Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell's Swimsuit Issue

Some debates are, seemingly, doomed to go on without ultimate resolution. The question of female “objectification” versus “empowerment”—in both the general context and the specific context of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue—looks like one of those debates. This documentary makes some attempts at exploring the subject, with the usual nods to those who object to the various targets for criticism—the SI issue primary among them—as well as the standard declarations about agency and women in control and fighting against male domination…it all gets its piece of the action in this film. But given that the chief subject of the movie is the life and work of Jule Campbell, the woman primarily responsible for the iconic publication, you know going in which side of the debate the filmmakers are on, so you don’t expect to see anything that would convince you of the exploitation argument. Yet, the rationales presented by the empowerment side ring hollow and too self-contained here, as they always do. A complicating factor with this forum for the debate is that this movie is as much a biography of Campbell and her work as it is a history of the swimsuit issue’s concept and cultural impact. This means that there are many mitigating elements in the flow of the film’s narrative that focus much more on Campbell’s life arc, from working editor to elderly and fragile retiree, including many touching moments between her and her family, friends and the models she worked with, most of whom seem to have adored her. It’s hard to pass any significant judgments on larger issues when you wish to honor the personal story of such an individual. So there are few answers to be had here for any who wish to draw conclusions about the right and wrong of the issue (in multiple senses of that word). Personally, I grew up looking at the SI swimsuit issue, and I believe it is both an obvious bit of softcore and a perfectly reasonable part of the publishing industry. (Or it was before what one wag referred to as “the war on boners” started.) Puritanism is rarely an effective reaction to human animal realities, while babbling about how women feel about their presentation exclusive of the reactions to said presentation—as if it all happens in a vacuum where the titular male gaze never falls, or can be nullified by sheer will—is equally quixotic. Maybe, then, the personal thread in this doc is the true answer: just focus on an individual, or on all individuals, whatever their context, and perhaps you can and will do right by them. That would be a fine legacy for the now-departed Ms. Campbell (who passed in 2022), or for anyone else for that matter. Picture that, why not?