Assignment 2-1

Michael Jackson is the king of pop and has been a major icon across the world. His music and dance moves, along with his personal issues and physical changes, have created the media to be all over him from the beginning. The Lion King was and still continues being a must-have children's movie. Since its appearance in 1994, catch phrases such as Hakuna Matata have stuck around and the overall story of family makes this movie a keeper. Mario has been around for over three decades and continues to be advertised. Being the mascot for Nintendo, Mario has appeared in over 200 games and creates graphics for shirts, toys, costumes, etc. 

The icons have inspired many movements whether they were noticed at the time or even today. Michael Jackson created his own sound and image moving from the Jackson 5 when he was little to his own individual spotlight. Stardom may have an impact on what influenced his change in appearance over the years, but the historical element of his time was the moonwalk. Lion King recently made an appearance in theaters in 3D displaying that it is still a classic no matter how many years have passed since its showing. Mario became a character in the Donkey Kong game to be the character to save the Princess. The details of his character led him to gaming fame receiving numerous games of his own, such as Mario, Mario Party, Mario Cart, etc. This characters impact has opened ideas for other characters to rise like Luigi, Princess, Toad, and many more. 

These three contemporary icons have been around from the time I was young, from the time I could remember to this day. My mom, aunt, and a few of their coworkers entered a talent show at their work and sang the Jackson 5 "ABC". I was too young to remember, but I loved watching the recording. I liked to think that is when I fell in love with Michael Jackson's music. Some people like to give me a hard time from all his troubles and struggles, but I'm a fan and continue to be one. I even have a Pandora station dedicated to him. The Lion King has been my all-time favorite children's movie and ranking in my top favorites overall. To this day, I will cry during the scene where Simba's dad dies trying to save him. It is a story of love and family and gives strength in your heart to be strong and never give up. Out of the three icons, Mario was probably the most random. Mario was the game I grew up on with it being the first big video game I had as a kid. Nintendo64 became a hit and, trust me, although with new technology and game consoles like Wii and PlayStation, I still carry my Nintendo64 on with all its great memories.  Mario will continue for many more years through other games and with the movie Super Mario Brothers, I still want a Yoshi.