Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Vogues Controversial Cover

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • zamb
    Senior Member
    • Nov 2006
    • 5834

    Vogues Controversial Cover



    LeBron James Vogue cover criticized

    Here we Go Again.........................












    NEW YORK - When Vogue announced its April cover starring LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen, the magazine noted with some fanfare that James was the first black man to grace its cover.





    But the image is stirring up controversy, with some commentators
    decrying the photo as perpetuating racial stereotypes. James strikes
    what some see as a gorilla-like pose, baring his teeth, with one hand
    dribbling a ball and the other around Bundchen?s tiny waist.




    It?s an image some have likened to ?King Kong? and Fay Wray.




    ?It conjures up this idea of a dangerous black man,? said Tamara Walker, 29, of Philadelphia.




    Photographer Annie Leibovitz shot the 6-foot-9 NBA star and the
    5-foot-11 Brazilian model for the cover and an inside spread. Vogue
    spokesman Patrick O?Connell said the magazine ?sought to celebrate two
    superstars at the top of their game? for the magazine?s annual issue
    devoted to size and shape.











    ?We think Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen look beautiful together and we are honored to have them on the cover,? he said.




    James told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer he was pleased with the cover, saying he was ?just showing a little emotion.?




    ?Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or
    bad way,? James told the paper. ?Who cares what anyone says??




    But magazine analyst Samir Husni believes the photo was deliberately
    provocative, adding that it ?screams King Kong.? Considering Vogue?s
    influential history, he said, covers are not something that the
    magazine does in a rush.




    ?So when you have a cover that reminds people of King Kong and
    brings those stereotypes to the front, black man wanting white woman,
    it?s not innocent,? he said.




    O?Connell, the Vogue spokesman, declined further comment.




    In a column at ESPN.com, Jemele Hill called the cover ?memorable for
    all the wrong reasons.? But she said in an interview that the image is
    not unusual ? white athletes are generally portrayed smiling or
    laughing, while black sports figures are given a ?beastly sort of vibe.?




    For example, former NBA star Charles Barkley was depicted breaking
    free of neck and wrist shackles on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
    Dennis Rodman graced the cover of Rolling Stone with horns poking out
    of his forehead and his red tongue hanging out.




    Images of black male athletes as aggressive and threatening
    ?reinforce the criminalization of black men,? said Damion Thomas,
    assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at University of
    Maryland.




    But others say the image show James? game face ? nothing more. And they note that Bundchen hardly looks frightened.




    ?James is a huge, black beautiful masculine statue and Gisele is a
    feminine, sexy gorgeous doll,? said Christa Thomas, 36, a black account
    supervisor in Los Angeles.




    ?I didn?t see any kind of racist overtone to it,? she said. ?I still
    don?t. I think there is such a hypersensitivity to race still in this
    country.?




    Husni said it is too soon to know how the magazine is selling,
    though the controversy could increase sales as people rush out to get a
    ?collector?s edition.?




    If nothing else, Walker said the cover underscores the need for a more diverse workplace.




    ?If more people of color worked for Vogue in positions of editorial
    authority, perhaps someone in the room might have been able to read the
    image the way so many of us are reading it now, and had the power to do
    something about it,? she said.

    “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
    .................................................. .......................


    Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock
  • Faust
    kitsch killer
    • Sep 2006
    • 37852

    #2
    Re: Vogues Controversial Cover

    What do you think, Zam?
    Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

    StyleZeitgeist Magazine

    Comment

    • zamb
      Senior Member
      • Nov 2006
      • 5834

      #3
      Re: Vogues Controversial Cover



      [quote user="Faust"]What do you think, Zam?
      [/quote]







      My Blackness



      My sadness



      Being despised for my darkness



      Enslaved????



      I am still brave



      Bloodied but unbowed



      Standing tall to the grave





      Taken my opium



      Now I am numb



      Fighting winless



      Being wise but dumb





      I am mine enemy



      My enemy in me



      Smokescreen



      Distortion of Color



      Human reality





      Sameness within



      Different Color without



      All having one heart



      But a different mouth





      Argent?monaie



      The great equalizer



      Separating friends????..



      Bringing enemies together





      Black??.white!!!



      No green conquers all



      Having, wanting



      Creates a transparent wall?????..

      my thoughts..........



      “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
      .................................................. .......................


      Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

      Comment

      • Faust
        kitsch killer
        • Sep 2006
        • 37852

        #4
        Re: Vogues Controversial Cover



        So, what do you think, Zam?! Haha, just kidding [66]



        I noticed the cover on the newsstand, and I knew right off the bat that it will stir up some shit. People forget that it's Vogue, and thus absolutely irrelevant in a socio-political context (although I may be wrong here, I don't know). I am sure Ms. Wintour was happy to stir shit up - she's so good at it. I am surprised that this is all they've got. If I was a black political leader, I would point out that they could've put someone more fitting than James, and that this cover perpetuates the myth that the only two ways out of the ghetto is playing ball and rapping. Nike and MTV aren't the only avenues to success...

        Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

        StyleZeitgeist Magazine

        Comment

        • jay
          Member
          • Mar 2008
          • 52

          #5
          Re: Vogues Controversial Cover

          Personally, I found the cover playful and think the media, once again, is make much to do about nothing. LeBron is just a kid and he is acting like a kid on the cover.

          Comment

          • zamb
            Senior Member
            • Nov 2006
            • 5834

            #6
            Re: Vogues Controversial Cover

            [quote user="Faust"]


            So, what do you think, Zam?! Haha, just kidding [66]




            I noticed the cover on the newsstand, and I knew right off the bat that it will stir up some shit. People forget that it's Vogue, and thus absolutely irrelevant in a socio-political context (although I may be wrong here, I don't know). I am sure Ms. Wintour was happy to stir shit up - she's so good at it. I am surprised that this is all they've got. If I was a black political leader, I would point out that they could've put someone more fitting than James, and that this cover perpetuates the myth that the only two ways out of the ghetto is playing ball and rapping. Nike and MTV aren't the only avenues to success...




            [/quote]




            I havent read vogue in years, or any other fashion magazine for that matter ,




            I find them at this point to be utterly irrelevant, at a certain point i become tired of sameness, which most of these magazines seem to be suffering from.




            I did not grow up in the USA, i moved here a fully grown man (23) so the experiences of blacks in america are something i can only understand intellectually. I knew nothing about the Civil Rights movement, Luther, Rosa Parks or any of the Historical and political factsof blacks in america until i moved here. that being said I know racism existI see it everyday, but classismis the closest thing we have in Jamaica.........which can be easily overcome by Good Manners ands Socio-economic advancement




            but yea, the stereotype that is perpetuated is either ball it out or (w)rap it out......... which is the very reason why some of my friends were shocked last week when i said i wanted Barak Obama to win the presidency.... reason being that there needs to be a strong counterforce to the kind of image promoted by James, iverson , JayZ etc.




            i want there to be an elimination of the excuse that we subconsciously buy into in our failure to develop ourselves socially, intellectually and spiritually. while vracism does exist and racial stereotypes are indeed promoted, to a large part of the problem ...............we are our own enemies, the enemy in me.........





            What do you think about the poem?

            “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
            .................................................. .......................


            Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

            Comment

            • Faust
              kitsch killer
              • Sep 2006
              • 37852

              #7
              Re: Vogues Controversial Cover

              I like the poem, Zam. [64] I don't know what Argent-monaie means though.
              Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

              StyleZeitgeist Magazine

              Comment

              • zamb
                Senior Member
                • Nov 2006
                • 5834

                #8
                Re: Vogues Controversial Cover



                [quote user="Faust"]I like the poem, Zam. [64] I don't know what Argent-monaie means though.
                [/quote]




                I wrote the poem Just after i saw your post asking me what i think.




                As i was writing i wanted an interesting way of saying money.........my friend/ assistant Mel (who is french) was next to me so i asked her how to say money in french




                Argent is the general (formal) word and Monaie is the informal (as in coins or change)

                “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
                .................................................. .......................


                Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

                Comment

                • laika
                  moderator
                  • Sep 2006
                  • 3787

                  #9
                  Re: Vogues Controversial Cover



                  argent=money [75]




                  edit: zam, you wrote that!? Hmmm, I need to go see this cover before I comment more.....[51]



                  ...I mean the ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the immutable.

                  Comment

                  • Faust
                    kitsch killer
                    • Sep 2006
                    • 37852

                    #10
                    Re: Vogues Controversial Cover

                    [quote user="laika"]

                    argent=money [75]





                    [/quote]



                    duh! isn't it d'argent?

                    Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                    StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                    Comment

                    • laika
                      moderator
                      • Sep 2006
                      • 3787

                      #11
                      Re: Vogues Controversial Cover



                      lol, sorry Faust, I misunderstood your question. [:$]


                      ...I mean the ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the immutable.

                      Comment

                      • Faust
                        kitsch killer
                        • Sep 2006
                        • 37852

                        #12
                        Re: Vogues Controversial Cover

                        [quote user="laika"]

                        lol, sorry Faust, I misunderstood your question. [:$]




                        [/quote]



                        no, i was duh-ing myself. i was never good at french. i tried one year and college and i can report that i failed completely.

                        Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                        StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                        Comment

                        • zamb
                          Senior Member
                          • Nov 2006
                          • 5834

                          #13
                          Re: Vogues Controversial Cover

                          [quote user="laika"]


                          argent=money [75]




                          edit: zam, you wrote that!? Hmmm, I need to go see this cover before I comment more.....[51]




                          Yes i did, thats one of my other talents, that no one (except a few friends and family members) knows about. I think i have written about 150-200 that i have laying around and stored on my computer. Its not something that i can do and the drop of a hat...............its usually in reaction to something (an experience) that i get an inspiration and then i write.



                          [/quote]
                          “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
                          .................................................. .......................


                          Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

                          Comment

                          • jay
                            Member
                            • Mar 2008
                            • 52

                            #14
                            Re: Vogues Controversial Cover

                            Zamb, very nice. I am a writer myself and found your work beautiful.

                            Comment

                            • sbw4224
                              Senior Member
                              • Sep 2006
                              • 571

                              #15
                              Re: Vogues Controversial Cover

                              Zamb, great poem! I've seen the cover but honestly had no real reaction. Maybe it's just me but all I saw was a model and basketball player, not a black man and a white woman.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X
                              😀
                              🥰
                              🤢
                              😎
                              😡
                              👍
                              👎