Many individuals—from Classical composers likeMozart to cinema stars likeMarilyn Monroe—have been credited as pop icons.
Apop icon is acelebrity, character, or object whose exposure inpopular 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 objective criteria. The categorization is usually associated with elements such as longevity,ubiquity and distinction. Moreover, "pop icon" status is distinguishable from other kinds of notability outside pop culture, such as with historic figures. Some historic figures are recognized as having reached "pop icon" status during their era, and such status may continue into the present. Pop icons of previous eras includeBenjamin Franklin[1] andMozart.[2]
HistoriansAsa Briggs andPeter Burke, explained that term "iconography" would pass intohigh culture, and later in the twentieth century, intopopular culture, where "icon" refers to a secular celebrity likeMadonna.[3] She probably had a catalyst role, asMarcel Danesi, a professor of semiotics and linguistic anthropology at theUniversity of Toronto cited inLanguage, Society, and New Media: Sociolinguistics that the word "icon" is a "term of religious origin" and arguably "used for the first time incelebrity culture to describe the American pop singer Madonna".[4] Danesi also asserts that the word "is now used in reference to any widely known celebrity, male or female".[4] Some international reference works such asOxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and theDiccionario panhispánico de dudas have included Madonna's name to illustrate the new meaning of "icon".[5][6] AfterThe Advocate called her the "greatest gay icon", Guy Babineau fromXtra Magazine stated in 2008: "I'm old enough to remember when people weren't called icons".[7]
Usually, the pop icon status of a celebrity is contingent upon longevity of notoriety.[8][9] This is in contrast tocult icons, whose notoriety or recognition may be limited to a specificsubculture. Some pop icons have left a lasting and indelible mark in the area of their career, and then went on to attain a lasting place of recognition in society at large.[10]
A common element of pop icon status is the ubiquity of imagery and allusions to the iconic figure.[note 1] It is common for the figure to be recognized and even celebrated in areas outside the original source of celebrity status.[note 2] An example of this isAlbert Einstein, aphysicist whose image and legacy have been represented in comic strips, T-shirts, greeting cards and many other contexts.[11]
Often pop icon status implies distinguished association with a societal ideal orarchetype. It is not uncommon for iconic figures to have anickname orsobriquet 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 figures attain transitory or context-specific "pop icon" status for particular events that captivate public attention, such as in the case of theO.J. Simpson trial.[21]
