Icon Analysis

For the second week of class, we were tasked with identifying 3 pop culture icons, why they can be considered as such, and what the three icons mean to me.  Our class textbook defined icons as something/someone that represented the good and/or positive aspect of whatever it is they are from.  Also, the importance or value of an icon is in the eye of the beholder (in the case of this blog, me).  So the icons I chose to look at come from different backgrounds: video games, live television (wrestling), and fictional television (animation/cartoons).  They are John Cena (WWE), Mario (Nintendo/Super Mario Bros.), & Homer Simpson (The Simpsons).  I chose these icons because they represent my interests, as well as the bigger picture in terms of where they are from and what they represent.  They are essentially "larger than life" so to speak.

 

John Cena - Love him or hate him, John Cena is the current face of the WWE, much like Hulk Hogan was years ago. He is the current most well-known and popular wrestler amongst the WWE's primary demographic: kids.  John Cena lives by many traits, but the one most notable in my opinion is perseverance.  The shirt he is wearing in the picture above says "Never Give Up."  John Cena never does.  He sees his feuds through until the end, favorable outcome or not.  

This positive message he sends to WWE's audience, as well as that fact that he essentially is the face of the company make him easily qualified to be an icon in my opinion.  I was also privileged enough to meet him last Summer at Philadelphia Comic Con, making him that much more of an important icon in my eyes.

Mario - Much like John Cena is the face of WWE, Mario has become the face of Nintendo.  Mario may be a plumber by trade, but he is a textbook hero as well.  Almost every game he stars in he is determined to rescue Princess Peach from the evil clutches of Bowser and will not stop until he does so.  Mario is one of Nintendo and video gaming as a whole's first characters, debuting in the arcade game, Donkey Kong.  The premise of that is very similar to his role in the Super Mario Bros. series, only Bowser is swapped in favor of Donkey Kong, and Princess Peach is replaced with another damsel in distress, Pauline.  Mario faces every obstacle in his way head on until he achieves his goal.  To me, that along with him being the mascot of the Nintendo company as a whole, more than qualifies him to be an icon.  I also believe he is an icon because as I was growing up, the Super Mario Bros. games were among the first I played, so Mario holds a special place in my heart when it comes to my hobby of playing video games.

Homer Simpson - Last, but certainly not least is Homer Simpson, one of television's most iconic family men.  As with Mario, Homer is a character I grew up with, for The Simpsons was one of my favorite shows then, and still is now.  So again, this icon holds a special place with me.  Homer may usually be a bumbling clueless dad that finds himself in all kinds of hilarious situations, but at the end of the day, his family is what matters most to him, which is proven time and time again in many of the show's episodes throughout its historic 25 year and counting run.  I believe Homer is an icon because he not only represents the head of the household/family man, but he also represents the average working class citizen, something we can all relate to in some way.

So there you have it.  In some way or another, all 3 of the above icons hold a personal meaning to me, as well as a meaning in the bigger picture of things, whether it be in the wrestling industry (John Cena), the video game making business (Mario), or the land of television and animation (Homer Simpson), each icon stands out as a positive representation of where they hail from in some way, shape, or form.