Magazines at the checkout

As I look around the checkout at my local Safeway I see lots of things trying to lure me in. For me it's the chocolate and the millions of new types of gum that tempt me. Even though I know that the next new minty cooling gum is just peppermint with methyl salicylate or menthol to make my mouth feel cold, I still pick up a package for yet another disappointment. I know that for others temptation falls in the news section or as I call it "tabloid row". All of the headlines stare me in the face shouting unspeakable truths! OH NO! Bradgelina is breaking up and he's talking to Jen! OHHH! Snookie caught a beatdown! What? Tiger partyed in Vegas with strippers and got laid? Really? He is a pro athlete. Here's a pic I found of one of those girls riding him. And finally, The TERRORISTS are trying to destroy America and don't forget about the health care nightmare! I get it. It works, and well. Even though I don't care about any of these things (well...maybe the Tiger thing is worth peaking at) I find myself reaching out to open one up. To no surprise, I find myself slapped in the face with a barrage of articles, ads, pictures, and headlines! What do I learn from all of these things? Nothing important. It all tells me how to dress, who's got more money than whom, who is violating social norms, who got drunk, who did drugs, who to vote for, who cheated, who's in jail, etc. All of this really just adds up to one thing. Consciously or subconsciously all of this is simply telling me what to buy now and what I can expect to be buying later. That's it. All of these things are messages by one company or another setting our trends and telling us how to think so that they can sell us a product whether tangible or intangible. In the end I feel that it is really kind of sad but in this monetary world there seems to be only one way to get your voice heard and it involves money in one form or another. What I find funny about it all is that it is all just hearsay and gossip. Do we really know what is going on with Tiger, or Jay Leno (I'm with Coco), or Brad and Angie? I know I'm not them. None the less it is OK to make claims on magazines to millions and if it makes their life difficult...oh well...they're celebrities right? I have a hard time believing anything I see in news or on magazines these days. With 4 major corporations owning all major media outlets I have to believe that the news especially is skewed in favor of whomever will benefit that news source the most. That however is a much more in depth conversation. Back to the issue at hand. As I look at the pictures in these magazines I see women portrayed as fit little models of perfection and then criticized for it. I also see women that don't fit that perfect mold criticized for being overweight and then praised for it. Well....Which way are they supposed to be (fit in the mold or be independent and just live their lives)? http://www.tonawanda-news.com/opinion/local_story_321095159.html?keyword=topstory Everything in these periodicals seems to be trying to break up our image of ourselves so that we can spend our money building a new self esteem just to have it broken down in next months issue. As far as the actual news magazines go, I'll say this... I've seen our news here and seen the same stories covered in other parts of the world and we don't ever get the whole story. We all know it but I think we need to be reminded of it more often. As I listen to people gossip about what's going on in the country (based on what they read in the paper or saw on TV) I kind of laugh to myself and think, do you really believe that's what really happened? It very well may be but more often than not.... As far as magazines standing out though, I must say that the gossip mags are the most colorful and always have funny grabbing headlines. I only think that in the end we will probably be worse off if the masses rely on all of this entertainment as news and news as knowledge. I guess at least we'll always have music!