A cultural icon is a person or an

artifactArtifact, or artefact, may refer to: Science and technology *Artifact (error) In natural science Natural science is a branch of science Science (from the Latin word ''scientia'', meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that ...

that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen as an authentic symbol of that culture. When individuals perceive a cultural icon, they relate it to their general perceptions of the cultural identity represented. Cultural icons can also be identified as an authentic representation of the practices of one culture by another. In popular culture and elsewhere, the term "iconic" is used to describe a wide range of people, places, and things. Some commentators believe that the word "iconic" is overused.

Examples

According to the ''Canadian Journal of Communication'', academic literature has described all of the following as "cultural icons": "Shakespeare, Oprah, Batman, Anne of Green Gables, the Cowboy, the 1960s female pop singer, the horse, Las Vegas, the library, the Barbie doll, DNA, and the New York Yankees." A web-based survey was set up in 2006 allowing the public to nominate their ideas for national icons of England, and the results show the range of different types of icons associated with an English view of English culture. One example is the red

AEC Routemaster The AEC Routemaster is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engined double-decker bus that was designed by London Transport Executive, London Transport and built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) and Park Royal Vehicles. The f ...

London double decker bus.British Postal Museum & Archive: Icons of England
. Retrieved 15 December 2012.Culture24: Icons of England
Retrieved 15 December 2012.

Matryoshka doll Matryoshka dolls ( rus, матрёшка, p=mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə, a=Ru-матрёшка.ogg; also known as babushka dolls, stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls) are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one ...

s are seen internationally as cultural icons of Russia. In the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a that spanned during its existence from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a of multiple national ; in practice and were highly until its final years. The ...

, the

hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode Unicode, formally the Unicode Standard, is an information technology standard Standard may refer to: Flags * Colours, standards and guidons * Standard (flag), a type of flag used for personal identifica ...

symbol and statues of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known by his alias Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government The head of government is e ...

instead represented the country's most prominent cultural icons. The values, norms and ideals represented by a cultural icon vary both among people who subscribe to it, and more widely among other people who may interpret cultural icons as symbolising quite different values. Thus an

apple pie An apple pie is a pie A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry Pastry is a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter) that may be Savoriness, savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often ...

is a cultural icon of the United States, but its significance varies among Americans. National icons can become targets for those opposing or criticising a regime, for example, crowds destroying statues of Lenin in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism or burning the

American flag The flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, is the national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of tha ...

to protest US actions abroad.

Religious icon An icon (from the Greek language, Greek 'image, resemblance') is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic, and certain Eastern Catholic c ...

s can also become cultural icons in societies where religion and culture are deeply entwined, such as representations of the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She is considered one of the most influential figures in popular culture and has often been referred to as the " Queen of Pop". Madonna is noted ...

in societies with a strong

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptised Baptism (from the Greek language, Greek noun βάπτισμα ''báptisma'') is a Christians, Christian r ...

tradition.

Criticism

Describing something as ''iconic'' or as an ''icon'' has become very common in the popular media. This has drawn criticism from some. For example, a writer in ''

Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Reach plc, Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, wi ...

'' calls "iconic" "a word that makes my flesh creep", a word "pressed into service to describe almost anything."Let's hear it for the Queen's English
''

'' Mark Larson of the '' Christian Examiner'' labeled "iconic" as an overused word, finding over 18,000 uses of "iconic" in news stories alone, with another 30,000 for "icon".Modern word usage amazingly leaves us yearning for gay, old times
, '' Christian Examiner''

List of cultural icons of the Netherlands '', Vincent van Gogh s in the foreground. Image:Volvo FH12-Meulman (NL)-2004.jpg, Norfolkline The List of cultural icons of the Netherlands is a list of links to potential cultural icons of the Netherlands]List of cultural icons of Portugal * List of cultural icons of Russia *

List of cultural icons of Scotland This list of cultural icons of Scotland is a list of objects, topics or people identified as cultural icons of Scotland. Animals * Capercaillie * Osprey * rock ptarmigan, Ptarmigan * Red deer * Red kite * Red squirrel * Scottish wild cat A ...

* List of cultural icons of Spain *

List of cultural icons of Wales The List of cultural icons of Wales is a list of links to known cultural icons of Wales. Animals *Welsh corgi, Welsh lamb Art *Love spoon *National Museum Cardiff *Welsh costume *Welsh hat *Welsh dresser Buildings and structures ...

Gay icon A gay icon is a public figure who is highly regarded by the LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, or the gay community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisex ...

Horror icon A horror icon is a person or fictional character that is considered to be significant to horror fiction within mediums such as Horror film, film, Horror literature, literature, Horror television programs, television, or Survival horror, video games ...

Pop icon A pop icon is a celebrity, character or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively objectiv ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Our New Icons
by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'' (), is a national British daily broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common ne ...

''
Nothing and no one are Off Limits in an Age of Iconomania
by ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne Melbourne ( ) is the capital Capital most commonly refers to: * Capital letter Letter case (or just case) is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or ca ...

''
British Postal Museum & Archive: Icons of England

Culture24: Icons of England
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cultural icon Cultural history

Examples

Criticism

See also

References

Bibliography

External links