Icon Analysis

An icon is a person or symbol that has reached a devotional status among culture. 

KEVIN BACON

His career took off with the movie Footloose and he became an instant household name. Kevin Bacon is truly a pop culture icon. I chose Kevin Bacon because he is the center of Hollywood, really he is! Haven't you played Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Name someone in Hollywood and you can eventually link them to Kevin Bacon. For instance, Will Ferrell has a Bacon number of 2. Will Ferrell was in Dick (1999) with Deborah Grover, who was in Where the Truth Lies (2005) with Kevin Bacon. He has been in over 60 films and now has a new series on Fox called The Following. Not only does he act but he is also a musician. Bacon is not one of my favorite actors but I chose him because I can remember when my mom was obsessed with him for a time! 

MR. T

As a kid growing up I remember watching The A Team and thinking Mr. T was just awesome. Many may say that he is just a fake, but he starred in the iconic film Rocky III with Sylvester Stallone which launched his career. From that he had a cartoon called Mister T that led him to have a reputation for being an advocate and role model to youths. He was cast in The A Team as Sgt. Bosco "B.A." Baracus and he also jumped into the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Mr. T was in the first WrestleMania in 1985 where he paired with Hulk Hogan to win the main event. Mr. T made gold chains and Mohawks icons in pop culture. I chose him because he is a part of my childhood that brings back those carefree days.

GENERAL LEE

For my last icon I chose the General Lee from Dukes of Hazard. The orange '69 Dodge Charger has become a symbol of Southern tradition to some, with its Confederate Flag, and "Dixie" horn. It's not necessarily the car itself but the color orange, flag, and horn that seem to remain a part of pop culture. You can look just about anywhere and find those three things on any type of vehicle today; such as trucks, different makes of cars, scooters, snow mobiles, jeeps, and semi's. This combination seems to speak to some people (mostly men!) and it has some sense of pride to them. For me this is another reminder of my childhood and how innocent things were. 

Pop Culture Artifact

What is popular culture, and what does it mean to you?

Popular culture is driven by economics, education, exposure, emotion, and sensation. The economics factor: items are mass produced giving essentially everyone a chance to experience them. The education factor: the great thing about popular culture is you don't have to have a superior education to enjoy it. The exposure factor: exposure, exposure, exposure! The emotion and sensation factor: that song you listen to that makes you want to sing along with it (emotion), or the feeling you get when your team wins the big game (sensation). To me popular culture is everything that surrounds us from our computers, to movies we watch, to sports, to cell phones, and much more. We have this idea that if it makes us feel good or important then we must have it and once everyone starts feeling this way ideas and products become a part of popular culture.

Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant to you in a business environment and in your present and future career?

Popular culture is relevant in a business environment because it essentially drives economics. With everything being mass produced we need to understand how these items and ideas affect today's businesses. With that said it is important to have an understanding of popular culture for our careers because it influences who we are as people. When we have a better understanding of the people around us we can work better as a team.

What would you consider to be an example of a popular culture artifact? And why would you choose it?

As I tried to think of something that would be a good example of popular culture, and so  I googled "pop culture" and got things like Star Trek, Arrested Development, Twitter, Taylor Swift, and  Pitbull, but none of those things really meant anything to me. Okay, yes, I listen to Taylor Swift and sometimes Pitbull, but it really doesn't speak to who I am. So I decided to take a break and let it come to me, but I still drew a blank on what I wanted to talk about. Again I started googling and it hit me, it was staring me right in the face the whole time....GOOGLE! Brilliant, if it was a snake it would have bit me! I love Google, I mean I use all the time. Google has many different features about it that make it user friendly such as images, maps, and news. It is also #10 in the most useful search engines of 2013. In Google's first official year there were an estimated 3.6 million users with an average of 9,800 searches a day. In 2011 there was an estimated 1.7 trillion users and an average of 4.7 billion searches a day. Search engines are a part of everyday use now, and everyone has their own preference as to which one they will use. Me, I choose Google because I find it to be the best one I have come across. Google is a popular culture artifact because it is everywhere, and it seems to just keep adding on with Google Chrome, Google+, Google Voice, and much more.