At the time their marriage made sense. Both were considered stars in their own right. Jennifer was burning bright with Emmy wins and "Friends" still being relevant. Brad was about to explode on the heels of Fight Club. Their romance (initiated through their agents much like TomKat) had been photographed at concerts and wandering around Italy. Seriously, I remember these things because it was big news at the time. They were anointed as the new Hollywood golden couple.
But that was 10 years ago! And, more importantly, it has been five years since it ended. Now Brad is the mega-watt star who continues to participate in an interesting mix of successful cinematic adventures. Jennifer is a sitcom has-been who hasn't been able to harness any true big screen power.
Which brings me to something that has been driving me crazy for a couple of months. I vent about it more than I should. My boyfriend can probably quote my ranting verbatim by now. All over Toronto there are these advertisements for SMART water featuring Jennifer Aniston.
They are ALL over bus shelters. They are on building side billboards. They are in the display windows of the freakin' Fairmont Royal York! They are everywhere. And it is driving me crazy because I do not understand WHY? Why Jennifer Aniston? What has she ever done to ensure such continued adoration from the public at large? Why do people love Jennifer Aniston? More importantly, why do women love Jennifer Aniston? And why do the marketing people at SMART water think (know?) that women love her so much that she will make us buy water?And then I remember. Ten years ago she married Brad Pitt. Ten years ago the picture below was released to the world and women (especially women in their 30s/40s) have never forgotten it.
This picture is a fairy-tale. This picture is the epitome of romantic notions brought to life. It is "le sigh". And then Brad Pitt tore this picture in half and the women of the world felt their hearts break, just a little bit. Jennifer Aniston is riding along the trail of those broken heart fragments. As long as those splinters remain in the memories of the public her celebrity will have traction. Traction to sell us water. Traction to sell us perfume named after, well, HER.But remember, Jennifer Aniston was not dumped by a skirt-chasing playboy. She was not duped into marrying a man with no integrity. She was not cast-aside for a younger, mindless playmate. While Brad Pitt did move on to a younger woman, I wager the age aspect was not the incentive. Instead, he left one relationship to partake of one that would give him children, worldly experiences and philanthropic meaning. These things he did not have with Jennifer Aniston who staunchly delayed having children (hell, maybe she doesn't want them people!), remains solidly in the USA and has no discernible profile for engagement in world affairs or charities. That is all fine with me. She doesn't have to DO those things. But I take exception to the notion that she deserves sympathy (thus, celebrity power) for her divorce when clearly there are some compatibility differences because Brad Pitt is DOING those things.
And so I have no love for Jennifer Aniston. In fact, I am almost insulted that she continues to be a presence in our celebrity culture and positioned as a 'woman to emulate' in the marketing sphere. I have never seen any strong talent, wit, presence or public contribution from her. She remains, to me, a C-level actress who is widely known for having an amazing body at 40. Well, yay for her! But who cares?
2 comments:
I am one of those Jennifer Aniston-loving women! :) I really like some of the movies she's done. I think she's failed when she's tried to do mega-hollywood movies, but I loved her in Office Space, Friends With Money, and The Good Girl. I think women like her because she seems like someone you could hang out with, whereas I would probably not want to hang out with Angelina Jolie. Though I don't think I've ever seen a movie with Angelina Jolie in it (Oh, wait, I think she was in Foxfire! I saw that!) so maybe if I saw more of her movies I'd feel differently.
Hi Raye,
I just read this blog post. I had seen the ads in GQ for the last few months. I thought it was either Jennifer Aniston or that chick from The Biggest Loser. They look exactly the same in the GQ ad, thanks for finally clearing this up! I guess I also thought the Biggest Loser woman would make more sense because she likely has some athletic ability, but I never watched that show. I'm just lame, I don't watch much TV or movies, and I drink tap water.
Peter L.
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