Icon Analysis

The three contemporary icons that I chose are:  the ipad, Lindsey Lohan, and Facebook. These icons are “hot” right now. I chose them because they are very popular. These are the things that everyone is talking about right now.

            I chose these icons because they are the most popular things in our culture today. You can’t turn on a television or radio without hearing about Lindsey Lohan. Is she going back to jail? Is she not going back to jail? It seems that being a celebrity does have it’s perks. I don’t know many people that don’t have a Facebook account. I have 129 friends on my account right now. My Mother has an account. My daughters have an account. My brother and sister have an account. And also, since I was fortunate to go to a small school (65 people in my graduating class), and 7^th through 12^th grade was all in one building, we all knew each other and they are all my friends on Facebook. Ok, well, not ALL of them; but a lot! And then, is the ipad. I don’t have one. I can’t afford one. I hear about them all the time. They are the newest gadget that everyone wants to have.

            What do these icons mean to me? Well, Lindsey Lohan doesn’t mean much to me. Hopefully some kids will see her and how her life turned out and won’t want to turn out like that. At least, let’s hope so. Facebook is the newest way to communicate. My sister is in Virginia. I can send her messages though Facebook. I can also see my nieces and nephews birthday parties and such in her photo albums. I could do without all of the quizzes, though. I also have a friend in Florida. I don’t get to see her much, but I get to see what she is up to on Facebook. A lot of my former classmates have moved away. We schedule a get-together once a year through Facebook. It’s a great way to communicate. The ipad is the biggest thing in technology today. The sales were crazy the first day they were out. People were pre-ordering them way in advance. They are very adavanced and fast. Unfortunately, from what I hear, the ipad is very expensive and you have to pay quite a bit to get high speed internet on it.

Weekly Written Analysis

A current pop culture topic that interests me is the television show, GLEE. I love it. They have used iconic songs throughout the show. One episode was all about Madonna. How much more iconic can one get? That show got such high ratings, that they are going to have another Madonna episode this season. Last week they did a Brittney Spears episode. They talked about the sexuality of her songs. The show has many followers. I haven’t seen much in the way of marketing yet, though. I’m sure it’s coming. I have two daughters that never miss an episode. They have all the c.d.’s. They ask me all the time for GLEE on DVD. I have yet to purchase that. It will probably make a nice Christmas present.

            The show focuses on a group of teenagers in high school. This particular Glee Club is made up of a few outsiders, and some popular kids. Rachel is a nerdy girl that always dreamed of becoming a Broadway singer. Finn is the high school quarterback. Kurt is homosexual, Mercedes is an overweight, African-American girl, Artie is in a wheelchair, Tina is an Asian girl that dresses a little funky, Puck is a popular guy at school, Quinn is the head cheerleader that recently had a baby, and Santana and Brittney are also cheerleaders. The show is almost like a soap opera. There are secrets and plots to get others to like them. Kurt and Mercedes tried to be cheerleaders for a while to fit in, until they realized that they were comfortable with themselves. Artie tried to walk. The funniest character of all is Sue Sylvestor. She is the cheerleading coach. She has an ongoing fued with the Glee Club teacher. This is a great show. I recommend that everyone watch it. It is very entertaining.

Popular Culture

Popular Culture to me is anything that is relevant or memorable that a significant amount of people know about. It is always good to keep up with new cultures. It can be helpful in the workplace to keep you current in what is going on around you. I think a pop culture artifact could be just about anything. It could be a song that means something to you, a television show that you think changed history, or just a way of life.