Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Icons

Do you have a favorite icon?  Among popular ones are Barbie, Tinkerbell, Wonder Woman and Hello Kitty.


My favorite icon is Betty Boop.  I love Betty.  She's often misunderstood because, on the surface, she seems sexual but, in reality, her character is pure and sweet.  Betty's creators wanted her to be girlish and, in her cartoons, she certainly has that quality.

Most people have never seen a real Betty Boop cartoon.  That's sad -- they are really good.  Made in the 1930's, the 110 Betty Boop cartoons are entertaining and fun.  Betty has a cute dog named Pudgy who dances and plays with her.

Trivia: Betty was based on a famous actress of her time, Clara Bow.

So who are your favorite icons??

20 comments:

  1. Mine are Barbie and Hello Kitty. I have a few Betty Boop dolls that I bought while visiting Hollywood. My Daughter Bella LOVES Betty Boop. I got her a Betty Boop T-shirt at Wal-Mart a while back and I cant get her to stop wearing it lol.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ps. I have also seen the Betty Cartoons, used to have a dvd with vintage cartoons on it that had Betty Boop and Felix the Cat episodes (also a Wal-Mart find years ago). Felix is another one I Love.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I learned about Betty Boop from my Grandma J (she of the awesome jewelry) - she did Betty's "Boop-boop-de-doo" for us kids. I saw the cartoons at the local museums' movie house - they are so cute.

    I don't know that I have a fashion icon. Probably my Aunt Anne. Hmmm...I should write about her.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi ya, thanks for your (always) kind words on my blog today...I really am still new to blogging and for me its about the relationships that are built over time and on here I have really connected with a few really introspective and positive people, so your thoughtful comments are always much appreciated. All I have ever wanted to do is make a difference for people and hope that some how my blog does that!! As for Betty Boop... well, I never really knew much about her. I think when I grew up I was mostly into Archie comic books, and was always pulling for Betty to get some attention at some point in time!!! LOL anyway I always enjoy your posts so keep it up!! :)
    xoJ

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mine is Mafalda, a caracter from an Argentinian comic. All what that six years old rebel wants is world peace. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like that girly little cat that Peppy Le Pew thinks is a girl skunk. She's sort of mysterious but not particularly posh. And she really knows how to wear monochromes!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I haven't seen any of her cartoon. Will have to catch one now. I like Betty for the Archie comics, though! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Betty beats Veronica any day!

    And I love the girl-cat whom Pepe Le Pew mistakes for a fellow skunk. Nice choice, Baxter.

    I never heard of Mafalda so I looked her up. Very cute. I like her wish for world peace but I'm not sure why she hates soup. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Marianne Faithful, before the drugs. Jean Seberg, before she went nuts. Fracoise Hardy...always.

    ReplyDelete
  10. i love hello kitty. i lived in korea for 2 years and saw it everywhere and became a fan.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hey Ralph, I sent you an email and I hope you get it. ttyl.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I adore Hello Kittty.
    But, it's just because she is cute and ties me somehow to being a little girl.
    But, now seriously I should find me a hard working inspirational icon that did something !
    On another subject...
    Wow, the sun is out, it's been raining for over 40 hours straight.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh I love Betty! My friends mom idolizes her lol, she even has a Betty tattoo! Hrm..as far as cartoons go, I would probably go with Kitty Pryde from X-men, if that counts? For authors, Sylvia Plath, Male icon, David Sedaris. Musician? Jenny Lewis.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I disagree, Veronica deserves love too! It's just the old archetype that the sexually assertive woman is "bad" and the innocent virgin (Betty) is "good". Why should owning your sexuality be bad?


    :) As you can tell, I also read comic books.

    It's hard for me to figure out the differentiation between a character, and when that character becomes an ICON.

    Does Cher count? I think so. She's a great icon. Owns herself, and doesn't give a crap what anyone else thinks. I like a powerful woman who isn't defined by her relationships instead of her self.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Cher counts, although she struggled a lot with her daughter Chastity's gender-change.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love Betty! I got a couple dvds of original cartoons about a year ago. They're a lot of fun. She was definitely a flapper icon. For me, I love Madonna. She is one of the figures that comes first to my mind when I think "icon." I also love Clara Bow and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I loved Archie comics too- I was always rooting for Cheryl the redhead ;) I also love Arthur the Aardvark (kid's cartoon)- he's my 8 year old idol :)

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  18. Like Emily and Jodi, I love Betty! Though I admire Veronica's chutzpa, I'm more like a Betty!

    And always loved Betty Boop too, I think even more now that I understand the power of sexuality!

    ha ha!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Betty Bop is okay, I like Hello Kitty, probably just my asian side haha!

    ReplyDelete