Originally posted by StarrmanSadly you may have a point. I've left Hitler out of it though, for obvious reasons, and also because this photo activity leads in to a lesson about heroes and inspiration. Hitler may sadly have been a hero to a handful, but he has no place in my classroom.
Probably Che Guavara, purely because his image is the most replicated in the world. Jesus doesn't count because his image is fictional and it's only the interpretive accoutrements that maintain his identity (cross, white robes, halo, surreounding contextual backgrounds etc.).
After that Hitler, I guess.
I hear Morrissey is very big in Puerto Rico though, so who knows?
In more general response to the posts on the thread (thanks by the way), I doubt I will get the definitive answer I'm looking for, but form my experience Bruce Lee certainly seems to come out top for the simple reason that I have never had a student fail to identify and name him immediately, more so even than Monroe, JFK and Charlie Chaplin. The next time I do this I will make a point to include Pele and Presley, and also Guevera.
As for Jesus, well he'd get my vote, but then I only have one vote.
...the question is really who is the most visually identifiable to a name rather than who is the most famous...tweaking the question slightly...we live in such a media world that the old memories laid down thru literature and folkways will only be recalled by the cognoscente and the rest of mankind will have a visual memory created by publicists and marshall mcluhan moguls...people like che guevara...a stalinist monster on a small scale ( read the criticisms by regis debray, octavio paz, jorge castenada, etc....spanish literate left intellectuals who were not fooled by american movies and t-shirt vendors ) are a business....that is why we still have betty boop, marilyn monroe, humphrey bogart, etc...they are a business...some company owns the rights to sell the image so keeping the image before the public is necessary for business...they are not really remembered for content...content is not even really looked at...they are remembered for t-shirt images....four word slogans...short symbols to replace words of opposition or feelings, etc....they live on not for content but for dollars in someone's merchandising pocket...
Originally posted by asromacalcioElizabeth II
I do an activity with my students sometimes, I show them pictures of the most famous people in history and ask them if they know who they are.
We're talking very famous here, Marilyn Monroe, JFK, Bruce Lee, John Lennon, Charlie Chaplin, Jocky Wilson.
They all seem to know them, although occasionally there's one who doesn't recognise John Lennon or ...[text shortened]... rld.
I have to say, from my experience so far, it would seem to be Bruce Lee.
Really!