Societies’ cultures are constantly evolving, and people of different generations tend to embrace new values and beliefs. Publications such as magazines and newspapers always reflect the current state of the culture. Moreover, practically all elements contained in a magazine are defined by the current times and created to be relevant for the reader. Cosmopolitan, a notable women’s magazine, has been in existence for more than a century, and it is interesting to compare its issues from 1954 and 2005 to see cultural differences.
The first aspect of the publications which is worth analyzing is the coverage, namely, the stories and articles featured in the magazine issues. In the issue from February of 1954, the topics of the articles are quite reserved and mostly concern biographies of celebrities, short stories, and diet advice (Parsons, 1954). For instance, there is also an article called “Fantastic Florida,” which talks about the main attractions of the state in which readers can be interested (Kobler, 1954). Overall, the publication reflects the cultural norms of the period before the sexual revolution of the 1960s and does not contain any provocative content. Compared to the 1954 issue, the one from February of 2005 has articles that mostly concern the topics of sexual behavior and relationships, as well as gossip. For example, there is an article that contains men’s confessions about their “dirtiest deeds” (“Guy confessions,” 2005, p. 48). The issue from 2005 also has many articles about men and how to build better relationships, including the article “What his mouth moves reveal” (Trench, 2005, p. 72). Thus, based on the analysis, a shift can be observed from general topics such as celebrities in 1954 towards more sexually explicit content in 2005.
It is also interesting to assess the differences between the two issues in terms of the writing style adhered to by the authors of the articles. The 1954 issue once again reflects the modest cultural norms of the period and mostly utilizes formal language. There is no explicit wording, and the general tone of the publication is rather neutral. The language of the 2005 publications is to a considerable extent different than that of the 1954 issue. The first quality of the writing style is that it is highly informal and almost conversational. For instance, the authors use words such as “butt,” “porn,” and provocative wording such as “lust-bust” (“Guy confessions,” 2005, p. 48). It is possible to assume that by using informal words, the writers wanted to create a casual atmosphere for the publication and to overcome a barrier between the magazine and the reader. Thus, the analysis demonstrates that over the fifty years, the writing style in Cosmopolitan has changed significantly.
Additionally, the visual arrangement is a crucial part of magazines, and in Cosmopolitan, the visual content has also seen notable changes. The first difference between the two issues of the magazine is that the 1954 version is predominantly black-and-white, while the 2005 issue is colorful. In terms of the images used in the magazine, the 1954 issue has many photos of celebrities, who are nevertheless modestly dressed. The 2005 issue has many photos of scantily dressed people, including a topless man (“Men in bed,” 2005, p. 40). The difference between the two publications highlights how people approached the question of a person’s nudity in public in the 1950s and the early 2000s. Moreover, unlike the 2005 issue, the one from 1954 has a variety of art and drawings. The 2005 issue also has many photos of people openly demonstrating their romantic relationships, which is absent in the 1954 issue. The analysis of the visual content once again shows that during the two periods, people had different perceptions shaped by their cultural values.
Finally, advertising plays a major role in magazines such as Cosmopolitan, and some differences can be observed when comparing the two issues. First of all, the 2005 issue has more advertisements in general, which, nevertheless, can be explained by the fact that it contains more pages. The notable aspect of the 1954 issue is that it contains many book advertisements offering readers to get subscriptions (“Fine Editions Club,” 1954). Such advertisements are absent in the 2005 issue, which, at the same time, has many cosmetics brands, including L’Oreal and Max Factor, and those selling products for men. While there are cosmetics advertisements in the 1954 issue, they are not as common as in the more modern issue. At the same time, the 2005 issue does not have any advertisements of alcoholic beverages, of which there are several in the 1954 issue (“W. A. Taylor,” 1954). The modern readers of Cosmopolitan may be younger than the primary audience of the 1954 issue; therefore, alcohol brands no longer advertise their products in magazines.
The analysis of issues of Cosmopolitan magazines from different periods, namely the 1950s and the 2000s, shows that there has been a considerable cultural shift. In the 1954 issue, the language usually had a neutral tone, and the topics featured in the articles concerned the biographies of celebrities and short stories. The 2005 issue’s predominant content is stories about the sexual behavior of people and gossip. Overall, the assessment of the issues indicates that the cultural values reflected in the 1954 magazine were more modest than those in the 2005 issue.
References
Fine Editions Club. (1954). Cosmopolitan, 136, 9.
Guy confessions. (2005). Cosmopolitan, 238, 48.
Kobler, J. (1954). Fantastic Florida. Cosmopolitan, 136, 14.
Men in bed. (2005). Cosmopolitan, 238, 40.
Parsons. L. (1954). Hollywood’s nicest star. Cosmopolitan, 136, 10.
Trench, B. (2005). What his mouth moves reveal. Cosmopolitan, 238, 72
W. A. Taylor & Company. (1954). Cosmopolitan, 136, 67.