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A cultural icon is a person or an
artifact that is identified by members of a
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
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
Academic publishing is the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in academic journal articles, books or theses. The part of academic written output that is not formally pub ...
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 ...
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 stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside ano ...
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 transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, the
hammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industri ...
symbol and statues of
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
instead represented the country's most prominent cultural icons.
The values, norms, and ideals represented by a cultural icon vary among people who subscribe to it and more widely among others who may interpret cultural icons as symbolizing quite different values. Thus an
apple pie
An apple pie is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. The earliest printed recipe is from England. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), or cheddar cheese. It is generally ...
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 national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...
to protest US actions abroad.
Religious icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most 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. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
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 baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
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 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, with the tit ...
'' 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](_blank)
''Liverpool Daily Post
The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by 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, with the tit ...
'' Mark Larson of the ''
Christian Examiner
''The Christian Examiner'' was an American periodical published between 1813 and 1869.
History and profile
Founded in 1813 as ''The Christian Disciple'', it was purchased in 1814 by Nathan Hale. His son Edward Everett Hale later oversaw publicati ...
'' 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](_blank)
, ''Christian Examiner
''The Christian Examiner'' was an American periodical published between 1813 and 1869.
History and profile
Founded in 1813 as ''The Christian Disciple'', it was purchased in 1814 by Nathan Hale. His son Edward Everett Hale later oversaw publicati ...
''
Types
*
Architectural icon
Architectural icon is a term from Architecture criticism and designates buildings that are or were groundbreaking or claim uniqueness because of their design.
Definition
These outstanding buildings and ensembles meet several of the following cri ...
*
Gay icon
A gay icon is a public figure who is regarded as a cultural icon of some members of the LGBT community.
The most widely recognized gay icons are often actresses and singers who garnered large LGBT fanbases, such as Judy Garland, Madonna, Diana Ros ...
*
Horror icon
A horror icon is a person or fictional character that is considered to be significant to horror fiction within mediums such as film, literature, television, or video games.
History
Pre 1900s: literary beginnings
Examples of early horror icon ...
*
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 object ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
Our New Iconsby ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
''
Nothing and no one are Off Limits in an Age of Iconomaniaby ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
''
British Postal Museum & Archive: Icons of EnglandCulture24: Icons of England
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cultural icon
Cultural history