Sunday, September 12

Dear VF: Why shake my confidence in you?

Here's the thing: I love my Vanity Fair magazine.
I love that it's super pretentious. I love that the articles sometimes last for days. I love that it's always thick with fancy ads and beautiful pictures. I love that there is always a pretty person on the cover. I love that I sometimes have two or three issues piled up at a time. I love that it takes me a whole day to get through any one month's offering.
What I don't love, is that sometimes, I feel like I just got Star, or Us, or OK!, or something like that. Usually, the editors of the magazine are pretty selective of their cover models. They pick someone who not only has something to promote, but who also has something else interesting going on in their lives. Angelina Jolie is a perfect example. Sure, she's gorgeous, and of course, she's always got a movie coming out or something like that, but when she's on the cover, the story also spends time on her charity and humanitarian work. You also get the sense of the good she does. Last month, Lady Gaga was on the cover. Sure, she's kinda weird, but she's certainly an interesting personality, and not much is known abut her personally. So, yes, a valid cover celebrity.
Saturday, I received my October issue of VF. With Lindsay Lohan on the cover. First thought: I immediately knew that I was feeling kinda old on myself. I looked at her photo and said ... out loud, "Really? Really? Lindsay Lohan?" Then, I scanned through my mental entertainment encyclopedia, realizing that she has no movie coming out, no music, and no occupational need to promote. My information search could only bring up the vague knowledge that she just got out of her 90-day rehab program after 15 days or so.
Second thought: Sure, we need to promote a troubled girl with obvious problems, take flattering photos of her and put them on a magazine, thereby showing other girls that all her problems are easy, peasy and not a worry, as long as she looks good on a magazine.
Third thought ... and I acted on it: Ripped the cover off, and pulled out the article. I'm sending it back to Vanity Fair in an envelope.

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