Pageants these days are no longer about beauty alone, but about purpose, presence, and using one’s voice to affect and inspire others.
There was this period in local pageantry that the tallest candidates with the most curvaceous bodies were the favored ones. Ladies who can parade in swimsuits to flaunt their 36-24-36 vital statistics and those who can sashay in their evening gowns with their statuesque figures are a shoo-in for the final spots. That was a time when advocacies and inspirational platforms were not familiar terms in pageantry.
For a country like ours that is so immersed and involved in beauty pageants, any beauty competition from Miss Intramurals and Binibining Barangay to Miss Universe and Miss World, and even the sprouting of male beauty pageants over the last decade, would most likely draw attention and, to some extent, a following.
That’s why when it was announced that GMA Pictures is coming up with a movie about a beauty pageant so unlike other films involving beauty queens, there was immediate excitement and swift curiosity.
Director Dominic Zapata explained that the project Red Crown is too special for him not to take on, because it gathers a bevy of real life and aspiring beauty queens in one narrative that combines glitz, ambition, glamor, and elements of mystery, suspense, even dark comedy.
‘It’s fresh, it’s exciting, it’s relevant. It shows how people are lured by different reasons just to get what they want, in this case not only the crown but the whopping P25 million cash prize at stake,’ he explained.
Most people still think that pageants are all about winning the crown. If P25 million is at stake, many will say that perhaps it is justified. But I think the movie will lead us to the realization that in the end, it is all about winning over oneself. If destiny brings you to centerstage and the crown gets to land on your head, remember that it will only stay there for the period of your reign before you pass it on to the next winner. That crown is temporary, your transformation is permanent.
And during the quest for the crown, true colors come out, scheming strategies unravel, characters are redefined.
Most candidates who aspire for the crown and the title forget that the elements of the universe will conspire for only one soul who is destined to be crowned the winner. It’s called destiny, and whether you are a man, a woman or a transgender, stepping onto a pageant stage will teach you priceless lessons that stay with you long after the pageant is over.
Precious and priceless realizations like the confidence you build comes from your preparation, not perfection. You learn about grace under pressure, and resilience after setbacks. And for some, they find out that winning is not everything.
Like some of these members of the ensemble cast of Red Crown that acquired priceless lessons and extremely useful learnings after their individual experiences in both local and international pageants: Ariella Arida, Michelle Dee, Ahtisa Manalo, MJ Lastimosa, Gazini Granados, Herlene Budol, Yllana Marie Aduana, and Sharmaine Ruffa Gutierrez.
I reckon that if beauty pageants were solely about everything physical and visual, whether natural or enhanced, then they will not be called beauty pageants, they should be labeled as pretty pageants.
Nowadays, women (and men, too!) join pageants driven by a complex mix of social, psychological and personal motivations, including personal growth, the desire for external affirmation, attention, admiration, validation and recognition.
It is perhaps why the ‘artista’ cast of this movie including Sanya Lopez, Faith da Silva, Shuvee Entrata, AZ Martinez, and Ashley Ortega are still contemplating if they should take the risk and join a beauty pageant soon while they are still qualified. Because nowadays, all of them have come to know that one should be more than just beautiful to win the coveted crown.
For now, being a candidate vying for the title of Queen of the Islands and the most attractive cash pot ever is enough for these actresses. Let’s wait and see when the movie opens sometime this month if any of them deserve to wear the elusive red crown.