Icon: (from www.thefreedictionary.com )
1. a picture, image, or other representation.
2. an image of Christ, a saint, etc., usu. painted on a wooden panel or done in mosaics and venerated as sacred in the Eastern Church.
3. a sign or representation that stands for something by virtue of a resemblance or analogy to it; symbol: an icon of womanhood.
4. a person or thing that is revered or idolized: a pop icon.
5. a small graphic image on a computer screen representing a disk drive, a file, or a software command, as a wastebasket that can be used to delete a file.
Now, please tell me which of these definitions best fit "Style Icon" Emma Stone? I mean, true she has been walking the red carpet since, what. 2010? That should qualify her for...umm... number 4?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but not everything is iconic. Memorable maybe? Eventually, standing next to everything known to humankind? Perhaps. But today's well- dressed young actress of the moment, is not a style anything, except well-dressed. And smart enough to hire a good stylist.
I just have this issue with things that are current as being icons. Shouldn't you have more than a few years under your belt? Shouldn't a look or an image or a character stand the test of time before such a label is given? As much as I love Jim Parson's Dr. Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, I can't say that the character will always be some standard bearer for idolization or a representative of some virtue. And yes, I have already heard this character being called iconic.
And truly, Miss Kim Richards, yes you were in Nanny and the Professor and a handful of movies and TV shows back when you were a kid, but please don't consider yourself an icon. Yes, I've heard her say people consider her such.
I think an icon needs to stand the test of time. I think Michelle Obama has great taste in clothes and its great that she doesn't break the bank when selecting outfits. But five or six years in is not a long time to be considered a fashion icon. Now Jackie Kennedy is a different story. She stood out and changed the way women dressed and many still want the same look 50 years later. There was an exhibition of her clothes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art several years ago. That to me is iconic style.
Recently, I realized that people also attach this word to images from news events. Are we truly already attaching the word "iconic" to photos from this week's Boston Marathon Bombings? I can see in time how there will be images that truly represent that moment in time. The kind of image you look at and say, "I remember where I was at that moment." But can't we just experience our emotions without every media outlet telling us that "This is the picture you will always remember."
I think of the image of naked girl running through the street of Vietnam, burning from napalm as an iconic symbol of the Vietnam War. An image that tells you specifically of a day or place or event that will forever be remembered for the pain and damage it did to so many.
Barney Stintson (Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother) pretty much mocks the idea that everything is something huge and important to the big picture every time he says, "This is going to be LEGEN-wait for it -DARY!" This character totally believes that everything is, in fact, legendary. The truth is that is seems like a lot of people think that everything is also iconic.
So, I'm going to keep writing my blog and you keep reading it. And if something strikes you as something that should be "revered or idolized," feel free to pass it on and refer to it as ICONIC.
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