Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Magazine Culture

Hello, My name is Lucky Lana and I am a Magazine-aholic. That's right. If there is a colorful, flashy magazine in the room, it doesn't matter what else is going on or who is speaking or flirting or what not. My eye will be drawn to that magazine and I will not be satisfied until I get my fix! Let me open it and look at its glossy pages!

I could have a dreary appointment for the dentist or the doctor, but if I know their waiting room carries some good mags, I'm set. Like a infant with a colorful new toy, you can let me sit in that waiting room for hours and I'll be perfectly content.

Even when I was a gawky little grade school kid and didn't know what half the words meant, I would have my little nose stuck in a magazine while my sister and friends where watching Name That Tune on Channel 5. My babysitter would look at me funny when she caught me reading her Ladies Home Journal.

Why?

I have both vapid, shallow reasons and deep, political, inspirational reasons for celebrating magazines today. Let's take a popular and glamorous rag like Skin Two, for example:

Skin Two is a London-based magazine that prides itself on high quality, colorful images of the hot sexy models in the latest latex and leather fashions. Yummy! Like a crow, I am drawn to all that is shiny. I love to look at the curvy bodies and the elaborate designs. I find the images arousing and playful and naughty and delicious. So on a primal level, I am fed.

Culturally, it feels empowering to see fetish images in print. Skin Two, along with Secret, Whiplash, Instigator, Spectator, and many local publications show images and tell stories about slices of life. By the people and for the people. There is something solid and affirming about seeing a reflection of my culture on a solid page.

Then there are the cool punk girly mags like Bitch (!!!) and Bust and Diva. And random clever mags like Found and Paper. I just got asked to write for a new Los Angeles based girl mag called Double G. (I'll keep you posted on that one!)

Then there is the immediacy of a good magazine. Unlike a book, a magazine reports what's happening on a constantly new basis. If there is a trend, a magazine is where I look for it. If there is a new school of thought or an evolving idea, or a controversy to tackle, I may find out about it there.

Now, the generation just behind me who grew up with computers may see no need for the printed page someday. Why buy a magazine when everything is documented hourly on a website somewhere? I love the internet and all the blogs ;) and crazy websites that have addressed every little slice of life one can imagine, but it's apples and oranges to me. I love cyberspace revolution, but nothing can replace my magazines!

The prestige of a well-established magazine weeds out all the bad writers and crackpots for me. There is something to be said for competition and command of language. And what feels more relaxing than taking a couple of hours out my afternoon to paint my toenails, and lay back on my couch and read a good mag cover to cover?

What are your favorite magazines? Was there a magazine that spoke to you when you hadn't found your people yet and you were stuck in a small hick town? What magazine do you wish existed that doesn't yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

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