Objects which have identities or connotations that are regarded as symbolic of certain beliefs or concepts, or which 'personify' types of behavior, lifestyles, and/or identities, may become "cultural icons"; e.g. they are perceived as having a "sacred or pseudo-religious" influence within the particular culture.

"Iconization" usually denotes a 'positive' or 'successful' image and sense of 'permanence', though there are also temporal and 'tarnished' icons. American icons often need to have overcome adversity (rags to riches, performing despite pain, etc.); positive icons almost always need to be seen as "one of us."

Icons

• Coca Cola and McDonald's — distinctive packaging, product marketed to represent a particular lifestyle or cultural level — e.g. Coca Cola being more than just a simple drink (India anecdote); plus McDonald's 'Golden Arches' and The Economist's 'Big Mac' economic indicator index. Are such brands/symbols representative of America? (If so, what specifically?)

• Or, in contrast to McDonald's, the traditional American roadhouse diner (symbolic of a past era & lifestyle) (see also Diner City) (cf. "fast-food" franchises, "yuppie coffee houses," upscale, ethnic, & other restaurants)

• [Finnish iconic brands? Elovena (and the 'Elovena Girl'), Paulig Coffee (and the Paulig Girl?) — appeal of 'imaginary' vs 'real' symbols? — Jalostaja 'tube' mustard, Sisu salmiakki, Fazer Blue chocolate, the Marimekko Unikko design, etc.?]

• Presidential images and symbolism: cf. J.F. Kennedy's presidency (contrasts of youth, style, optimism; Camelot) vs. LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Barack Obama, etc. ...

• Sports characters (enduring): Babe Ruth (see also News Clip), Lou Gehrig (see Farewell Speech [YouTube]), Vince Lombardi [YouTube], etc. (cf. the more recent Cal Ripken [in YouTube Coca-Cola commercial])

• Sports characters (temporal?) Bill Bradley, Jim Ryun, George Foreman in the early '90s as the oldest heavyweight boxing champion; also his lifestyle (eating, religion, personality, behavior); Joe Namath (white shoes, sexual activity, gambling, health), Mark McGwire (1998 image vs current unclear status cf. steroid usage), Barry Bonds, Marion Jones,

  1. Icons in general tend to be 'past performers' who are 'safe' from revelations about their careers that may change their status

  2. Sports icons are highly dependent on the status of their sport — cf. the traditional, general status of baseball, basketball and football (see 124 Most-Popular Sports and 1998 Top Sports vs 2007 Top Sports) compared to the recent status of Nascar racing — or the relative invisibility of ice hockey or very different perceptions of ski-jumping for general American audiences vs how they would usually be understood in Finland

  3. U.S. sports icons are often associated with something 'unusual' apart from athletic sucess, often having dared to attempt something — and succeeded at it against the odds — which would have been 'disastrous' to their status had they not succeeded. The success stories are mythologized. These stories support other mythologies of individualism and 'doing one's own thing'

• 'Tarnished' Sports Characters: 'Shoeless Joe Jackson' & the Chicago 'Black Sox' (cf. the films Eight Men Out and Field of Dreams, among others); Pete Rose & hard-work ethic, but then gambling scandals; Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Marion Jones, Lance Armstrong (?), etc. (cf. Matti Nykänen, Mika Myllyla, Jari Isometsä, the Allianssi football team in 2005, etc.)

• 'Tarnished' but then comeback: the early Muhammed Ali (early draft problems and ban) vs the later Ali (coping with Parkinson's disease, Olympics, charity and Muslim education work), etc.

• Sports locations: Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden in NYC, the former 'Candlestick Park' in San Francisco, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, U.S. Master's golf course in Augusta, Georgia, etc.

• Historic sites: Route 66, Gettysburg, The Alamo, Wounded Knee, Woodstock, or Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field; Fenway Park and Wrigley Field vs Astrodome [followed by Enron Field, subsequently Minute Maid Park], the Georgia Dome, Seattle Kingdome [replaced by Qwest Field], New Orleans Superdome, etc. (tradition and 'natural' vs 'newness' and high-tech — "typically" American?)

• Historic figures: George Washington, Daniel Boone, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Lindburgh, F.D.R., Will Rogers, etc.; cf. George Custer, George Patton, Amelia Earhart, etc.

• Contemporary Internet 'Icons'? BlogStars? YouTube Icons — (what attracts their audiences; any shared attributes?) Language Icons? (cf. Marina Orlova and her website Hot For Words, and her YouTube clip on sexting)

Fetishes

Objects which are so strong that we are "compelled" to "worship" them are "cultural fetishes", e.g. "bastard" icons which are abnormal or "twisted" from their original meanings. The relationship of fetish to icon is as devil worship to religious practice, but fetishes are often regarded as "the life blood of society" (belief & appeal of last resort).

For example, has the "iconized" accomplishmnent of 19th century immigrant settlers who survived the odds to settle the Western frontier become "fetishized" in contemporary TV "Survival" series?

• 'Expected behavior' (turning 'received politeness' into a fetish — previous anecdote of Janice and the car door).
  Note the resulting sequence:
  1. Conditioned Behavior,
  2. Rituals in which the Conditioned Behavior is "formalized" or "enacted,"
  3. Fetishism when the Ritualized Action is "demanded" as a token of self-esteem rather than having been "offered" as a token of courtesy or respect

• "Must 'prove' oneself" (jobs, military units, fraternity hazing rituals, other "survival of ordeal" expectations [cf TV "Survival" games; "initiation rites" of college fraternity 'pledges' who need to "prove their worthiness"], etc.)

• Athletic rituals and superstitions: "No sex (on a game weekend) until Monday" [or before important games, or during entire tournaments, etc.], X-C marathon ski diets, not changing one's clothes/uniform during a "winning streak", or wearing "special clothing" ('Bull Durham'), rabbit's foot, lucky bat (cf. 'The Natural'), etc.

• Faith in technology (Reagan's [and now George W.'s] "Star Wars" strategy for missile defense, etc.)

• National Enquirer (CB Radio, web blogs), etc. "the untold story", "inside story", the "truth" revealed

• Superstitions, especially those that "control" one...

• Academic "publish or perish" injunctions, etc.