At first James Bond, Captain Kirk, and the Joker have little
in common other than being iconic fictional characters. A smooth talking and
womanizing member of her majesty’s secret service, James Bond is a symbol of
high fashion, cool cars and promiscuity. Captain James Tiberius Kirk is also a ladies man, but he does not discriminate by planet. Kirk is a symbol of manliness, leadership and duty. On the
opposite side of the spectrum lies the Joker. This iconic character is a whimsical
yet insane villain that can keep a smile on his face, and has his own sense of
style.
The reason these three characters have been lumped together
is because all three have seen a recent revival. They have been re-imagined or
re-invented, creating a whole new pop culture fan base mirroring our current
trends and times. James Bond’s character has always been clever, suave and had
little to no backstory. Recent Bond movie Skyfall has reinvented the character
into an aging agent, with flaws and a bit of history. Daniel Craig’s Bond is
more gritty and dark. Captain Kirk has also recently been re-invented in his
youth with J.J Abrams’ Star Trek. This revival shows old and new fans the
backstory and a more realistic Kirk finding the leader within him. Lastly, the
Joker has seen a recent revival. Always one of comic’s most iconic villains,
recent events have re-imagined the Jokers signature smile as a result of having
his face carved off by another villain. No longer the whimsical character
played by Cesar Romero or the villain created by Jerry Robinson; the new Joker
is a sadistic serial killer that revels in carnage.
All three of these characters have changed to a grittier or
more “realistic” feel, which seems to be the current trend. These characters
always stood out to me in my childhood, but in a more innocent way. From Sean
Connery, to Roger Moore, James Bond’s amazing gadgets, gorgeous cars (and
gorgeous women) always displayed a sophisticated adventurer I always admired. He
showed politeness in any situation, even while looking at certain death. This
was much what I admired in Captain Kirk from the television show Star Trek. He
put his crew first and faced many adversaries with a great speech and the occasional
karate chop. In between this action, he would always have time to crack a joke,
and at times spend some quality alone time with a blue-skinned beauty. While
the Joker was not known for the same smoothness or any type of values, his
iconic look made him such a strong villain for me. The Joker had that constant
grin, maniacal laughter, and the green hair. Even the purple suit always seemed
fun, while having a sense of danger behind it. Sure he was always going to be
captured and sent to jail by Batman, but he would have a bit of fun first. 
While these characters have stood the test of time, to the
point that I write about them today, the current variations of these pop
culture characters are much darker and grittier. Will children today view these
pop culture icons as the aging, flawed, troubled heroes or villains they are
currently? Hopefully the new “darker”
way that these characters are shown will highlight the strong values, leadership
and at times slight evil fun, that their past selves have for all these years.
I really liked how you did this assignment. I liked how you talked about the older icons and how they are being remade into more darker icons. I also would like to let you know that I liked all of these icons to when I was younger. I also like how the remade a lot of them and changed how they are to be seen in a new light. Nice job.
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