This year, the Oscars ceremony was a lot. While I personally can’t decide if that is a good way or bad, I can say that the Academy has a lot of notes for next year. The thousands of news coverage that the one particular incident, Rock v. Smith, got for the awards ceremony can be credited for the huge viewership this year. If not for the scandal, the only thing worth watching at the Oscars was the red carpet.
Celebrities have many moments in their life where they have to shine. Their publicity, status and future projects are dependent on how they present themselves on the Red Carpet. One would think it is their work. That matters too, obviously. Considering that, Red Carpets always have some of the most different fashions. Some are so beautiful and perfect that drooling over them is inevitable while the others really make you sit back and slowly drawl out, “what…” One person who extremely consistently makes the audience gasp, drool, swoon and charm are Zendaya. She has cracked the success of being the ultimate human slack actor.
On the note of Red Carpets, Zendaya is a queen. Every outfit she wears (styled by her longtime stylist Law Roach) is bound to be unique and perfect. Her recent Oscar outfit was elegant, stylish and not the traditional long gown based dress. It was not over the top and yet not Adam Sandler underdressed. Similarly, in the Venice Film Festival, she wore an outfit that made her look like a sculpture emerging out of the great depths of divine water. Each of her outfits reminds the viewers that there is nothing Zendaya cannot do.
Zendaya’s Journey Through Disney
Zendaya Coleman started her journey in this industry as a child actor for Disney. She starred in shows like K.C Undercover and Shake it up along with releasing music. Having starred in shows like Shake it Up and The Greatest Showman, it is not a surprise that she is a fabulous dancer but she has also participated in the popular reality show, Dancing With The Stars. It was in the 16th season that Val Chmerkovskiy and Zendaya came second. Could this woman be any more talented? She is.
While her songs may not be the first on my playlist, her latest projects with Labrinth and Dominic is a good reminder that she could do anything. Her voice turned me into a small puddle of emotions because there is no reason for such magnificence to exist but to remove all sense of meaning to materiality. It is the way she knows she has the world in her hands now. There is a confidence in her that has come from knowing she has worked for this. And work she has.
Disney has made several of their child actors huge. Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Zac Efron, Jonas Brothers and obviously Zendaya. I would argue that the others mentioned did reach a level of untouchable fame but Zendaya has soared higher. One breakthrough performance is not enough because she may have increased her standing greatly by playing MJ in Spider-Man, her role in The Greatest Showman was equally as powerful.
She was a household name before those two with the release of K.C. Undercover and Shake It Up but she changed her image of being the Disney Girl to a talented versatile star when her modelling shoots started raging. It is her charm as well as her movement that gives the spectator the assurance of her confidence in her work. It is what made us all believe in her one scene masterpiece, Malcolm and Marie. Shot when the pandemic was at its peak, Malcolm and Marie was a black and white movie shot based on a couple shot entirely in one set.
That is her confidence. Being able to hook an audience that dependent on the rapid energy of OTT platforms and decreasing attention spans requires a lot of talent and skill. At the same time, she gave us Euphoria. A series that is famous for heavy plots. Both are her projects. Euphoria is her dream project where she is the producer and protagonist. It is a show that blew up when the first season was released because it was completely raw in telling the lives of High Schoolers.
Admittedly Disney has also done this, but they could never do what Euphoria does. If it tried, then we would be seeing a lot more in High School Musical. She has made sure that the roles she has got in Disney will be completely separate from what she does now. Someone had said that none of her high school characters would like each other and that is the definition of variety. The second season of Euphoria came out recently. She has already won an Emmy (becoming the youngest ever) for Best Actress in 2020 for her role as Rue in Euphoria. Even in season 2, she has done a stellar job. An entire episode of the season is about Rue running, literally and metaphorically where the way Zendaya moves will make you forget that she is a graceful dancer and model simply because the way she runs is absurd and like a drug addict.
Zendaya as Chani
2021, Zendaya had also played the role of Chani in Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune. In the first movie of what will hopefully be a long series, she has a role of a maximum of 7 minutes. With such a low screen time too she has engraved herself in the memory of all. In fact, she was so good that people fight for her to have more screen time. Lucky for you all, I have read the book and I can assure you that she will be a lot more present in the sequels.
Speaking of sequels, Spider-Man: No Way Home, was a rollercoaster of emotions. MJ was a major reason. Tom and Zendaya have such pure chemistry that even though they are well resourced to have bodyguards, I will jump in front of a bullet to save them. Additionally, the MJ falling scene. It is way past the NWH release so stop with the Spoilers screaming now. When Andrew caught her, we were all crying. Zendaya has a baby sister energy with Andrew Garfield. Fight me.
The Movie Culture Synopsis
It is in Zendaya’s nature to have chemistry with everyone. What I need to see her next as is a proper evil antagonist. A fashionable one, obviously. Till that happens here is a list of Zendaya projects that everyone should watch in their lives-
- Euphoria
- Spider-Man Film series
- Dune
- The Greatest Showman
- Malcolm and Marie
- Shake It Up
- K.C Undercover
- Space Jam: A New Legacy
