Assignment M 2-2 My Icons

The icons I chose for my paper would be Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana, and Britney Spears. Marilyn Monroe was an actress in America who also sang and modeled in the 1950’s. With 33 films, and over 20 songs, and hundreds of famous modeling photos, she because very famous very fast. She represented everything men and women seemed to value (Browne, 2008).We idolized her as one of the first sex symbols of our society. Before her icon stature, she was orphaned by her divorced mother- herself divorced three times- and had scandals over published nude pictures throughout her career. Marylyn was believed to have committed suicide with a barbiturates overdose on August 5, 1962 (Shaw & Rosten, 1987.).
Princess Diana won our hearts on July 29, 1981 when she married Prince Charles of Wales (Wharfe, 2002). She endured a loveless marriage to a husband who had a publicly known affair with another woman, but she kept her dignity by not acknowledging this and tending to her two sons. After her children were older, she used her time to be an advocate for the victims of illnesses and disease. She used her money and fame to help these different charities become more recognized and became a hero in our hearts. She was a fairy tale come true to us, and we were obsessed with her every move. Princess Diana divorced Prince Charles in 1996 (2002) and found love with Dodi Al-Fayed. They both died in a car crash August 31, 1997, while being chased by paparazzi (2002). The world mourned it’s lose.
Britney Spears debuted her first hit song “Hit Me baby One More Time” in 1999 (Cedenheim, 2008), and became an overnight sensation. Starting out in the public eye in 1993 on the New Mickey Mouse show, she was no stranger to the spotlite. Today she has 6 albums under her belt, as well as two failed marriages. All the quick fame, a failed reality show, two children, and issues with her body image, all helped lead to her mental breakdown. In February of 2007 Britney publicly shaved her head bald (Marikar, 2007). A fallout with her mother, rumors of drug abuse, and possible bipolar disease lead to being hospitalized for psychiatric evaluations in January, 2008 (Cedenhiem, 2008.). Her rise to fame was just as fast as her descent. However since her breakdown, she has been on a comeback, and is again adored by the public.
I choose these three icons because they are all blonde, beautiful, successful, and fallible. They showed us that it is possible to have beauty, success, and money, and still be miserable. Our happiness comes from inside, and this is a hard life lesson to learn. Marilyn reportedly killed herself, Diana was killed in a tragic accident, and Britney has been driven mentally unstable by her inability to cope with her life and success.
These three represent to me that even if you have it all, you don’t have anything if you are not happy. Succeess is not distinguished by the amount of money you have or the objects you own, but of a satisfaction with the life you live. Without inner happiness, a person has nothing at all. The icons that have had the most rapid rise and fall are those within the entertainment industry (Browne, R. 2008.)
All three of these women were so easy to identify with because they were real. Marilyn, three times divorced, moved onto an alleged affair with President Kennedy, and then ended up dead. Diana was loved by everyone excerpt her husband. She knew of his infidelities but chose not to let it define her, and went on to become more popular than the Prince himself. Britney, after two filed marriages, hit rock-bottom when she had her mental break down, and was hospitalized for depression. These three women will be remembered throughout history as icons. They have all three been exploited through the media, but their image came out mainly unscathed. Although most icons appear untouchable, because of the personal tragedies these women went through, they became relatable to us. They removed the aura of being untouchable and became real people we could identify with and relate to. They had the same problems some us have went through, and we applaud them.


References

Browne, R. (2008). Profiles of Popular Culture. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press.
Cedenheim, P. (2008). Britney Spears hospitalized for an evaluation. People. Retrieved May 24.2009 from http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20169330,00.html
Marikar, S (2007). Bald and Broken: Inside Britney’s Shaved Head. ABC News. Retrieved May 24, 2009, from http://abcnews.go.com/entertainment/health/Story?id=2885048&page=1

Picsearch. (n.d.). Pictures. Retrieved on May 26,2009 from http://www.picsearch.com/.
Shaw, S., & Rosten, N. (1987). Marilyn Among friends. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
Wharfe, K (2002). Diana: Closely Guarded Secret. Martinsburg, WV: Quebecor World.