I chose to review Life magazine. The date was December 16, 1957. As the issue right before Christmas, the cover donned a statue of Mary and baby Jesus by Michelangelo. Today, it is less common for magazine to publicize Christmas that much since there are people of many other religions that don’t celebrate it and become offended by its popularity. I also noticed that there were a lot more “letters to the editors” at this time than there are today. This may reflect the way the media seems to care less about what the people think, and instead tries to dictate what people think. They had a “speaking of pictures” section, and in this issue you had to try to match dogs’ noses and imprints. I have never seen anything like that before, and I found it kind of funny.
There was also a big section on missiles. The first part described the grave disappointment felt after the launching of the nation’s first satellite resulting into a burst of flames just seven seconds in the air. At a time when the United States’ technological reputation was low after the domination of Russia, the event proved to be quite humiliating. Afterwards, it depicted various clubs and schools where youth were launching rockets. In some pictures, the boys looked very young. Today, safety and rules are a big part in our school, so I know that launching rockets of this scale would not be allowed today.
In London, a train crashed due to heavy fog. Right before the holidays, I found this very sad to hear that 90 people died. Today, we tend to take advantage of the fact that we make it safe during basic parts of our day like driving a car, riding a train etc. Today technology is better, so the risks associated with those things are smaller, but still prevalent.
The advertisements that seemed to show the most holiday spirit were the ones with alcohol. I found this fitting, as this is a common part of holiday festivities. The second most popular advertisement was for camera light bulbs or cameras in general. Extremely large compared to the cameras today, the main selling point was Christmas morning pictures.
Soviet science was once again mentioned in the magazine. As an American at this time, it must have been intimidating hearing about all of the progress Russia was making. Even today, we hear about all of the progress China is making, and it naturally makes us uneasy. Many Americans take pride in living in the best country, a world power. When other countries are catching up or excelling more than we are, it might not be a good thing, if positive intentions are not there. The section on Russian science was extremely long compared to other articles or topics.
Many advertisements included Santa Claus. With the lack of the internet, magazines were a big part of the advertising world. After the December 16th issue, there was a special 2-in-one issue for December 23, 1957, where Christmas was even more a part of the advertising. The double issue topic was “America’s world abroad.” The main idea for advertisements in this section included advertisements about accessories for a holiday party.
One article I found interesting was an article on the nation’s commitments all around the earth. Within this, a table with government spending for military and non-military, plus loans and investments, to various countries around the world were configured. I found this so interesting because today, our magazines don’t just map everything out so easily like that. I assume that I would struggle to find a table with last year’s spending on foreign countries. This may be a result of again the media today, and the government control of it. I think more people should question the things that are going on around us, and especially question the people in power. When information is less hard to find, we should be speculative about why that is.
I saw and advertisement for Singer sewing, which I have heard of, especially since that brand is still around today. I find it interesting how certain brands are unable to make it in the business world, while others have been leading products for years. The differences between the two always spark my curiosity, especially since I am a business major.
In part of the America abroad section, one family moved from Little Rock, Arkansas to a small city in India. The differences in life there were highlighted by pictures, and stories of how each member of the household had a changed life. I found it interesting that four servants were in the house, and how the children adjusted to being in a different country, with different food, culture, etc. The global aspect of the whole magazine highlighted the increasing awareness of other countries, and how they too are making an impact in the world, whether through increased science or business practices.
Overall, the magazine did tailor to the spirit of Christmas in its advertisements. However, the articles gave a completely different mood as topics such as increased Russian power, American identity, the opinion of other countries on America, etc. The special section of Americans abroad signified the existence of increased global awareness.
Hi Liz, Thanks for the interesting blog posts. I am really grateful for your kindness and sensitivity with Ibrahim, especially in light of his negative experiences and impressions. Your thoughtfulness is extremely helpful in giving him stronger, more positive impressions. And I am sure he is equally grateful--and learning a lot. I thought your response above was also quite interesting. Since the Cold War was raging, no wonder there was worry about Russian power and technology. I thought your comment about letters to the editor was really interesting. Maybe today there really is less of an interest in hearing what readers and consumers thinks. Good work. dw
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