Icon Analysis

At its root, and without trying to sound like Captain Obvious, icons are symbols. They represent something, whether it is an emotion, a time period, a culture, or anything a person wants it to mean. Some icons illicit powerful emotions, such as images of the World Trade Centers, as they remind people of 9/11. Other icons, such as Martin Luther King Jr., represent the Civil Rights struggle and that time period. Personally, my three icons are Nintendo, Dr. Pepper, and Michael Jordan.

Nintendo

I chose Nintendo as one of my icons for a few reasons. The first reason is because it reminds me of my childhood. I grew up on Nintendo, starting from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and eventually moving on to the Super NES and Nintendo 64 (I eventually purchased the GameCube and Wii systems when I was older). This leads to my second reason: I have so many fond memories of playing video games on these systems, especially the Mario and Zelda games. I don't even want to fathom the amount of hours I put into playing games as a kid, as I'm more than sure that it was unhealthy. Though I suppose it was a blessing for my parents, as they never had to pay a babysitter. Finally, I don't feel that I am alone in feeling this way about Nintendo, as I feel Nintendo is a great representation of someone that grew up in the 1990s.

Dr. Pepper

My second icon was chosen for many of the same reasons as my first. I was introduced to Dr. Pepper at an early age, and it very quickly became my drink of choice for, well... everything. I didn't want anything other than Dr. Pepper when I ate something, even if it was a bowl of dry cereal. It especially became my drink of choice for the long video game marathons I would have, as I would drink one if I started feeling tired so that I could keep on gaming. I eventually made the choice to cut back on my consumption of it, as it was starting to get out of control -- it is never good when opt for a can of soda instead of water to quench your thirst -- but I still hold fond memories of it. And while it wasn't just Dr. Pepper specifically, I feel that soda consumption is something that reminds a lot of adults of their childhood. I remember my dad telling me how he used to look forward to the weekend as a teenager, as he'd always go to the local hangout spot with his friends and have a bottle -- of Dr. Pepper even -- as his parents never kept any at the house. This just goes to show you that even if you look at the same icon, it can mean different things to different people.

Michael Jordan

If you asked me what two icons represent the 1990s the most, it would have to be Nintendo and Michael Jordan. Jordan became a household name because of his dominance in the 1990s. He destroyed his competition. People thousands of miles away with zero interest in basketball knew/know of Michael Jordan, the same way that everyone knows who Muhammed Ali and Tiger Woods are. I knew many people who only followed basketball when Jordan played, and as soon as he retired, they stopped watching. To this day, these same people don't watch NBA (National Basketball Association) games, even though the talent pool is arguably bigger in today's era. As a kid, I was a huge Jordan fan, to the point that I wanted to "be like Mike" and play basketball myself. And though I never considered playing basketball in high school or beyond, I owe my interest in the sport to Jordan. It was so fun watching him play, and I'm honestly a bit sad that I never got to see him play in person. Ever since he retired, I haven't had as much fun, or been as happy, watching basketball as I did when Jordan played.

EDIT (4:13pm EST, June 1): Nintendo image stopped showing. Fixed.  

Pop Culture Artifact

What is popular culture, and what does it mean to you?

Pop culture is a culture of things that is enjoyed by a majority of people. Pop culture is not just limited to one area of life, but all facets of it. Music, movies, memes, gadgets, sports, and television are arguably the big ones, but there are certainly plenty more. If something comes along that previously people either did not know, or did not care about, causes a huge amount of people to like it -- for example, Psy's smash hit Gangnam Style -- then it ends up a part of pop culture. In the case of Gangnam Style, so many parodies have spawned on YouTube while many people even imitate the dance with their friends in real life.

To me, pop culture is something that reflects the time period. Obviously, things like internet memes, YouTube, and smartphones are examples of pop culture of the time period we are currently in. If we step back 20-30 years ago, though, we would see many different things that define pop culture for those given time periods.

Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant to you in a business environment and in your present and future career?

 Understanding pop culture has a multitude of benefits in business. Firstly, pop culture influences people. As such, by understanding it, we can get to know the people we work with better, and hopefully, have better teamwork as a result. Secondly, pop culture can affect how we communicate with the people we work with. Once upon a time, a person would have to call someone's home to get a hold of them if they needed them for something urgent. If they were unable to get a hold of the person, then that makes the urgent situation much more difficult. Nowadays, nearly everyone has a cell phone, so communication is significantly easier. Any urgent matters can be responded to and resolved quickly because of cell phones becoming mainstream.

What would you consider to be an example of a popular culture artifact? And why would you choose it?

 Perhaps one of the biggest pop culture artifacts of our time has to be the iPhone. It not only showed the world that technology didn't have to be complicated, but that you can have a phone that does everything -- listen to music, browse the internet, view and send e-mail, play games, etc. -- without having the phone be the size of a concrete block. The iPhone ushered in the wave of smartphones, as within a few years not only did a majority of people have one, those that didn't wanted one. With so much information available at a person's fingertips, it became illogical not to have a smartphone.

That is ultimately why I chose the iPhone as my artifact. Back in high school, I was one of the few people that actually had a cell phone, and it was a flip phone. All you could do was talk and send text messages. If I went out somewhere and had to wait -- like the doctor's office or to get a table at a restaurant -- passing the time became a drag if I wasn't with somebody. With a smartphone, I am now able to surf the internet, watch movies, or play actual video games while I wait. If I need to know something, the internet is right at my fingertips, so I can instantly look it up.