My Three Icons
The icons I chose are Elvis Presley, a famous pop singer and movie star, Oprah Winfrey, a famous talk show host, and Superman, a fictional super hero of comic books and movies.
Elvis Presley is known as “The King of Pop”. He began his career in Tennessee in 1954 and his first single “Heart Break Hotel” was a number one hit in 1956. His singing style was strongly influenced by gospel music and he was credited with the beginnings of “rock-n-roll”. He was one of the most popular and controversial singers (due to his pelvic undulations) in American history during the twentieth century (Wikipedia, 2010). He was nominated fourteen times and won three Grammy Awards. He received the lifetime Achievement Award at age 36 and has been inducted into four music halls of fame. He is regarded as one of the most important pop culture icons of the 20th century (Wikipedia, 2010). I grew up listening to his music and watching the corny movies he made and I remember how much I loved them both and how undeniably handsome he was in his younger days.
Oprah Winfrey is an American television talk show host, actress and a philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show entitled “The Oprah Winfrey Show” which is credited with being “the highest rated talk show in history” (Wikipedia, 2010). She has been ranked as “one of the most influential people" of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 by Time Magazine and is the only person in the world to have made the list for all seven years (Wikipedia, 2010). The reason I chose Oprah to be one of my icons is the fact that she is a self-made woman born to poverty that is worth a reported 2.4 billion today (Wikipedia, 2010). Even though she is a billionaire I believe she has moral principles in her life. I applaud her efforts to help the children in South Africa suffering with HIV/AIDS and I believe she has helped many women overcome obstacles, prejudices, and fears in their lives. She is a role model not only for African American women, but women in general.
Superman is a comic book hero, and also a fiction movie icon. He represents good versus evil and gives the audience a sense of hope that good will always prevail. He is the most human, yet humble superhero of all who adheres to a strict moral code upheld by western culture. He has superhuman strength, but is weakened by kryptonite which shows his vulnerability. Superman is “both an American cultural icon and the first comic book superhero” (Wikipedia, 2010). Although the character of Superman has been played by many actors over the years, I especially enjoyed "Superman: The Movie" from 1978 starring the late Christopher Reeve who was cast to play the role of the super hero. The latest Superman movie was Superman/Batman #3 which was released in December of 2003 (Wikipedia, 2010). To me, Superman is the ideal man. Strong but vulnerable, a moral force that fights for good over evil.
References
Wikipedia, (2010). Retrieved April 07, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley
Wikipedia, (April 5, 2010). Retrieved April 8, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey
Wikipedia, (April 6, 2010). Retrieved April 8, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(film)
The icons I chose are Elvis Presley, a famous pop singer and movie star, Oprah Winfrey, a famous talk show host, and Superman, a fictional super hero of comic books and movies.
Elvis Presley is known as “The King of Pop”. He began his career in Tennessee in 1954 and his first single “Heart Break Hotel” was a number one hit in 1956. His singing style was strongly influenced by gospel music and he was credited with the beginnings of “rock-n-roll”. He was one of the most popular and controversial singers (due to his pelvic undulations) in American history during the twentieth century (Wikipedia, 2010). He was nominated fourteen times and won three Grammy Awards. He received the lifetime Achievement Award at age 36 and has been inducted into four music halls of fame. He is regarded as one of the most important pop culture icons of the 20th century (Wikipedia, 2010). I grew up listening to his music and watching the corny movies he made and I remember how much I loved them both and how undeniably handsome he was in his younger days.
Oprah Winfrey is an American television talk show host, actress and a philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show entitled “The Oprah Winfrey Show” which is credited with being “the highest rated talk show in history” (Wikipedia, 2010). She has been ranked as “one of the most influential people" of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 by Time Magazine and is the only person in the world to have made the list for all seven years (Wikipedia, 2010). The reason I chose Oprah to be one of my icons is the fact that she is a self-made woman born to poverty that is worth a reported 2.4 billion today (Wikipedia, 2010). Even though she is a billionaire I believe she has moral principles in her life. I applaud her efforts to help the children in South Africa suffering with HIV/AIDS and I believe she has helped many women overcome obstacles, prejudices, and fears in their lives. She is a role model not only for African American women, but women in general.
Superman is a comic book hero, and also a fiction movie icon. He represents good versus evil and gives the audience a sense of hope that good will always prevail. He is the most human, yet humble superhero of all who adheres to a strict moral code upheld by western culture. He has superhuman strength, but is weakened by kryptonite which shows his vulnerability. Superman is “both an American cultural icon and the first comic book superhero” (Wikipedia, 2010). Although the character of Superman has been played by many actors over the years, I especially enjoyed "Superman: The Movie" from 1978 starring the late Christopher Reeve who was cast to play the role of the super hero. The latest Superman movie was Superman/Batman #3 which was released in December of 2003 (Wikipedia, 2010). To me, Superman is the ideal man. Strong but vulnerable, a moral force that fights for good over evil.
References
Wikipedia, (2010). Retrieved April 07, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley
Wikipedia, (April 5, 2010). Retrieved April 8, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey
Wikipedia, (April 6, 2010). Retrieved April 8, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(film)
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