Review of The September Issue (2009) by Magnus X — 12 Mar 2010

2009 seemed to be a banner year for both animation and documentaries. It was only a few years back when I lamented the idea of watching a documentary because they used to be stiff, depressing, boring or suprisingly uninspired.

Today is a different story because we have docs for almost anything and everything (Donkey Kong masters, Mike Tyson, capitalistic greed etc.). The September Issue is a documentary about The Devil Wears Prada's Editor-in-chief-inspired character who was played by Meryl Streep, Anna Wintour.

It is also a chance to see the September issue of Vogue (the self-proclaimed Bible of the Fashion World) get pieced together. September is the largest issue of the year at Vogue because it is fashion's new year in a sense and it highlights and sets the tone for what the world WILL soon be seeing.

Fashion was handled better and more beautifully this year in the other documentary, Valentino: the Last Emperor; but The September Issue is an interesting study and an example of what some might consider the failing of the fashion world.

Wintour is quick to point out that those who follow fashion are quickly mocked and ridiculed because other people are "afraid" of fashion and/or we (I'll place myself in that category) "don't understand it".

To me -- there is nothing to "not understand" about it as it is relatively straight-forward and clothes are clothes. The "problem" isn't with the everyday person -- it is with the select few elite who created a "fashion bible" in the first place (to make themselves important to the world).

They are setting themselves apart: in general, if one doesn't "follow" the Christian Bible, they are on the outs and this is EXACTLY what this group has done -- the rest of the world who doesn't follow or care-for this "bible" are cast-out as sinners with doomed souls wearing unimportant, bad clothing .

The problem within the fashion industry is this better-than-though attitude of judging EVERYONE ELSE (oftentimes based on a single label be it Vera Wang, Levis, Hugo Boss etc.). Wintour has even been praised for putting fur back onto the cover of Vogue making it "socially acceptable" to wear again (!) .

.. but I asked "socially acceptable by whom?" and I was never answered. There are a select few who have decided that they should be the be-all, tell-all voices of The Fashion World (see -- they have even made their own world that the rest of us can live in as long as we acknowledge that these few KNOW more and their opinions are more important than our own) and this documentary is about one of them -- Ms.

Anna Wintour. I'm sorry -- but I am unimpressed with her because she has opinions just like any of us ... but she says her opinion matters more and therefore they do (... IN the World of Fashion!!!); but we live HERE! I love clothing and think fashion is most intriguing; but I'm grounded in reality -- the REAL world, where clothes serve a purpose.

It (the purpose) isn't making one better than the next because it was expensive or because Ms. Wintour said something was fashionable. Saying all of this -- and calling her out -- doesn't mean I disliked this documentary -- it just shed some very bright lights on HER world.