Pop icon

Attributes and origins

Historians Asa Briggs and Peter Burke, explained that term "iconography" would pass into high culture, and later in the twentieth century, into popular culture, where "icon" refers to a secular celebrity like Madonna. She probably had a catalyst role, as Marcel Danesi, a professor of semiotics and linguistic anthropology at the University of Toronto cited in Language, Society, and New Media: Sociolinguistics that the word "icon" is a "term of religious origin" and arguably "used for the first time in celebrity culture to describe the American pop singer Madonna". Danesi also asserts that the word "is now used in reference to any widely known celebrity, male or female". Some international reference works such as Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the Diccionario panhispánico de dudas have included Madonna's name to illustrate the new meaning of "icon". After The Advocate called her the "greatest gay icon", Guy Babineau from Xtra Magazine stated in 2008: "I'm old enough to remember when people weren't called icons".

Longevity

Usually, the pop icon status of a celebrity is contingent upon longevity of notoriety.{{cite book | editor1-first = Ronald | editor1-last = Gottesman | editor2-first = Richard Maxwell | editor2-last = Brown

Ubiquity

A common element of pop icon status is the ubiquity of imagery and allusions to the iconic figure. It is common for the figure to be recognized and even celebrated in areas outside the original source of celebrity status. An example of this is Albert Einstein, a physicist whose image and legacy have been represented in comic strips, T-shirts, greeting cards and many other contexts.{{cite book | author-link= Michio Kaku

Distinction

Often pop icon status implies distinguished association with a societal ideal or archetype. It is not uncommon for iconic figures to have a nickname or sobriquet that is used to emphasize this association. Sometimes the very name of such individuals is even used as a synonym for common words or ideas.

Some fictional characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, the Simpsons, Harry Potter, Goku, Sailor Moon, Alice, Buzz Lightyear, and Willy Wonka are regarded as pop icons. Even inanimate objects have been recognized as pop icons.

Some figures attain transitory or context-specific "pop icon" status for particular events that captivate public attention, such as in the case of the O.J. Simpson trial.{{cite book | author-link=Max Boot

Notes

References

References

1. (2016). "Music and Culture in the Middle Ages and Beyond: Liturgy, Sources, Symbolism". [[Cambridge University Press]].
2. Danesi, Marcel. (2020). "Language, Society, and New Media: Sociolinguistics Today". [[Routledge]].
3. "icon". [[Oxford University Press]].
4. (2005). "icono o ícono". [[Royal Spanish Academy]].
5. Babineau, Guy. (October 22, 2008). "Why we love Madonna". [[Xtra Magazine]].
6. McNary, Dave. (2011). "Icons of the century". [[Variety (magazine).
7. Schmidt, Robert. (February 24, 2004). "The 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons". Blue Corn Comics.
8. (2013-10-17). "10 Most Iconic Anime Heroes".
9. "Why Sailor Moon is a Pop Culture Icon".
10. Brooker, Will. (2004). "Alice's Adventures: Lewis Carroll in Popular Culture". Continuum.
11. "David Bowie Art Turns Singer Into Batman & Other Pop Culture Icons".
12. (October 16, 2006). "The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon". National Park Service.