Milestones Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 Just out of curiosity. By "pop" I do mean popular, and usually entertainers--often singers/musicians. I manage to get one jazz figure in the Top 10. Lists will vary greatly, I'm quite sure. Seeing the differences will be what makes this interesting. My Top 10: 1. Elvis Presley 2. Marilyn Monroe 3. Beatles 4. Michael Jackson 5. Madonna 6. Princess Di 7. John Wayne 8. Elizabeth Taylor 9. Mick Jagger 10. Louis Armstrong Quote
mjzee Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 No Charlie Chaplin? No Captain Beefheart? Quote
JSngry Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 We're beginning the 20th Century around 1955 or so, correct? Otherwise, Jolson? Chaplin, indeed. Hope, Benny, and of the vaudeville-to-radio-to-TV people who were big for most of the century. Would we dare consider Hemingway? People used to read, and authors used to be celebrities, and Hemingway was a pretty big one as I understand it. Ask again in 2050 or so, and let's see what them that are alive then have to say about all this. Quote
GA Russell Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 My first thought was Bing Crosby. Quote
Jim R Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 Chaplin for sure. And no Marty Feldman? Sinatra > Madonna (I might even put Nancy Sinatra over Madonna ). Bing Crosby > Princess Di Random ideas... Bob Hope, George Burns, Jack Benny, Milton Berle... Quote
.:.impossible Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 Pablo Picasso Andy Warhol Salvador Dali Jack Kerouac Timothy Leary Miles Davis should be considered in a list of top ten twentieth century pop icons. Babe Ruth Mickey Mantle Ghandi This is just the name ten people game. Quote
Jim R Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 Yes to Picasso and Babe Ruth. Mays (and Aaron) over Mantle. Johnny Carson Quote
.:.impossible Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 I chose Mantle because of his affiliation with Marilyn Monroe, but yeah. Bob Marley, Groucho Marx, Lassie. Quote
danasgoodstuff Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 Mantle being affiliated with Monroe might've surprised Joe dimagio... Quote
mjzee Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 I guess you could rate it by whose estates still rake in the big bucks. As for Marty Feldman and Captain Beefheart, if not pop icons, let's just consider them role models. Quote
Jim R Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 Godzilla? Gumby? This is so hard... Quote
duaneiac Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) Does it have to be a one-time living, breathing icon? If not, then surely Number One would be Mickey Mouse (with Snoopy perhaps Number Two). And surely Bing Crosby, who was a prominent cultural figure in the 1930's, 1940's, 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, should be on that list. Ditto Sinatra, who was a major star from the 1940's to the 1980's. Laurel & Hardy. Major stars in both silent pictures (which were easier to distribute internationally because the title cards could just be replaced with whatever language was needed) and talking pictures (they even shot foreign language versions of some of their short films for French and Spanish markets) and their images are still instantly identifiable today, even to people who may never have seen one of their films. Bob Dylan must be included on any such list. I chose Mantle because of his affiliation with Marilyn Monroe, . . .. Shouldn't that be Joe DiMaggio then? Edited October 30, 2014 by duaneiac Quote
duaneiac Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) And if Princess Di can make the list, then surely JFK should as well. He's idolized by people today who may have been appalled by his actual political policies when he was in office (if such people bothered to learn anything about them). But in 20th Century America, image triumphed over substance 99.9% of the time and JFK epitomized that. Edited October 30, 2014 by duaneiac Quote
JSngry Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 Funny how as the 21st Century progresses, Bettie Page more and more becomes a 20th Century pop culture icon. And why not! Quote
danasgoodstuff Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 If the pressence of walking, talking, fawking wannabes I sees everyday is the test, them Bettie Page is the pop icon of the 20th century! Quote
JSngry Posted October 30, 2014 Report Posted October 30, 2014 Princess Di only iconic through accidents of both birth and death. IMO If the pressence of walking, talking, fawking wannabes I sees everyday is the test, them Bettie Page is the pop icon of the 20th century! It's not the 20th Century without porn, and anybody who wants to acknowledge that without dealing with REAL porn need look no further than Bettie Page. Ooh-la-LAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote
JSngry Posted October 31, 2014 Report Posted October 31, 2014 And assuming that "20th Century" is a true chronological entity and not a cultural identifier, for starters, here's some genuine pop-culture icons: Marcus Garvey Jackie Robinson Bob Marley James Brown Oprah Winfrey Michael Jordan Ray Charles Malcolm X Martin Luther King Duke Ellington Stevie Wonder Bessie Smith Richard Pryor B.B. King Bill Cosby Jesse Jackson and Jerry Mathers as Princess Di. And that's just for the Northwestern Hemisphere English-speaking world, and just a beginning, at that. Quote
duaneiac Posted October 31, 2014 Report Posted October 31, 2014 Almost bigger than Hitler by now! Quote
Milestones Posted October 31, 2014 Author Report Posted October 31, 2014 Obviously some are thinking in terms of true significance on a deep level, which is entirely another matter. By and large, the people on my list are NOT terribly significant to me. I'm sure one can define the idea of icon any way imagainable, but I am saying "pop"--not "cultural." The fact that I cover only the last half of the century shows that... A) it's a reflection of my experience, having been born in 1960; 2) maybe pop icons don't last much more than 50 years. I admit I should have included a baseball player--and Babe would be the choice. Muhammed Ali is a good choice. Charlie Chaplin is a good choice. All good choices, and if we choose to make the lists more personal--then by all means. . Maybe we should create separate top 10s: music, comedy, film, sports, etc. Quote
JSngry Posted October 31, 2014 Report Posted October 31, 2014 . Maybe we should create separate top 10s: music, comedy, film, sports, etc. How about one choice per decade? Ten decades, ten icons, one century. Quote
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