Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon favorite and a pop icon. He is a fictional character created by the famous Walt Disney in 1928. He became iconic in one of his first short films “Steamboat Willie,” which was released November 18, 1928. It was very popular because it was the first synchronized sound cartoon. He is a well known cartoon character, just by the silhouette of his head. This year on November 18th, marked 75 years that Mickey Mouse has become a pop icon and Disney are making an 18 month celebration which began with the unveiling of a 700 pound 6 foot tall Mickey Mouse statue. Mickey is loved by many children and parents (grownups become children) because Walt Disney created a character with such a personality that can take us on many adventures. You can dress him up as a pirate and he can take you on an adventure to the 7 seas, or you can dress him up as Peter Pan and he can take you to Neverland. He can be anything you want, you can make him Parisian or Italian. He is recognized worldwide and loved by most people. Mickey Mouse is one of the most versatile cartoon character ever made, and he cannot be replicated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEEaT_UQnVM

Michael Jackson


Michael Jackson is the King of Pop and a very big pop icon. We all know his name and what he contributed to the music industry, primarily in pop music. His Album “Thriller” still remains to be the best selling album, selling 42,537,000 to date. He was very influential in the entertainment business, wowing millions of crowds around the world in concert. He was the first black man to land a music video on MTV. His imagination in his music and visually in videos made people even more attracted to him. And to this very day we still try to copy his dance moves.
He had a childlike innocence to him; he himself even said a lot of his ideas came from children. He even said in an Oprah interview that he got the idea for the moonwalk from some kids dancing in the Ghettos. He was also inducted in the Guinness World Book of Records for supporting the most Charity organizations.
Unfortunately with his popularity came a lot of celebrity gossip and pain in his life. He was accused of child molestation, underwent plastic surgery that altered him dramatically, and had a prescription drug addiction. It seemed that the media were printing more bad about him then good. Yet in some odd way his controversial private life made the public even more attracted to him. It seemed the more juicy gossip printed by the media, made him more popular and overshadowed his work in music and the good he did for charities.
Through his music, dance, and videos he communicated his passion for dance, beat and the power of imagination. He brought people into his magical world and told stories through his music. His music videos like “Thriller are like mini movies, Taking audiences into different worlds along with his music. He influenced many other musicians like Justin Timberlake, and Britney Spears, and many others. You can note certain dance styles and music beats in their work that reflect M.J.
I think the biggest reason he’s a pop icon is that he can still reach a big audience throughout the years and in the future. When he died all his music got re-released and I saw many young children run to grab a CD and beg their parents to buy it for them. His music is still popular to this day, and I find it amazing when I see young children attempting to do the moonwalk. This is why I think he’s a pop icon, because he left his mark in pop music making him the King of Pop. His music will always be influential to other artists and entertainment to audiences everywhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIkDKPzJuBc

My thought process

Hey everyone,

It's been a long fall semester this year at Dawson and a lot of projects had to be done. But my communications project really got me thinking.

Pop Icons. what are they?

Well according to Wikipedia Pop Icons are: A celebrity whose fame in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era.

So I set out to find who the big pop icons are and what makes them icons.

First I wanted to do my project on Bono and Michael Jackson. So I posted my ideas on Ning.

I got a lot of great feedback on Ning by fellow classmates. Through this feedback I changed my idea to 3 groups of icons.

Positive icons

Bono

Michael Jackson

Marilyn Monroe

The Beatles

Negative icons

Bonnie and Clyde

Don Cherry

Fictional

Mickey Mouse

Bug Bunny

Homer Simpson

I started thinking about it more and decided to do my oral project on Bono and Don Cherry.

Bono is a activist and a humanitarian. He does good for the world by helping the poverty in Africa. But people hate him. Why is that?

Don Cherry is a controversial critic, but he is loved and popular especially with canadians. Why?

Why do people like someone who should be disliked and dislike someone who should be liked?

That's what I'm setting out to find out in my project.

I will also post blogs on other pop icons I did research on.

Well I'll be back soon with more information.

Bye for now,

Lucie