Research into costume

Simply costume refers to the clothes that character wear. In films costume is used to indicate a character, advertise particular fashion or to make clear contrast between characters.

Generally costume can have a specific function in the film, for example by the 007 spy James Bond wearing a suit it symbolises he is a very important man but also wants to do business when compared to the costume worn by Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) in Karate Kid as he wears more casual clothes, rather like gym clothing which symbolises he may be doing physical activity to make him stronger.

Furthermore the use of costume can show the consumers what type of characters are going to be featured in the film leading to a basic idea of the content, for example during ‘in the line of fire’ (1993) both men and women are shown wearing the USA police uniform. To the consumers this would be symbolic that crime may be involved in the film they are watching but in other films costumes may be quite stylized, focusing more on their graphic qualities. Throughout ‘Ivan the Terrible’ (1976), costumes are carefully coordinated with one another in their colours, their textures and even their movements.

Additionally costume can be representative of the characters role. Representation refers to how people and places are portrayed to the consumers. It is beneficial to audiences if representation is used as a way of stereotyping characters because it allows them to engage more with the featured actors/actress’.  An example of how representation has been used in an action film is throughout Taken. Liam Neeson (Bryan Mills) travels across Europe to save his beloved daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), when she is kidnapped by an Albanian gang. Despite coming across many obstacles on his journey he never considers giving up on his daughter therefore he is represented as a strong and independent but very caring man who always puts his family first. The way in which costume helps to portray this representation is by him wearing very black and bold clothing this implies he has a hidden dark side and if anyone attempts to destroy or hurt his family he will turn nasty.