Welcome to Icons Part 3: When an Icon Fades

This past week we lost a major icon in the music industry, Chester Bennington. Linkin Park was one of my favorite bands in the 2000s. I loved singing along whenever one of their songs popped up on the radio station (DC 101.1 was all I listened to back then). His music spoke the angsty teenager that I was. Hearing about his death was tough and I might have played nothing but Linkin Park for the past few days.

Within minutes of people hearing about Chester Bennington's death, people were posting on social media how his music changed their lives. Some people posted about how Linkin Park's music helped them get through the worst parts of their lives. Others mentioned how his work inspired them at a time when their lives felt directionless.

We've recently lost a lot of iconic people. Not just musicians, but also actors, models, authors, and political activists. Some lived long full lives, while others passed away after a long battle with illness, and a few lost their lives in tragic accidents. When someone who is iconic dies, people will stop whatever they are doing and type out a message on social media, telling everyone what this person meant to their lives, even though many times they've never actually met.

Iconic people are able to touch so many lives with their work. They can seem so much larger than life, that when we loose them, we fell like we are loosing a part of ourselves. I know people who still mourn the death of Robin Williams and will post tributes to him on his birthday (heck I've been known to cry while watching his older movies).

The first major iconic death that I was aware of was when Princess Diana died. At the time, I had no idea who she was, what she stood for, or why so many people loved her. I only knew about her death because my mom started crying when she heard the news. Back then, I didn't understand why my mom would cry because someone she had never met died. Clearly she meant something to my mom, but it wasn't like they were friends. I'm older now and, hopefully, a wise enough to understand that just because you don't know someone personally doesn't mean they can't touch your lives in a positive way.

Princess Diana meant a lot to many people, as did Prince, and Alan Rickman, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, and David Bowie. I could name hundreds of iconic people whom we have lost in the past ten years. Each one helping to shape and influence people they might never have met.

Icons mean something and can represent anything. They can appear out of no where and occasionally fade just as quickly. They inspire us. They influence us. They can change our lives. When an iconic person dies, we mourn them and celebrate their lives. We remember the amazing things they have done and why we had such strong emotions for them.

Death is tragic, even if it is inevitable. When a person dies, they don't just fade away from our collective conscious. We remember them and tell their stories to the next generation.

Thank you for reading. Until next week.

Welcome to the Iconic Part 2: The Cartoon Icons of my Childhood

When I asked on Twitter what people found to be "iconic", the one response I got was about classic cartoons. I then did a Google search for "iconic cartoons" and every image that popped up I recognized. From Homer Simpson and SpongeBob SquarePants to Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Scooby Doo, there was a wide variety of cartoon characters that seemed to fit Google's definition of iconic.

My childhood afternoons in a nut shell...

But I guess that's what it means for something to be "iconic". It's an image that represents something and I can easily picture an image of Scooby or Bugs representing some of my favorite cartoons as a kid. In fact, I bet if you showed any child in the United States a picture of Scooby, Mickey, or Bugs, they'd be able to identify them. These characters seem timeless and appeal to a wide variety of people.

Heck, every few years there seems to be a new incarnation of these iconic characters. I think I've seen at least 6 different versions of Scooby Doo (including A Pup Named Scooby Doo and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo) and Disney has been making new shorts with Mickey for a few years now.

Which leads me to a new question. How do we know when a character from our childhood becomes iconic?

Is it when we start seeing reboots being made (such as the new Ducktales or Powerpuff Girls)? Is it when they jump from the small screen and get their own movie made (like the three Rugrats or Transformer movies)? Is it just because they still have a huge fan base that won't go away even after nearly a decade being off the air (the original Teen Titans show - I don't know what this "Go!" nonsense is). Or is it when the children who grew up with these characters have become adults with children themselves and want to share their happy memories with their kids?

It's probably a combination of all these things. I know I wouldn't have any idea who Rocky and Bullwinkle are if my mom hadn't loved the show so much. I wouldn't have found a love of mysteries without my dad introducing me to Scooby Doo.

We're starting to see a resurgence of cartoons from the 1980s and 1990s being remade or having a reboot. A lot of people my age are really excited to see these characters come back and some of the new shows are really good, maybe even better than the original (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is so much better than the 80s version and it doesn't feel like they are just trying to sell toys). Though not all of the reboots have been successful, it's still so much fun to see fans react to hearing that their favorite shows might get a modern update.

I wonder what cartoons will be considered iconic in the future. Will we see a Phineas and Ferb or Gravity Falls reboot in 20 years? Will we ever get a live action Steven Universe movie?

Iconic cartoons often fill us with nostalgia. They bring back fond memories of happy, carefree times. And we want to share those happy feelings with those we are closest to.

What are some of your iconic childhood cartoon characters? Let me know in the comments or on my Facebook.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Iconic Part 1: A Religious History

If I'm going to be doing a series on icons, I might as well take a quick peek at the history of icons. Apparently when you look up the word "icon" on the Internet, the first definition that pops up indicates that the origin is religious. Google defines the term as "a painting of Jesus Christ or another holy figure, typically in a traditional style on wood, venerated and used as an aid to devotion in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches."

An icon of St. Alexandra (or at least I think that's what this is).

Though the religious icon is traditionally a part of the Eastern Church, that's not to say that icons and iconic images didn't influence the western church's art. After all the English word icon comes from the Greek word "εἰκών" (pronounced as: eikōn) meaning an image or a likeness that represents something else. This doesn't necessarily mean a religious image, but it can be hard to separate the term from the traditional artistic style.

I feel I shouldn't be all that surprised that religion plays a role in defining what an icon is. For a good chunk of western civilization after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Christian Church held nearly all the wealth and power. One of the easiest ways to display their power was through art. Many art history scholars can tell you all about how the image of The Holy Mother Mary's image was constantly changing depending on the fashion and ideal beauty standards of the time. The Byzantine Mary from the 9th century looks very different from the much later portraits Rafael would paint.

This isn't the first time I've noticed how religion has influenced our society. Do any of you guys remember the Parable of Talents from the Bible? It's okay if you don't. I remember as a child thinking it was funny how the word English word for talent sounded similar to an ancient currency. The Sunday School teachers would explain to us that this parable was teaching us to spread our talents (as in our natural aptitude or skill set) and that we would prosper because of it. And though I'm not entirely sure what the origin of the English word for talent is, it can't be that much of a coincidence that the story and the modern definition work well together.

(Side Note: I recently reread the Parable of Talents out of curiosity and I'm 99% sure that Jesus is talking about the virtues of economic investment, not the investment into a person's natural aptitude or skill set. I'm not sure why I find this interesting, but I do.)

So that brings me to the modern school of thought on icons/iconic images. Today icons are seen as symbols, regardless if the symbol is a person or thing. Icons are typically thought of as images representing something. The fashion industry in particular seems to be full of icons like Tyra Banks, Marilyn Monroe, or Princess Kate (feel free to disagree with me).

But does the modern icon have the same reverence and devotion as the religious iconic images of old?

I'd argue from a cultural stand point that they do. Our society has a slight (possibly unhealthy) obsession with the famous, rich, and powerful. People, places, and objects can all be used to symbolize something, so why not turn them into an icon. There are many images that are hard to disassociate from a certain concept, whether it be the tragic yet glamorous Hollywood lifestyle from Marilyn Monroe, Woodstock from hippy culture, or the Eiffel Tower from Paris.

Icons, like everything else, have evolved over time. What started as images to aid in the worship of the Christian Religion have morphed into images that symbolize what society deems worthy of worshiping (mainly celebrities).

So, join me next week as I continue to discover what it means to be an icon...

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week...

Welcome to the Iconic: A Roundabout Intro

When I finished up my Monster Series (click here for the quick intro), I thought I was done with this whole series of related blog posts with a common theme. After all, I'd never done them before, so why would I make them part of my normal posting schedule?

And then inspiration hit...

How my inspiration works...

I was lying on my couch after a pleasant afternoon nap, texting my cousin/editor, when I finally figured out a great topic for this week's post. This was both fortunate and unfortunate. Fortunate because I finally had something to write about today. Unfortunate because I didn't have any time to do any research (the lightening bolt hit me around 3PM EST today).

And what was this sudden bout of inspiration?

Icons!

And what makes things iconic.

You know, famous images and stories that are so amazing that they keep popping up over and over again. Events that take place that define a generation. Little images on a computer screen that we click on to access programs (okay this one might just be a bad pun, but really why are they called icons?).

Alright fine, I actually didn't know what the word icon (let alone iconic) meant before getting this idea.

So I took to Twitter. I put out the general question of "what do you guys find to be iconic?" Which, in hindsight could have been a terrible disaster since it's Twitter (let me know if I need to explain further). Since I have just under 30 followers, it was no surprise to me that I only received one response (insert shameless plug here for webcomic creator, yes this is their name, khkddn). They responded to my tweet with "oldish cartoons i guess? i dont really know what makes something iconic".

This made me come to the second realization for the day: that I don't even know what makes something iconic. I've heard the word tossed around, but I've never really thought about what makes something iconic versus, say, popular or viral. For the record, I'm not holding my breath for any other responses to this tweet, so I might have to just rely on my research (which I should do anyway) to determine what is and what is not an icon or iconic.

(Side note: I am aware that the words icon and iconic aren't the same thing, but since they are closely related to the point that I can't think of one without the other, this series will look at both words as though they are so interconnected they cannot be separated.)

Googling the definition of the word "icon" brings up two definition:

1) "a painting of Jesus Christ or another holy figure, typically in a traditional style on wood, venerated and used as an aid to devotion in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches.

2) a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol of something."

I honestly had no idea that an "icon" was originally associated with religious depictions of Jesus (though I did know the word is originally Greek - thanks dad and all your impromptu English language root fun facts). Since Jesus is one of the most iconic, if not the number one icon, in Western religion, this makes sense. Religion has and continues to shape human culture, particularly in the west (have you guys ever heard of the "Parable of the Talents" or  phrase"The Good Samaritan"). Is it any wonder that we would adopt a religious lexicon to describe our current worship of celebrities and pop culture. [Insert bad joke here.]

Merriam-Webster's dictionary contains both the above definitions (with different wording) and adds in that an icon is "a usually pictorial representation", "an object of uncritical devotion", "a sign", and "a graphic symbol on a computer display screen that represents an object (such as a file) or function (such as the command to delete)". Coincidentally this last definition is what I first thought of when I was thinking of really bad puns to make for this series. Especially since images of pop culture icons serve a specific function to our society in our need to objectify everything (oh yes, I went there).

Definitions aside, what does it mean for something or someone to be an icon or iconic?

Is it a symbol? Does it have or need a meaning? Does it define something? Is an icon always an image? How does something become an icon let alone iconic? And, most important, do all icons stand the test of time (because secretly we all want to be immortal).

Will I answer all of these questions? Probably not. Like opinions, language is always changing. The definitions I am looking at right now have the potential to change based on a little more than a whim. What I might try to uncover using the information I have (i.e. the Internet is a deep, dark, and dangerous place when looking for answers to anything) could lead me to completely new questions and answers that I didn't expect.

So this series on Icons/The Iconic will be completely different from the orderly and totally pre-planned Monster Series. I don't even have a set number of posts to write yet (but it is likely higher than two posts).

My question for you guys (and participation is completely voluntary, but highly appreciated) is to tell me what you guys think about when you hear or see the words "Icon" and "Iconic" as well as any images, symbols, or ideas that surround these two words. Heck, you could even give me an iconic inspirational quote to help me out (are those a thing?).

I can already tell that this is going to be a very interesting journey. Especially since I have no destination planned.

Until next week...

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Maybe I too, will one day be an icon.