Vanity Fair and The “Colorless” Face of Hollywood

Vanity Fair’s March 2010 issue cover story, “A New Decade, A New Hollywood,” proclaims nine young actresses the new “fresh faces of 2010.”  In ”About Vanity Fair,” the magazine states, “From world affairs to entertainment, business to fashion, crime to society, Vanity Fair is a cultural catalyst that drives the popular dialogue globally.  With its unique mix of narrative journalism, stunning photography, and social commentary, the magazine accelerates ideas and images to the world’s center stage.”

How did Graydon Carter, Editor of Vanity Fair and his staff of editors choose these nine?   Is their message to the world’s center stage, (wherever that may be), that this new decade of Hollywood will reject our wonderfully diverse society of beautiful and talented fresh faces… white, black, Latina, Asian and more?  As a cultural catalyst, how is it possible that Vanity Fair did not wish to include any diversity in their “New Hollywood?”

Is there only one type of actress in New Hollywood?  Does this mean that if you are a beautiful and outstandingly talented young white actress, but more golden in complexion than light honey, that you are stricken from consideration?  Does this mean that if you are Asian, Latina, African American or Native American, with skin tones of cream, bronze, coffee, coffee and cream or olive rather than the palest of rose or blush, that you are rejected?

Is Graydon Carter’s social commentary on behalf of Vanity Fair, and now projected to the entire world, a retro idea rather than an accelerated one?  Is Graydon Carter, a sixty-plus year old man, fantasizing?   Is he an anachronism from the 1950’s?

In driving the popular dialogue globally is Conde Nast, owner of Vanity Fair, complicit in rejecting color and diversity?  Is this a trend that we may see in their other publications, Vogue or Glamour, for example?

As these thoughts were circling through my mind, a list of young actresses also came to mind.

(All bios are from Wikipedia)

Camilla Belle (born October 2, 1986) is an American actress.  Her works include, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, When a Stranger Calls, 10,000 BC and Push.   At age five she was cast as a lead in her first film, NBC’s thriller, Trapped Beneath the Earth.  Belle began her career with a small role in the film production of the novel, A Little Princess, starring Liesel Matthews.  Her first lead role was in Rip Girls in 2000, a Disney Channel original movie.  She returned performing after a short break with the lead role in the remake of When A Stranger Calls.  Her next role was in the feature film 10,000 BC, directed by Roland Emmerich, a film about prehistoric humans.  Belle’s next big release was playing the role of Kira Hollis in Push, a sci-fi thriller involving a group of super-powered youths, hiding from a clandestine U.S. government agency.

Lauren Keyana “Keke” Palmer (born August 26, 1993) is an American teen actress and singer who rose to fame for her performance in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee.  She currently stars as the title character True Jackson on the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP. Palmer is pursuing a career in singing.  She participated in the 2003 American Juniors and American Idol spin-off, but the show was canceled before her appearance.  Palmer signed a record deal with Atlantic Records.  Her debut single, “All My Girlz,” is featured on the Akeelah and the Bee soundtrack.  In addition, as part of her contract with Disney, Palmer sang the songs “It’s My Turn Now” and “Jumpin’” featured in the DCOM Jump In!, in which she stars as Mary, love interest to Corbin Bleu.  The theme song for True Jackson, VP is also performed by her.  In 2007, Palmer re-recorded the song “True to Your Heart” (from Disney’s Mulan) for the DisneyMania 5 CD and in 2008 re-recorded the song Reflection, (also from Mulan) for the DisneyMania 6 CD.

Lacey Nicole Chabert (born September 30, 1982) is an American actress and vocal performer, best known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls.  She has also become famous for providing the voice of Eliza Thornberry in The Wild Thornberrys TV show and two feature films, as well as Meg Griffin during the first production season of the animated sitcom Family Guy.  Chabert made her start as young Cosette in Les Misérables on Broadway.  She gained fame for her portrayal of Penny Robinson in the 1998 Lost in Space (film), based on the 1960s television show.  Chabert played in Hometown Legend as Rachel Sawyer.  Since 1998, she has been the voice of Eliza Thornberry in the animated series The Wild Thornberrys and has voiced Eliza in two movies, The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) and Rugrats Go Wild! (2003).  She provided the voice of Meg Griffin for the first production season of the animated sitcom Family Guy (1999), after which Mila Kunis took over the role.  Chabert played the title role in The Brooke Ellison Story, a made-for-TV movie produced by Christopher Reeve, based upon a real-life quadriplegic woman who overcame many obstacles to graduate from Harvard.  She starred in Mean Girls (2004) and the made for TV movie Hello Sister, Goodbye Life (2006) on ABC Family. Chabert won the 2005 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team for Mean Girls, shared with Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, and Amanda Seyfried.

Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American actress and singer best known for her portrayal of Alex Russo on the Emmy Award winning Disney Channel Original Series, Wizards of Waverly Place.  She has starred in the television movies, Another Cinderella Story and Princess Protection Program.  Before Disney, she had one of the kid roles on Barney & Friends.  In 2008, she signed a record deal with Hollywood Records and contributed to the Tinker Bell, Another Cinderella Story and Wizards of Waverly Place soundtracks.  Her band, Selena Gomez & the Scene, released their debut studio album Kiss & Tell on September 29, 2009.

Freida Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress and professional model, best known for her performance as Latika in her debut film Slumdog Millionaire, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2009.  Pinto won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.  Before starring in Slumdog Millionaire, Pinto anchored the international travel show, Full Circle, on Zee International Asia Pacific in English between 2006-08.  Pinto was also featured in several television and print advertisements for products such as Wrigley’s Chewing Gum, Škoda, Vodafone India, Airtel, and DeBeers.  Pinto modeled for four years and appeared in runway shows and magazine covers.  Pinto herself was nominated for “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” at the 2009 BAFTA Awards and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture alongside other cast members from Slumdog Millionaire.

Camille Winbush (born February 9, 1990) is an American actress.  Her work in television has earned her three Image Awards and a Young Artist Award.  Winbush was born in Culver City, California.  Her credits include a role in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and an appearance in Eraser.  Additionally, she had a recurring role on 7th Heaven and roles on Criminal Minds, That’s Life, The Norm Show, NYPD Blue and Any Day Now.  She also guest starred in Disney’s musical production of Geppetto.  She got her big break playing the role of Vanessa “Nessa” Thomkins on The Bernie Mac Show.  During her run on the show Winbush earned numerous award nominations for her role, winning three NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actress.  In 2007, she appeared in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

Katie Liu Leung (born 8 August 1987) is a Scottish actress, best known for playing Cho Chang in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  Leung’s father saw an advertisement for a Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire casting call and suggested she should try out.  She waited four hours in line for a five-minute audition and said that she would rather be shopping than stand in line for a role she was almost certain she wouldn’t get.  Two weeks later, she was called back for a workshop and was cast as Cho Chang, in the process beating out over 4,500 other girls for the part, among them actresses Courtney Webb and Michelle Ang.  She stated in an interview with the Daily Record that her Scottish accent probably gave her an edge in the casting.  She appeared in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in which she and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) shared an on-screen kiss that received much media coverage.

Jennifer Nicole Freeman (born October 20, 1985) is an American actress.  She was born in Los Angeles, California.  Freeman is best known for playing the role of Claire Kyle in the ABC sitcom My Wife and Kids.  She has also made guest appearances on television (such as the shows 7th Heaven, Switched, One on One, and The OC). She is a spokesmodel for the Neutrogena skin care products company.  Jennifer’s television credits include My Wife and Kids, 7th Heaven, One on One, All That, Lizzie McGuire, Disney’s Even Stevens and Disney Movie Surfers.  Her movie credits include a feature role in Johnson Family Vacation and You Got Served & Mercy Street.  She also appeared in the movies The Seventies and the independent film The Visit.  Her stage credits include the Los Angeles-area productions of The Wiz, in which she played Dorothy, and Billa in The Gift.  Jennifer began a nationwide print and television campaign as one of “the young fresh faces” of Neutrogena.  In 2002 TV Guide named her as one of the Top 10 Hot Teens to watch.

Milena “Mila” Kunis (August 14, 1983) is an American actress.  Her television work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on That ’70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy.  She has also played roles in film, such as Rachel Jansen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Solara in The Book of Eli.  At age nine, Kunis took acting classes after school at the Beverly Hills Studios, where she met her first and current manager Susan Curtis.  She began appearing in print-ads, catalogues and TV commercials for children’s products like Lisa Frank products, Mattel’s Barbie, and Payless Shoes.  She also modeled for a Guess girls’ clothing campaign.  Her first TV role was as the young Hope Williams on an episode of the popular soap opera Days of our Lives.  She had a minor role on 7th Heaven as Lucy’s nemesis and supporting roles in Santa with Muscles, Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves and the Angelina Jolie film Gia, as Gia Carangi’s younger self, prior to her breakthrough role on That ’70s Show.

Then, I asked myself, were these actresses “unavailable” to be featured in Vanity Fair?

It’s very hard for me to imagine that a young up and coming actress would turn down such a wonderful opportunity to be in such a large publication as Vanity Fair. Maybe it’s possible that one or two actresses would turn down such a great opportunity, however, it’s highly unlikely.

Then I thought, maybe the photographer, Annie Leibovitz, had an asthetic design in mind for the photo shoot.  But, then shouldn’t the editor have stepped in to say her vision wasn’t a fair representation of “Young Hollywood”?

At a time when Vanity Fair lost 32% of it’s ad pages, shouldn’t it’s editor be more concerned about the impact that such a cover story could have on it’s audience?  How many people read magazines with the expectation of feeling represented?  And, how many people did Vanity Fair abandon by this article?

With such a power publishing house as Conde Nast feeling the economic crunch as it continues to close national titles, Vanity Fair owes more to it’s audience and to it’s publisher.  This march cover story fails to put the best effort forward by failing to give a fair and accurate picture of “Young Hollywood” today.

Maybe they were looking for a bit of controversy to boost sales.  But, what about integrity?  In a time when our society is finally building together to recognize talent aside from skin color, this publication that many young women and teens read has the responsibility to make sure every face has an opportunity to be seen.  It’s lazy and shameful that Vanity fair with it’s unlimited resources did not even attempt to show the true “Face of Young Hollywood.”

They missed a great opportunity to show that in this “New Decade,” inclusion is key.

Tags: Annie Leibovitz, Camilla Belle, Camille Winbush, Conde Nast, Freida Pinto, Graydon Carter, Jennifer Nicole Freeman, Katie Liu Leung, Lacey Nicole Chabert, Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer, Milena "Mila" Kunis, Selena Marie Gomez, Vanity Fair, Young Hollywood

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 12:04 am and is filed under Entertainment, Fashion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.