Blog Sixy

Popular culture and the icons created by it have a profound and yet interesting effect on us as viewers. Though the ideas behind the icons influence each individual differently, collectively they create a background, a space if you will, that we can share. For instance, the reading talked about superman and superwoman. Neither of them were really a part of my life. I haven't really cared for the idea of an all powerful super hero or his counterpart. It just hasn't really been something that I have been attracted to. Yet, when others talk about them or who they are, I am not left in the black. Even with never seeing a superman film or comic I know the basis of his stories. People can make kryptonite references and I know what they are talking about and what it means. I know other characters besides superman that are involved in the story. The readings especially explore this idea that these characters influence us. The ideas that superman represents, whether his righteousness or humanity, I can connect with. I think this is the true power of an icon. Whether I want to or not, I know who and what superman is.

These icons influence us. There is no denying that. The way I perceive the world is dependent on what I take from the icons, and more importantly, the ideas that those icons represent. Some of those ideas I accept and choose to proliferate and expand. Others I reject, but even those ones influence what I choose or choose not to create. As the reading noted, things as simple as bathroom signs may show what ideologies we accept as members of a society. There is no way to escape this influence, but at the same time, I don't think that would be good. We can draw upon those same ideas to connect and reach others more deeply and more powerfully. Because I can safely assume you know about superman, I can write a story about a superhero knowing you will understand some of the underlying ideas that that icon creates.

The more we understand about the influences that effect us, the more carefully and precisely we can determine how we use those same influences to communicate with others. We can create beautiful works of art, but if others don't understand, they will miss the beauty. So we have to try to create in a vein that others will appreciate. Branching out and trying new things has its place as long as we understand how others have been influenced and thus will be influenced by our continued additions to modern culture.