Writing Wednesdays
Icons and Iconization
By Steven Pressfield | Published: July 14, 2010
This is a subject I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Iconization as an issue in real life–and as a form of Resistance. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
On their way to iconhood?
First, what is an icon? The dictionary says it’s “an object of worship.” An icon originally was an actual physical artifact—a splinter of the original Cross, say, or an article of apparel once worn by a martyr or a saint. Worship could be directed at this object, as a stand-in or intermediary for some higher embodiment of the divine.
(Some would call this idolatry, but let’s leave that alone for the moment.)
People can be icons
Human beings can be icons too. We make them into icons by worshipping them. Movie stars are icons. (Interestingly, character actors or minor stars are not.) What makes stars into icons is some vivid power or gift that they seem to possess. Angelina Jolie’s ass-kicking sexiness. Jennifer Aniston’s girl-next-door vulnerability. Bette Davis’ eyes.
There already.
When we make a human being into an icon, we endow them in our imagination with a power or gift that we in fact possess ourselves, but are either afraid, or not yet ready to, embrace.
Clint Eastwood is an icon. His movie image, in films like Dirty Harry or Unforgiven and on to Gran Torino, is of a man of suppressed and explosive rage. We, watching him onscreen, endow his character with the power of violent, even fatal payback. We iconize him.
Einstein is an icon. So are Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Gandhi. Today, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are becoming icons.
Real people can be icons too
When we fall in love, we can iconize our beloved. We imagine that they possess powers that we don’t. We love them, at least in part, for those powers. If only we had them! By being with our beloved, maybe some of those powers will rub off on us. But just being with them is often enough.
Iconization and Resistance
Making others into icons is a form of Resistance.
We endow others with powers because we’re afraid to claim those powers for ourselves.
Iconization cuts both ways
When someone falls in love with us, we can get iconized. Since the publication of The War of Art, readers have from time to time tried to iconize me. I’ll get long, soul-baring e-mails, invoking me as if I were Yoda or Obi wan Kenobi, seeking advice and counsel. It’s unnerving.
When you get a note like that, it’s impossible not to see the psychological mechanism behind it—and to be alarmed by it. Clearly the writer is giving away his power. Clearly fear is the motivation. It’s an insult, actually, to be iconized. Because the person doing the iconization is dehumanizing you. But the biggest danger is the harm you can do to the vulnerable individual who has (unconsciously) fallen prey to this very human tendency, which none of us, if we’re honest, can claim to be immune to.
Good mentors and bad mentors
Every good mentor I’ve ever had has deflected my attempts at iconizing them. They refuse to bite. Instead they turn my solicitations back onto me, which is where they belong. You, they remind me, have the power to make that decision, to see through that illusion, to take that action that you are so afraid of. Don’t give me that power, the honorable teacher/shrink/mentor says. It’s yours. Embrace it.
When the iconized person exploits the power that the iconizer has given him, that’s called abuse. Depending on how much he or she exploits it, it can become a crime.
But let’s get back to the bright side.
Catching ourselves in the act
When we catch ourselves iconizing somebody—in real life or in the sphere of celebrity—the smart move is to stop and take a seriously deep breath. What power or gift are we endowing this icon with? Do we ourselves possess that power or gift? What is keeping us from embracing it as our own?
When we take that power or gift for ourselves, we break the spell of the icon. We emancipate ourselves from self-imposed slavery. But this isn’t easy. For some reason, we are terrified of embracing that power or gift that is our birthright as our own.
That’s as far as I’ve gotten on this subject. I’ll be very interested to read the Comments this week. Please, friends, don’t be shy about offering insights. This is important—and interesting–stuff!
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This is some I’ve always tried to resist. I recognise the power of Icons but I don’t want to empower them myself, if that makes sense.
I’ve never been impressed with celebrities or politicians. Just because someone is popular doesn’t make them wise or good.
I know actors, I’ve been one, though on an amateur level. There’s nothing inherently enlightening in acting that gives an actor’s opinions weight.
The same way with writers. Once I started writing novels myself, I had a revelation: Writers were just like me. They struggle with the same things I do. Now most published writers DO know more than I do about craft or the business side of things but they’re still just people. Flawed and possessing the same divine spark we all do. I’m grateful to every one who’s taken the time to encourage me or give me advice.
Not that I’m always successful at treating my heroes with egalitarian aplomb. I got to meet Guy Gavriel Kay and Walter Jon Williams this past month. I was stammering like a schoolboy. That’s my problem, not theirs.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts, Steven. I agree that icons often represent powers we are afraid to live up to ourselves. They can also be a source of strength and inspiration to a mentally healthy person who doesn’t confuse what the person/persona or character symbolizes for them with reality–a set of training wheels for learning to own those powers oneself.
I wouldn’t call it an insult to be iconized. It doesn’t come from the same intention as someone who dehumanizes a person or group of people in order to subjugate them. Idealizing/having a crush/hero worship doesn’t have to be a manifestation of resistance, it can just be fun, energizing and inspiring.
Are you making a distinction between iconizing and ordinary admiration or crushes? Is “iconizing” your word for how idealize the people we admire or is it the extreme version engaged in by mentally unbalanced people who think you are their best friend solely because of your work? Would you call what you feel for Hal Moore or Sam Wilson iconizing?
We are more likely to iconize traits that we possess but have not accepted. Like fear, we can use what we iconize as a compass to show us what we should develop in ourselves.
Unlike some of the commentators, I must say that I never think that it is okay to have an icon. Too often, people see the icon-the finished product (so to speak) and don’t give credit to the commitment and work ethic that goes into making the icon. Instead of focusing on the person, we should look underneath to the process. That is where the lessons can be learned for those aspiring to greatness. One of the things that The War of Art makes clear is that it is the work that matters. Certainly you bring your particular gifts to the table, but if you don’t work (which is something each of us has the capacity to do), then success cannot occur.
Others should also be mindful of just how difficult it is to be on the receiving end of such devotion. With respect to the emails that you mention, people may not feel the full tilt of what it is like for one person to be on the receiving end of hundreds, perhaps thousands of such correspondences. That is unfair to ask of anyone, especially when we all have the capacity to maximize our own potential.
Here’s an issue I don’t think anyone has mentioned so far: iconizing yourself.
Have you ever looked at a past success and thought: I wrote an amazing book that people love. I was at the top of my game. I was fabulous. But not anymore. I’ll never measure up to what I once was.
Major resistance.
“All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know. And so they will be put to shame. Who would fashion a god or cast an image that can do no good?” Isaiah 44:9-10 from The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Is 44:9–10). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
People and things become icons because they eventually stand for something specific (a sport, a talent, a character, a value, etc.). An icon might be a movie star, a house or even you Mr. Pressfield, as wonderful as these Wednesday posts are. Some icons are just “eye candy” and fun to watch. Therefore, icons are not bad in themselves. They represent what is important to our culture. In fact, it is wise to study current icons and the work of others so that we can learn from them about us and about our society.
However, when we “worship” icons we are being fools. We hurt ourselves and others. The desire to “worship” someone or something reveals the hole we have in our souls. In the deep we find a longing for relationship, unmet desires, unfulfilled dreams, and disappointments. I believe that we were created for worship and praise. Our worship belongs to GOD alone and the powers of darkness are against it. That is resistance at its best! Therefore, when we transfer our “worship” to icons we are giving into resistance. We are also revealing what is inside of us that dreams to do great things, desires to experience more and screams to express itself, but is too afraid and maybe lazy to try.
When I was a child, I would spend hours reading through the Encyclopedia, looking at pictures of people who accomplished much. I wanted, and still want, to make my life count, to leave a mark, to make a difference, and to be more than just dust. I believe it is a healthy desire, one I was designed to have. But I must be careful not to allow this desire or the powers of resistance to lure me into “worshiping” idols. Easier said than done.
I think you’re going for archetypes: Jolie as the goddess-warrior, Anniston as the princess/damsel to be saved. I believe that once they achieve that status, a crystallizing moment happens and we generally refuse to follow them in any other type of story. Around the (media) campfire, they are the characters we follow, if that’s the story we need to learn.
Which is why I think a Gary Cooper figure will make a comeback. That’s an icon/archetype we could use.
I’ve fallen into the icon trap more than once – “if only I could be like ….” Over the (many) years I learned to quit looking to be like someone else, but when I run into someone who has the qualities I like (and someone did tell me this once, so it’s not original) to seek what they are seeking. Makes the playing field more level.
Yay, excellent post Steven.
Indeed, as Karol said: thought provoking.
I have idols and I do consider my “idols” to be a source of inspiration for me to act and to create my art.
Expressing gratitude for their art is kind of a thank you (via note, email, blog etc.) to them for being a great example, which helped me to unleash my own talents within.
My first mentor, told me, when I asked him,”How will I pay you back for all your help?”
He said: “Just send the message forward and when you will meet “your old self”, then you will know what to do. That is all I want back.”
Steven, I totally agree with you, that no wise man would consider himself to be “the reason” for someone’s success.
Therefore, I do not follow “stars” from the magazine covers or TV shows, cause those who truly deserve to be pointed out, do not wish to be praised or celebrated. It is simply the way they are…Serving others unconditionally is so natural as breathing. What for all the sparkle and noise?
cheers from Ivana, currently experiencing magical oriental adventure in Tehran.
A good book on this topic by my ol’ teacher “If You Meet The Buddha On The Road; Kill Him”