Barack Obama’s Image as a Pop Culture Icon
How many times have you see the Barack Obama “Change” Poster, how
many times have you seen it today? The image of Barack Obama is fast
becoming one of the most recognizable icons of our generation.
Amplified by the 24/7 coverage of the presidential race, the image of
Obama is what is going to stand out as a reminder of the epic battle of
the changing of the guard in US politics.
What is a Pop culture icon? Wikipedia defines it as “Pop Icon
is a celebrity whose fame in pop constitutes a defining characteristic
of a given society or era. Although there is no single definitive test
for establishing “pop icon” status, such status is usually associated
with elements such as longevity, ubiquity, and distinction. Moreover,
“pop icon” status is distinguishable from other kinds of notoriety
outside of popular culture, such as with historic figures.” Examples
that I can think of off hand are: The Che Guevara image on a t-shirt,
the image of Bob Marley…on buttons, t-shirts stickers, Andy Warhol’s
Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Kurt Cobain, The Rolling Stones’ Lips,
Jimi Hendrix and Bruce Lee.
After all is said and done, the true litmus for an image to be
considered a “Pop Culture” icon would be how many times you see the
image on t-shirts and stickers on the Hippie Highway in Venice Beach
California (Hippie Highway = Venice Beach Boardwalk.) So, I tried an
experiment, I got on my skateboard with my camera and cruised down the
board walk to go and see how many times I could photograph the Barack
Obama “Icon.” I was pleasantly surprised to find it all over! Here are
my pictures, Enjoy!
What do you think of this story?
iReport welcomes a lively discussion, so comments on iReports are not pre-screened before they post. See the iReport community guidelines for details about content that is not welcome on iReport.

Comments