Inside the Great Magazines

Irene Angelico and Abbey Neidik's three-part documentary Inside the Great Magazines is a Canadian production focusing overwhelmingly on U.S. consumer publications (the European contribution is acknowledged in the early stages of the first installment, but beyond that the so-called “great magazines” are almost exclusively an American affair). Inside the Great Magazines hits its narrative mark when detailing how magazines helped to propel social change—such as Playboy and the sexual revolution, or Ebony and the Civil Rights movement—and some unexpected sparks fly when Cosmopolitan's Helen Gurley Brown and Ms.'s Gloria Steinem hilariously share unkind thoughts about each other and their respective publications' roles in shaping the feminist movement of the early 1970s. However, the series is much less successful when trying to predict the magazine industry's course in the near future, with the decline (and, in some cases, fall) of many major magazines weirdly spun here as an adventure into new directions instead of a disaster resulting in money-losing publications being forced to cut jobs. In addition, major regional publications and trade magazines are ignored, while developments such as Time's Person of the Year award receives fawning treatment. A mix of insightful history and obvious fluff, Inside the Great Magazines is an optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)