Wednesday, March 16, 2011

ICONS BY THE DOZENS

Sometimes great words are squandered. Using them too easily and too often drains them of their power. Take "iconic" for instance.

At one time it was reserved for towering historical figures (Cleopatra, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Lincoln). Ever since Hollywood became iconic, it's been manufacturing icons by the celebrity-magazine minute. Largely because movies are one of the last experiences people of all ages and races share in common. Collectively coming to the same conclusions about the same characteristics we seem to value most.

There is suave as in James Bond...sensuous as in Marilyn Monroe...hilarious as in Inspector Clouseau...the ruggedness of Clint Eastwood...the volatility of Al Pacino...the humor of Tina Fey...along with the sirens of the month like Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz.

Unlike the cozy neighborhood movie houses of another time, today's young audiences drive miles to large cineplexes from which they can select one of a dozen concurrently appearing icons on the screen. Even though the icons have to share that screen with the prerequisite car-chase, explosion, bedroom, urinal, and rapid-fire computer hacking scenes, some of the characters emerge as handy role-models for impressionable audiences.

Hollywood has created a grand collective archive of the mind from which we often draw our images of our values. You can tell a lot about a person by the films and film stars they applaud. When the studios manufacture an icon that can span the different generations and shifting times -- well, that's breaking the bank! A big fat bank from which follows national tours...network interviews...ghost-written bios...maybe a few high-profile performance before popes, kings and dictators...and then the ultimate payoff: spin-offs and syndications.

But here's the funny thing. While some of these fictional characters reach iconic heights across the world, factual characters like presidents and prime ministers struggle valiantly to become iconic in the eyes of their people. Tasks far more crucial, yet far more complicated. The leaders have to do what the icons on the screen don't -- come down to the people and answer their questions.

Well, there is one way for a leader to become an icon, but its price speaks poorly for the rest of us. Die in office...! In a world always teetering on one brink or another, there's always this hope. That we can find good leaders who deserve our respect this side of the grave...





1 comment:

  1. I had never though about this way. You're soooo right!!

    ReplyDelete