People

This New York based magazine features articles that discuss the personal lives of celebrities. It is one of the best-selling magazines in the world, and for the past four decades it has showcased hundreds of film stars, political figures, performers and musicians. Articles in each issue often discuss the latest fashions, music and movie reviews, stories of ordinary people who faced extraordinary obstacles and celebrity news and sightings. In the early 21st century, the magazine had little competition, because it earned the consumers trust as being a reliable source that publishes the true stories of celebrities and high-profile political figures.

People  magazine was mentioned in Lindner's Jane, when Julie Draper questioned Jane Moore about whether she followed up on any celebrity news in general, by reading gossip magazines such as the National Enquirer, Us and People (p. 5, Lindner). Draper included People as being amongst the other gossip magazines circulating in today's society, possibly because she has been blinded over time from the polarizing nature of these print media sources, in that it is hard to separate a reliable source of pop-culture news from one that is not. People's job is to pursue celebrities, even if that means invading their personal space. Draper could have assumed that because their job description is basically the same as any gossip magazine, then that makes them one as well. She could have seen them as being more so after the 'hunt' of the celebrity and their story first and foremost, rather than the truth about the celebrity. In Bronte's Jane Eyre, well-off and high-profile land owners like Rochester, never had to be concerned about being pursued or having their space invaded by media outlets, as Rathburn has in the contemporary setting of Jane. Being in the spotlight for the world to see, is one of the few benefits people in Rochester's position had in the Victorian Era, unlike today, where celebrity stories are both constant and polarizing for high-profile figures.

Bibliography

Lindner, April. Jane. Poppy: Hachette Book Group Inc., 2010.

Information Source: "People." britannica.com. Britannica Encyclopaedia. 6 Sept. 2017. Web. Date Accessed, 30 Oct. 2019.https://www.britannica.com/topic/People-magazine

Image Source: https://people.com/archive/cover-story-a-modern-president-vol-2-no-27/

Associated Place(s)

Event date:

1974