Day 11: Cover Stories

This cover, of the magazine Esquire, prominently features George Clooney in black and white, surrounded by various article blurbs.  The use of a black and white theme lends a sort of simplicity to the cover, the sole content is text and the image of Clooney, on a pure and pristine white background.  To add a bit, or a lot, of 'pop' to Clooney's image, the designers of the cover have slanted the text into Clooney's image and subtly made the image appear in front of the text.  The use of the title 'George', also pulls the reader into the story by prompting the readers recognition of the next part of his name: 'Clooney'.  Esquire, just as on its cover, treats the subject 'Clooney' upfront and in a unique manner.  The theme of the article is that Clooney will hit the internet to find out a little more about himself, from the perspective of people that mostly don't know him.  It is an interesting parallel that the article is about the the man George Clooney getting to know the public figure George Clooney, thereby providing an interesting aspect to view the man himself; just as in the cover, the 'image' of Clooney is front and center in the article. To get an even more self reflective view of a man regarded as image-conscious and reflective in the first place, just interview him reflecting on himself.  For instance when speaking of the dangers of an upcoming trip to the, "highly unstable capital of Sudan, Khartoum," he mentions that the preparation for that trip is one of those instances that makes one think, "I have a really nice house in Italy, do I really want to..."  Speaking of a negative comment he made in 2003 Clooney remarked, "That was 2003? Gee, gosh, I was wrong about that. Bush turned out to be really great at all this."  It seems that a snapshot of Clooney the man reflecting on Clooney the figure can be a great way to get to the humorous, sincere, and humble personality that an image cannot convey.