Kristen Stewart & Her Shoes

Shoes are a stupid device. They are simply what we use to put on our feet to walk from one place to another. There are, however, exceptions, and this one is not so much respective towards the shoes themselves, but their ubiquity. For, in her last 3 or 4 films, Kristen Stewart, who has been proving herself as a very good actress who should not have the Twilight films held against her, has worn gaudily colored Vans. In Yellow Handkerchief, and Welcome to the Rileys especially, they seem to be a device to remind us of the actress. They are a device used in order to show her audience "this is me". It reminds us of the actress and the role, it adds a certain familiarity when Stewart employs either yellow or red with drab shirts and colorful cardigans.