Three influential icons of my generation are Tiger Woods, Bob Barker, and Britney Spears. Tiger Woods is a professional golfer that is considered to be one of the best golfers of all time. He is on track to eclipse all of the major professional golf records and put his name at the top of the greatest golfers of all time list. Bob Barker is a legendary game show host who has recently retired. He is best known for hosting “The Price is Right” for 35 years, but previously hosted “Truth or Consequences” for 18 years. Another icon, Britney Spears, was the biggest female pop singer to grace the late1990’s and early 2000’s. Because of her success in the music industry, Spears went on to pursue acting and writing careers. She has been one of the most talked about celebrities for the past several years.
I chose Tiger Woods as an icon because he has changed the way many people look at golf. Until Woods came along, golf was a predominately white male sport, but Wood’s impressive statistics have proved that golf is not just for older white men anymore. According to the “Tiger Woods Official Website,” “he is the career victories leader among active players on the PGA TOUR, and is the career money list leader” (tigerwoods.com). I also chose Bob Barker as an icon because according to Gary Richard Collins II, who wrote “Mini Biography” for IMDB, Barker was “named the most popular game show host of all time in a national poll.” Not only was Barker, himself, popular, his most recent show, “The Price is Right,” was the longest running game show in history. Finally, I believe Britney Spears is an icon because she was one of the top selling female artists. Everyone always wants to know what she is up to and she is in the tabloids almost daily. Although her recent choices may not have been the best, she is still a leading celebrity in Hollywood.
As an icon, Tiger Woods’ success means that stereotypes can always be broken. He has broken through the cultural barrier of golf and proven himself to be the best, no matter how different he was. Woods also became an extremely good golfer at a young age, showing that practice and persistence pays off. Bob Barker is more than a celebrity, he tries to instill values into America, asking his viewers to get their pets spayed and neutered. He means so much to so many people, and it was obvious when his fans had the chance to meet him on stage. Britney Spears, on the other hand, means something entirely different to me. Her iconic status is no longer a good one. Her lesson is to keep a clear head, no matter what good fortune comes your way.
References
Collins, G.R. “Mini biography.” IMDB. Retrieved November 11, 2007, from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0054837/bio.
“Tiger Woods profile” Tiger Woods Official Website. Retrivied November 11, 2007, from http://www.tigerwoods.com/defaultflash.sps.
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