LIFE Without Words

Life Magazine has been around nearly as long as I have. Since that is a looong time, there must be something special about this magazine. Over these many years, I have at times subscribed to it. When not reading it as a subscriber, I would pick up various copies of it when they were doing special topics on special subjects. I always picked up the year end copy which shows the year in review. I have yet to be disappointed in the quality of the magazine and its integrity in subject matter.

To try to describe Life in words is clearly an oxymoron. Life Magazine is not about words. It is a picture of life at its best and at its worst. It is about emotions. The emotions that the pictures can invoke in the reader. It is telling about a subject without using written language. It proves that, "a picture is worth a thousand words."

This month's format is the same kind of format that Life always uses. The format remains the same, but the subjects of the pictures vary from month to month. Life is, after all, a continuous circle of people, animals, love, hate, bigotry, ugliness, tragedy, triumph, and miracles that happen to people and countries throughout the world. The world is the canvas for Life.

Found within these pages are children in Uganda; tornadoes in Texas; squirrels and kittens nursing from a dog in Illinois; smoke bombs in Bulgaria; and Hope and Hard Times in Indonesia. These are just a few examples of the fine photographs that mirror life everywhere.

Some of the feature articles are done in depth. Pictures that display a happening in progress. This month it is entitled, "Saving Jason," and is a pictorial of a baby in the neonatal intensive care ward of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The pictures are moving; the written accompaniment factual and brief. The whole emphasis of Life Magazine is to allow the pictures to tell the story.

Some of the best pictures are the random shots of people and animals. The Vanishing Wild article shows Polar Bear Cubs; Penguins; Walrus'; Macaws; and a wonderfully snow covered Bison. The people shots this month are all done in black and white which allows time and expression to shine through.

My favorite monthly feature is entitled, "Then and Now." It highlights a person that has formerly appeared in a past issue of the magazine. This month is about a Vietnamese girl named Tron. She first appeared in the magazine in 1967 in a feature about the war. This article shows the cover from 1967 with Tron on it; and then a full page picture of Tron today. The article that accompanies the picture tells what happened after she appeared in Life Magazine and what she's doing today.

Is there anything that I don't like about Life Magazine? Two things about the magazine make it less than perfect (although still 5 stars). One, is that there is an overabundance of advertisements throughout and in cumbersome locations. The magazine would be so much more effective if there wasn't an ad between every page. I'd love to see them concentrated in the front and/or back so they don't interfere with the flow of feelings, as one picture leads to the next. I personally would still look at them because the the advertiser's pictures for the ads they put in this magazine vie in photographic excellence with the photos found in Life. The advertisements themselves are photographically interesting and pleasing. I just hate that they interrupt the pictorial flow of the magazine. Secondly, I would love it if Life went back to the oversized magazine it used to be. It wasn't as practical as this normal size magazine, but the pictures whacked a bigger punch when they were oversized. The larger size might not fit into my magazine rack, but it was perfect for the coffee table.

Life Magazine is one that offers pictures and reviews that are interesting to all ages. Although I am a lover of words, this magazine does what it always has done, tell about LIFE using quality photographs that stir the senses in a way that words cannot convey.