Iconic - PowerPoint Final HS Pop culture.pptx

Powerpoint on Iconic Celebrities

1. ICONIC: How to Become a Pop Culture Icon

2. Warm Up Directions: Below is a single word. Create a word association web around it. What comes to mind when you here this word? What does it mean to you? What other words do you associate with it? ICON

3. What is an icon? There are many different forms of icons in our life. When we talked about Understanding Comics, author Scott McCloud discussed three types icons Symbols – icons with embedded meanings, such as flags, gender symbols, etc. Communicative Icons – icons that serve to help people communicate, such as letters, numbers, etc. Practical icons – icons that are simplified versions of an actual thing, like an emoji . McCloud also discussed how art exists on a spectrum from realistic to iconic. But are icons only pictures or communication devices inside printed text? Are there other types of icons? Where else do you encounter icons in your daily life?

4. Other types of Icons Icons are all around us in the realm of objects. Some things in our world are described as being “iconic”. Webster defines iconic as something that is “ widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence”. So an area may be iconic for its fine wines or a specific form of entertainment. Certain landmark buildings might be iconic of a specific city. Examples?   Is it possible for people to be iconic? What would make a person iconic?

5. A Pop Culture Icon By definition, pop culture includes the many beliefs and practices that make up society – from the food we eat to the causes we support (or protest) to the way that we style our hair. In a way, pop culture is the “glue” that holds us all together, the common set of objects, characters, people, and themes that connect us and express what’s within us. Though you probably wouldn’t think of them as such today, Ben Franklin was a pop culture icon in his day and so was Mozart. Today’s pop culture icons, look, sound, and behave a bit differently than Franklin and Mozart, but their recognizability , their impact on our society, and the ideas they represent are just as powerful . They maybe real people or fictional characters, famous or infamous, beloved or berated. Sometimes, they’re all of the above. What goes into becoming a pop culture icon? It takes more than a cool factor or trailblazing or connectedness to Kevin Bacon to earn “the pop culture icon” distinction. It is about those things but it is also about change, happiness, passion, mystery, laughter, and hard work.

6. Ascending to the status of a pop culture icon isn’t an easy task nor does the path to icon status look the same for every individual who earns the label. Below are a list of several traits that define the who, what, and why someone might become an icon and an example of each. Some of these exemplar icons fit into several of the categories. Directions : After reviewing each of the traits consider the images of additional iconic figures in the presentation. you recognize them? Identify them and explain why each fits that category. Then identify one more individual you think is iconic in that way.

7. Widely regarded as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, bandmates John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr experimented with music genres from skiffle , beat, and 1950s rock and roll to pop ballads, psychedelic and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements in innovative ways. Not only did they incite “ Beatlemania ,” but as their songwriting grew in sophistication they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideas shared by the era’s sociocultural revolutions. Some icons simply change everything through what they do. They become the embodiment of a set of ideals that reshape society.

8. Some icon figures stir the pot with their activities. They relentlessly express their own identity in a way that makes other people take notice and often changes society as a whole. The force people to pay attention as they express themselves and ultimately influence others as they do it. One of the most prominent cultural icons for over three decades, Madonna gained notoriety by pushing the boundaries of lyrics and imagery in both her live and recorded performances. Long before Miley Cyrus got twerky with older men and foam fingers, the original Queen of Pop was pushing the limits of “creative self-expression” with everything from [simulated] on-stage masturbation and homoerotic imagery to controversial sacred- symbol- mashups to blatant FCC violations. And who can forget the time she slipped Brittany and Christina a little tongue on stage at the VMAs?


9. The contributions of some icons revolutionize more than just a genre of music or cultural style. Sometimes they transform and reshape an entire industry through what they create and do. The charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution passed away in 2011, but his legacy for reinventing things and his unflappable trust in his own intuition left an indelible mark on pop culture—from personal computing to music to animation to mobile phones. Over the course of his influential career, Jobs transformed the tech and entertainment industries through his unique ability to execute fresh ideas and raise the bar on what it means to “Think Different.”

10. Some iconic figures simply bring joy and happiness to others. Whether they are fictional characters or real life people the joy they elicit in others makes the memorable and that sticks with people. When Jim Henson’s green and fuzzy creation sprang to life more than 50 years ago, the world was given a new friend whose endearing qualities continue to charm each succeeding generation. Delightful, insightful, and relentlessly optimistic, Kermit is a universally-recognized “poster frog” for the things that really matter in life: Friendship. Kindness. Laughter. Love.

11. Sometimes iconic people earn their status based upon the seemingly unbelievable things they are able to accomplish. For some that comes in the form of incredible physical achievement and for others it comes from creative feats. Either leave us stunned and in awe of their achievements. Hailed as “The Greatest Basketball Player of All Time,” Michael Jordan holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game), and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). He has won three NBA championships, five MVP Awards, nine Defensive First Team honors, ten All-NBA First Team designations—and was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN in 1999. And the Nike Air Jordan sneakers that he helped make famous? Well, they’re a nod to his impossible-to-believe-it-till-you-see-it ability to “fly.”

12. Sometimes icons cement their status by being enigmatic and mysterious. The unpredictability of many icons keep us entertained and coming back for more. Because we never know what they might come up with next we can’t look away.   Is he an artist? Or a vandal? A political activist? Or a street punk? 
For over 30 years, the subversive and secretive “ Banksy ” (his pseudonym) has been called all of these things and more— including one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2010 , where his paper- bag-covered headshot graced the pages alongside Barack Obama, Lady Gaga and Steve Jobs . Love ‘ em or hate ‘ em , Banksy's signature stenciled works of political and social commentary have turned the art world upside down, appearing on streets, walls, and bridges of cities worldwide, deftly pronouncing his anti-war, anti-capitalist and anti-establishment sentiments. As for his identity? Still secret.

13. While many of today’s pop culture favorites rose to meteoric fame in [what seemed like] the blink of an eye, the reigning King & Queen of the music industry are an overnight success story several decades in the making, built on the sort of superhuman work ethic that few in their industry—or any industry—can measure up to. They are two of the best-selling recording artists of all- time, with 34 Grammys between them. They topped Billboard’s Power 100 List in 2014 and Forbes’ list of Highest-Earning Celebrity Couples in 2013. In the past two years alone, they’ve both released albums that “broke the mold,” toured the globe, started a family, grew their respective empires, and even partied with the Obamas . Other iconic individuals astonish us with all they seem to accomplish through hard work, grit, and determination. Their hard work seems unrelenting at times superhuman and that pays off in what they do and create.

14. While some icons seem larger than life, others are more relatable and help us to make life more understandable or simply tolerable through what they do. They make us laugh. They make us think. Sometimes, they make us snarf potato chips. 
 From satirical portrayals of Sarah Palin to “fake news” that has garnered legitimate journalism awards, the combined pop culture impact of Tina Fey and Jon Stewart goes far beyond the “ schnicks and giggles” they’re best known for. They are icons we can relate to . They remind us to find humor in the absurd and the mundane, and maybe, just maybe, not to take life — or even pop culture icon status — too seriously.

15. Cool Down Directions: Answer the questions below. What is 1 definition of the word icon? Identify 2 people who are icons. Name 3 traits of iconic individuals.