Black Canary

DC Comics has given the world a great gift: the Justice League. Among this union of righteousness, allusions to the Greek gods elevate this to a modern American allegory. As America’s modern gods, the Justice League represents the ethics and social issues in the United States. One of these modern Olympians is Black Canary. As a symbol of the powerful women brought about by the twenty-first century, Black Canary is most similar to the Greek goddess Artemis.

Now the Greek goddess Artemis was the goddess of hunting, the moon, and virginity. The argument can be made to say that Black Canary was a huntress and a “moon goddess”, but Black Canary is by no means a virgin. Black Canary, the alter ego of Dinah Lance, is a skilled at judo combat, similar to the hunting prowess of Artemis. In addition, her completely black wardrobe shows Black Canary’s attachment to the night, and by extension the moon.

Black Canary is portrayed as a sex symbol to comic book readers. Like most female superheroes, Black Canary’s sexuality is used to draw readers in. This weaponizing of her sexuality adds to the parallel of modern women in the work force. They still have hard times getting high level or powerful positions, and are viewed as mire sexual objects. Black Canary then uses her sex appeal as a weapon. In this way, Black Canary could be considered a modern icon. She has portrayed American society perfectly.  The adage “sex sells” has saturated almost all of American society; however, Black Canary goes beyond this. She has powers; she is an amazing fighter; she is a brilliant strategist; but this does not matter. The only reason DC Comics included this character is because of the fact that she wears fishnet stockings and leather. Many women in the world today have great attributes, but society will only give the beautiful or “sexy” women a chance to prove themselves. Even then, these women will be forced to compromise their morals in an attempt to further their carriers, educations, and goals.

Big Bird

Children are the future of any society. If America’s youth allow a character to withstand forty-five years on television, that character has earned the right to be considered a cultural “icon” of America. Attempting to influence and educate children, PBS launched ‘Sesame Street’ on November 10th, 1969. Generations of children have grown up watching ‘Sesame Street’ and learned basic developmental skills. This show’s success may be attributed to their colorful puppet characters, such as Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Ernie. One of the most beloved characters is a large yellow bird by the name of Big Bird. The towering yellow figure that is Big Bird has now saturated both political and juvenile society.

In the 2012 Presidential race, Mitt Romney claimed a love for Big Bird but also desired to cut some funding for the network. His opinion on Big Bird lead to backlash from many ideological groups. This also lead to political squabbles between the President and Romney forcing Americans to ask the question, How important is Big Bird? America should be placing the education of their children as one of the highest priorities and does that mean Big Bird and his other friends at ‘Sesame Street’ friends should be cut? The best time for children to learn is when they are at this young stage in life. The prime demographic for ‘Sesame Street’ is children who are in this prime of their developmental years. All media is biased. This should not lead to the cancellation of media though. Parents can control whether they allow their children to be subjected to those biases.

Children forty years ago who developed with the aid of Big Bird are now leading schools, businesses, and government. Big Bird is now training the leaders and thinkers of the future. This bird has evolved from a mere comic relief character and has now entered every aspect of America including the political sphere. If Big Bird can become a relevant topic in a presidential election, he is an American icon.