Personal or Promotional?

E.B. Boyd ’89 deserves praise for quoting a wide variety of sources in her interview of Brooke Shields ’87 (“Now What?,” November issue). And Ms. Shields certainly has shown courage in maturing beyond the limited image that was marketed by her mother, various agents, etc.

But to paraphrase the question Ms. Boyd quotes at the end of her first paragraph: “If you write this article, what will you not have done?” One answer: Name the interviewee’s children and their father. In contrast, “self” appears 18 times in the article.

Another answer: Describe the downside of Teri’s aggressive promotion that was noted in the press at the time, but now merits only a passing “deeply flawed parent” comment amidst several plaudits about her that seem like airbrushed nostalgia.

Admirable as the alumna’s dedication to her new direction is, I can’t avoid the feeling that this is a promotional interview intended as a repackaging of celebrity status.