Superman - an American cultural icon - Essay Example

in the blue tights and red cape who flew around rescuing anyone in need of help and constantly struggling against a slew of supervillians of various sorts. In many ways, this Superman can be compared to the ancient stories of the half-man, half-god Hercules and his various adventures changed slightly to fit the modern understandings of the world and provide him with powers equally astounding to the modern audience. To understand how and why Superman has become a cultural icon and why he will remain so for many years into the future, it is necessary to understand what is meant by the term ‘icon’, how this term applies to Superman and why this character fits a particular need within today’s social structure.

The first step in discovering how and why Superman is a cultural icon of both past and future is identifying exactly what is meant by the term ‘icon’. Fortunately, Margaret Kenna (1985) has already gone a long way toward identifying exactly those elements that define the true make-up of the icon. “The Greek word ‘eikon’ can be translated as ‘image, picture, portrait, representation.’ The modern use of the word denotes two-dimensional representations such as paintings, photographs, or pictures in magazines and newspapers, and three-dimensional objects such as statues.

In certain contexts the word refers particularly to pictures of holy persons and events” (Kella, 1985: 347). Thus, an icon is generally defined as an object that is imbued with divine power of some sort. Taking the religion out of the equation, this equals to super power or power beyond the ordinary strength and abilities of man. In addition to its symbolic relationship with the divine, the making of an icon follows a specific tradition that is intended to provide an even deeper symbolism in that “the icon is a microcosm of the relationship between the material world, human beings and the divine power believed to have created them all” (Kenna, 1985: 348). Here we