Icon Analysis

Icon Analysis

Michael Jackson- “The King of Pop”

Arnold Schwarzenegger- “Pumping Iron”

McDonald’s- “Look for the Golden Arches”

Michael Jackson born in Gary Indiana nineteen fifty-eight became known as the king of pop. A young boy identified as part of a group of boys set out to make music history. We know him as Michael Jackson from the Jackson five in the seventies, but became a true icon during the nineteen eighties where he came to life, defined and ruled so entirely. With sixty billion records sold worldwide his “Thriller” album remains the biggest selling record of all time (Peake, 2011). With his impact on the world during the eighties he has grown to be one of the biggest icons the world has ever known in the music industry.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is another icon that emerged in the nineteen sixties as the world bodybuilding icon. His role in the movie “Pumping Iron”, nineteen seventy-seven, was a documentary of his bodybuilding routines and how he became known as a champion bodybuilding icon. His success has led him into movie stardom throughout the eighties and into the nineties in movies such as Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator both of which are fascinating films of their time (Who2?, 2011). Arnold was an icon in both genres of bodybuilding and movies and eventually became the governor of California in two thousand-three maintaining success until his departure in two thousand-eleven. We know him for his one-liners, “I’ll be back”, that to this day people still use in conversations for fun.

McDonald’s, now how can you not pick this as an icon? The Golden Arches is like bread and butter, milk and cookies and of course the “Big Mac”. This is a company that has been around since nineteen fifty-five with a goal to feed every human on earth with over thirty thousand restaurants around the world to meet the needs of people of all nationalities. It is a fast food chain that literally changed the way people eat and still remains an iconic symbol that will undoubtedly remain that way for years to come.   

            I chose these three icons because they are what I grew up with. I can remember watching the movie Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger and wanting to start lifting just to be him. It was a great documentary even though I was only eight or nine at the time it was big media at that time and a great role model to look up to. Michael became an icon in my house overnight. My sister listened to his music and my mother taught me to moon walk in our kitchen. McDonald’s, a regular visit for us growing up and remembering my first Big Mac they had a promotion going on that if you could sing the jingle for the Big Mac sandwich at the counter you would receive a free one on the spot. So of course it did not take me long to get that tune right.