Magazine Covers

The thing I hate about magazine covers is how homogenous they are. The goal seems to be to take a woman whose appearance has some character, some interest, some uniqueness that makes her beautiful, and transform her into a flat plastic label that can be stuck on any product. Two powerful cases in point are the cover images for Marisa Miller (on Maxim) and Scarlett Johansson (on Cosmopolitan), where the women are made so indistinct that I have to read the label to see who I'm looking at. Another powerful example is this cover from Vanity Fair, in which Angelina Jolie, who has perhaps the most distinct physiognomy of any sex symbol in Hollywood, has been rendered indistinct. Her nose is completely blended into her face. Her lips are so accented by lipstick that they lose their natural appearance of fullness. Not to mention that there is a limit at which cleavage ceases to appeal.

It amazes me that these things appeal to anyone. I mean, I ought to be an easy sell. An image of Scarlett Johansson in a red dress with a plunging neckline: how can it not be good? But it isn't.