What defines a 'cultural icon'? Choose any cultural icon and write an essay on its (or 'his' or 'her') place and significance in culture at large.

Have a little read: ... Modern Culture Essay - S0304 Q) What defines a 'cultural icon'? Choose any cultural icon and write an essay on its (or 'his' or 'her') place and significance in culture at large. A 'cultural icon' may be defined as a person or thing regarded as a representative symbol, especially of a culture or movement, perhaps even considered worthy of admiration or respect. Examples include: Adolf Hitler as an 'evil' icon, Marilyn Monroe as a beautiful movie icon, Elvis Presley as the 'King of rock' icon, and even David and Victoria Beckham as an iconic couple of fashion and football. People admire the celebrities above and so this makes them cultural icons. In this essay, I shall focus on Martin Luther King Jr, as a cultural icon. I will evaluate the significance he made to society, which is what made him into being the icon he was and still is today. Martin Luther King was perhaps one of the most influential people of our times. People saw him as the father of the modern civil rights movement, he is recognised around the world as a symbol of freedom and peace. Martin Luther King Jr, was born on January 15th 1929 and was the son of an Atlanta pastor. The community in which he lived in was like many he knew. He said, "No-one in our community had attained any great wealth."1 The neighbourhood he lived in were religious just as King's family were. As a child King first experienced racism towards him when he made friends with a white boy, and was told that they could not go to the same school as each other because King was black. The parents of the white boy told him that he could no longer play with their son. King was very upset and his mother told him of the race problem, and this was the first time he was made aware of it. King said, "From that moment on, I was determined to hate every white person."2 However it was his father who taught him not to hate, and that people should love one another. His father told him, "You should not hate this white man, it is your duty as a Christian to love him."3 King grew up wanting to make a difference to black people's lives, and create social and racial equality. He remembers what it was like being black in America. "Being a