Why is the red carpet red
Why Week: Why Do Celebrities Walk on Red Carpet at Special Events?
in the video today we're answering a
viewer question because david kaye asks
us why did it roll out the red carpet
for celebrities and dignitaries
throughout history red carpets have LED
luminaries to momentous events both good
and bad
Escalus from 525 BC to 400 55 BC the
father of tragedy wrote various plays
whereas heroes fell from grace due to a
combination of unwinnable circumstances
arrogance and or simply stepping on the
toes of the gods
a few years before his death Aeschylus
wrote Agamemnon in which after a 10-year
absence from his kingdom of Mycenae King
Agamemnon returned home to his wife
triumphant from the Trojan War ins
dragging along his new concubine
Cassandra Clytemnestra was happy to see
Agamemnon but only because she could now
seek her vengeance not only for his new
lady friends but more particularly for
his role in the death of their daughter
a decade previous just before the Greek
fleet had sailed off to fight the Trojan
War
Agamemnon killed one of the goddess
Artemis 'as deer which enraged her
leading to artemis interfering with the
Greek fleet leaving to a Pisa Agamemnon
was forced to sacrifice his oldest
daughter obviously without his wife's
consent so by the time he arrived back
in Mycenae Clytemnestra was more than
pleased to greet him and determined to
make a show of it she rolled or more
accurately spread out a literal red
carpet marking the first known mention
of such a thing ever happening ordering
her ladies to make a path for Agamemnon
to walk from his chariot to the palace
doors on she stated you women spread out
those tapestries here on the grounds
directly in his path which shall be
covered all in red so justice can lead
him back into his home having already
paid once for earlier hubris Agamemnon
was afraid of further angering the gods
by taking on such as he says don't
invite Envy to cross my path that's how
we honor gods for a mortal man to place
his foot like this on rich embroidery is
not without some risk eventually however
he gave into Clytemnestra is pestering
albeit after first removing his sandals
he walked barefoot on the carpet that
led him to his palace since
to his doom shortly after this little
walk Clytemnestra stabbed him to death
in the bathtub whether it was fear of
the wrath of the gods or lack of
sufficient textiles there are few
episodes recorded of other similar red
carpet uses for the next 2,000 years
although it does seem to have occurred
on occasion now let's fast-forward
significantly through history - one
notable example became in the early
1800s this was when the 5th President of
the United States James Monroe from 1753
- 1831 disembarked from a riverboat in
Georgetown South Carolina and his
welcoming party greeted him with a
ceremonial red carpet again mostly
disappearing into obscurity for a while
the practice was revived in the early
1900s this time by the New York Central
Railroad which rolled out the carpet as
part of its first-class service given on
its 20th century limited train operating
from New York to Chicago from 1938 to
1968 passengers on the twentieth century
limited entered the train after
following a path made by the plush
football field length fibrin sandy red
rug that spans the length of the train
from the engine to the observation car
the height of luxury at the time
overnight passengers of the 20th century
limited left the NYC station at 6 p.m.
and enjoyed cocktails in the observation
car dinner in the dining car with use of
the Hudson River and a comfortable bed
and breakfast on the train before
disembarking the following morning at
8:45 a.m. in Chicago the combination of
luxury and these striking pathways
generally credited as being the
inspiration for the phrase red carpet
treatment co-opting the cachet of the
red carpet sherman and theater magnates
Sid Grauman of the now famous Chinese
Theatre in front of which celebrities
still placed their hands in wet cement
is widely credited with introducing the
practice to Hollywood when he had a red
carpet placed for the stars to follow at
the premiere of Robin Hood at his
Egyptian theater in 1922 also needing a
practical method of guiding his numerous
stars through the throng on Oscar night
the Academy first placed a red carpet to
lead celebrities from their cars to the
Santa Monica Civil Auditorium in 1961 by
1964 realizing the public's interest in
seeing more of Hollywood's best and
brightest Oscar producers began spending
more time on exterior shots of the stars
walking down the carpet nonetheless even
by the early nineteen
sixties the red carpet was still little
more than a trail to be followed this
all changed in the 1970s following
Barbra Streisand's see-through pants
suit best actress acceptance speech in
1969 as celebrities began competing for
the publicity and exposure afforded by
the red carpet by exploring their
fashion sense together with the
introduction of People magazine the
award show red carpet was transformed
into a fashion runway that was as
accessible as the television in your
living room the red carpet evolved again
in the early 1990s when Joan and Melissa
rivers began their coverage of pre award
show fashion beginning with the 1994
golden globes incorporating conversation
and celebrity worship and dishing with
fashion reporting the ear aport is
forever changed the way stars entered
these large events with the simple but
pertinent question who are you wearing
today sporting the 360 degree glam cam
which nearly instantly shows the Stars
outfit from every angle V finger nail
art highlighting mani cam and a cadre of
perky pretty and funny people cooing
cajoling and carving about fashion
modern red carpet events share Bissell
with their ancient ancestor beyond
perhaps at times being a remarkable
display of hubris so I hope you found
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[Music]
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