebrates they see them in that pose in their minds eye. Do you have an iconic image? If you do is it positive?

The red carpet photo walk can be a terrifying experience for a celebrity. Hundreds of photographers, lots of flashing lights and something you don’t experience when you’re looking at the photos the tremendously loud screaming of the hundreds of people in the crowd and the loud shouts of the photographers saying, “Look this way…” or “Renee looks over your shoulder...” Why do celebrities pose in these circumstances? There are times when a celebrity does some fun little pose on a whim and photographers catch them and the next red carpet walk each photographer shouts out the for the celebrity to take on that
pose again so they can get that special iconic pose for their
publication. Sometimes the celebrity chooses to create and image
and they take on a sexy pose to create a sexy image or take on a
sexy man image like Tom Cruise always pulling his latest women
tightly to him. Other times the pose gives a celebrity something to do in what is a bizarrely awkward situation of a red carpet walk.

Usually in public settings you have only two choices for how to behave. You acknowledge others or you don’t. But typically there are only two people in on the interaction. For example both people see each other on the sidewalk and say hello to each other. Or one acknowledges and says hi and the other ignores and walks on or both ignore each other and walk by each other as do most people walking on a New York City sidewalk... The red carpet photo session is all together different. People are staring and shouting, but the celebrity can’t acknowledge each one. The pose gives them an action something to do to show. Hey I am here, do what you will shout if you want. As you read the celebrity poses below think about how you enter a room and the posture and poses you may present to others.

Nicole Kidman started her public pose at the end of her relationship with Tom Cruise. Whenever they were photographed together and he was facing toward her she would place her loosely clasped hands well below her stomach. This means that she felt sexually (either physical or emotionally) injured by her partner. It’s a common pose women make when husbands have been unfaithful or when wives no longer want to have sex with their partners. Nicole stopped posing this way until she started dating again. Now the hands are higher and the clasp is often tense as in the photo of the interpreter. Were she is symbolically holding her own hand. This pose now shows that Nicole wants to comfort herself when she is out in public and feels a need to protect her sexuality.

Renee Zellwiger's, look over the shoulder, has also morphed over the years. A few years ago before she did the Bridget Jones movies she began to pose standing with her back to the camera protecting the front of her body. She would stand still with her shoulder pulled up, head tilted to the side and turned back significantly over her shoulder her eyes and forward down slightly in a come hither posture that said,"I’m shy, and innocent but come get me.” Photographers now shout out loudly when ever they see her, “Look over your shoulder...” so that the pose has changes to a quick glance to the side with the head in front of the shoulder with the head tilted. The head tilt use to show us Renee's innocence and vulnerability. Though her hands are clasped in front which shows a need to protect her self. This new head in front of the shoulder posture with the legs apart in a power stance or strut says, “I’m in a hurry with all my success, but I let you see a bit of the old Renee. I am not so innocent any more.”

Jessica Simpson throws a kiss to the photographer. This is what beauty queens do in a parade to show onlookers that they send their love and good wishes across the distance to them. It’s flirtatious and like Renee’s old over the back look has a
come hither feel. It also echoes another famous blonde’s iconic kiss blowing image Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn used her whole body gave a very playful and sensuous blown kiss. On Jessica it’s a very forced pose is forced, only the head and the hand are used. She does not feel the love she purports to be sending.

Britney Murphey leans back her head, kicks up her heel like a show horse when it’s prancing and showing off. If this posture was given in the spur of the moment it would also not just be a “Look at me.” but also show playfulness and spunk.
Because she does it all the time it just tells us she wants to say look at my stuck out chest and beautiful legs.

Courtney love sticks her tongue all the way out showing off its length like Kiss' lead singer, Gene Simmons’s groupie. Sticking out the tongue is an infantile gesture done by babies to reject their food. On Courtney it shows irreverence, she
rejects the status quoi. I “disrespect” all of you guys for liking me so much that you take my photo. So even though she dresses up and parades on the red carpet she wants to appear that she does not care & does not need to be accepted, but she really does.

Paris Hilton leans the top half of her body back arching her back
oddly with her arm bent and hand propped at her waist and her head titled. This is classic cat walk pose done when the model
reached the end of the runway. For Paris, and her anorexia thin
model body, the desire to pose for the cameras as a life style is
communicated by this posture. It is a pose; her eyes and face is a mask and shows she is not really “there.” She wants to be seen
glamorous through her body and perhaps her other behavior is that of child.