英雄和⽂化传统 2.1.2 Icons
英雄和⽂化传统
Heroes and Cultural Iconsthe wizard of oz
Gary Goshgarian
not at all是什么意思If you were asked to list ten American heroes and heroines, you would probably name some or all of the following: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone, Martin Luther King Jr., Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Helen Keller, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Rosa Parks. If next you were asked to list people who are generally admired by society, who somehow em bigger than life, you might come up with an entirely different list. You might, in fact, name people who are celebrated for their wealth and glamour rather than their achievements and moral strength of character. And you would not be alone, becau pollsters have found that people today do not choo political leaders who shape history for their “Most Admired” list, but rather movie and television celebrities, fashion models, professional athletes, and even comic book and cartoon characters. In short media icons.
By definition, heroes and heroines are men and women distinguished by uncommon courage, achievements, and lf –sacrifice made most often for the benefit of others – they are people against whom we measure others. They are men and women recognized for shaping our nation’s consciousness and development as well as the lives of tho who admire them. Yet, some people say that ours is an age where true heroes and heroines are hard to come by, where the very ideal of heroism is something beyond us – an artifact of the past. Some maintain that becau the Cold War is over and becau America is at peace our age is esntially an unheroic one. Furthermore, the overall crime rate is down, poverty has been ead by a strong and growing economy, and advances continue to be made in medical science. Conquently, bereft of cultural heroes, we have latched onto cultural icons – media superstars such as actors, actress, sports celebrities, television personalities, and people who are simply famous for being famous.
词根记忆法Cultural icons are harder to define, but we know them when we e them. They are people who manage to transcend celebrity, who are legendary, who somehow manage to become mythic. That’s hard to answer. In part, their lives have the quality of a story. For instance, the beautiful young Diana Spencer who at 19 married a prince, bore a king, renounced marriage and the throne, and died at the moment she found true love. Good looks certainly help. So does a special indefinable charisma,
with the help of the media. But nothing becomes an icon more than a tragic and early death – such as Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Princess Diana.
Being Somebody
Donna Woolfoolk Cross
One hundred years ago, people became famous for what they had achieved. Men like J.P. Morgan, E.H. Harriman and Jay Gould were all notable achievers. So were Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, and Susan B. Anthony.
Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day. Today’s celebrities, however, often do not become known for any enduring achievement. The people we most admire today are usually tho who are most highly publicized by the media.
makeadecisionIn 1981, a Gallup poll revealed that Nancy Reagan was the nation’s “most admired woman.” The year before, the wife of the current president is always one of the nation’s most admired women. Today’s celebrities, as the writer Daniel Boorstin says, are “people well-known for their well–knownness.”
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To become such a celebrity, one needs luck, not accomplishment. As Boorstin says, “The hero was distinguished by his accomplishment; the celebrity is image or trademark. The hero created himlf; the celebrity is created by the media. The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.”
艾薇儿的歌
There is another distinction: heroes inspire respect; celebrities inspire envy. Few of us believe we could be another Jonas Salk or Eleanor Roovelt, but we could be another TV star like Telly Savalas or Suzanne Somers. Except for the attention they get from the media, the people are exactly like us.
英语补习1对1
交通繁忙The shift from hero – worship to celebrity – worship occurred around the turn of the century. It was cloly tied to the ri of new forms of media – first photography, and later moving pictures, radio and television. For the first time, Americans could e and recognize their heroes. Previously, men like Gould and Harriman, who names everyone knew, could easily have pasd through a crowd without being recognized. The reproduction of photos in newspapers turned famous people into celebrities who dress, appearance, and personal habits were widely commented upon. Slowly, the focus of public attention began to shift away from knowing what such people did to knowing what they looked like.
hold什么意思
The shift was accelerated by the arrival of moving pictures. Between 1901 and 1914, 74 percent of the magazine articles
about famous people were about political leaders, inventors, professionals, and businessmen. After 1922, however, most articles were about movie stars.
With the arrival of television, the faces of the stars became as familiar as tho we saw across the breakfast table. We came to know more about the lives of the celebrities than we did about most of the people we know personally. Less than venty years after the appearance of the first moving pictures, the shift from hero- worship to celebrity – worship was complete.
Today an appearance on a television talk show is the ultimate proof of “making it” in America. Actually, the term “talk show”is misleading. Celebrities do not appear on such a program becau of an actual desire – or ability – to talk, but simply to gain recognition, and prove, merely by showing up, that they are “somebody.”
Being a guest on a talk show does not require qualities of wit, eloquence, brilliance, insight, or intelligence. A former talent coordinator for “the Tonight Show,” says that when he would ask a scheduled guest, “What would you like to talk to the host about?” the reply he got most often was, “H
ave him ask me anything.” This, he says, usually meant, “I am a typical Hollywood actor, so I have never had an original thought and I have nothing to say of any interest to anyone anywhere.”
人人听力Most hosts are grateful just to get someone who will fill the room with sound. One talk show coordinator comments, “We look for the guest who is sure to talk no matter what. Ten conds of silence appears very awkward on television; thirty conds is disastrous. A guest who’s got to stop to think about everything he says before he opens his mouth is a ratings nightmare.”
This kind of attitude rewards smooth, insincere talk, and makes hesitancy look like stupidity.
“We wouldn’t have ud George Washington on our show,” says one talent coordinator. “He might have been first in the hearts of his countrymen, but today he’d be dragging his bottom in the ratings”
