How Do You Create An Icon?

[NOIRTRASH]

How do you create iconic characters?

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Its simple.

Where you start is at the foundation of all moral philosophy, getting the idea that most life forms are slaves to Nature, while a few have options for diverse action.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't think authors create I conic characters, readers do.

Don't get me wrong, obviously the author does create the character, but a character can only become iconic if readers enjoy them so much they blow it up and beg for more.

In recent history movies do it more than the books.

Fro Example Silence of the Lambs was a best selling book, but Hannibal Lecter didn't become an icon until Anthony Hopkins made him one.

Proof of that is the fact Lecter appeared years before silence of the lambs in a movie called "manhunter"

That movie was an adaptation of the novel Red Dragon which Harris wrote before Silence of The Lambs. Lecter(already in jail, like in Silence) helps advise a serial killer.

In the movie role he acted like an idiot, wasn't menacing at all and no one gave a shit about him.

After Silence of the Lambs of course they had to remake Red Dragon and try to feature Lecter more than he was in the actual book and although Hopkins played him well, it wasn't the impact of the original.

In fact as the cash cow books kept coming Lecter's become a borderline super powered hero and its gotten old.

But say the name and everyone knows who he is.

ETA Hopkins played Lecter a final time in "Hannibal" the book and movie were so bad even he couldn't make it rise over the total bucket of suck it was.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

I don't think authors create I conic characters, readers do.

Don't get me wrong, obviously the author does create the character, but a character can only become iconic if readers enjoy them so much they blow it up and beg for more.

In recent history movies do it more than the books.

Fro Example Silence of the Lambs was a best selling book, but Hannibal Lecter didn't become an icon until Anthony Hopkins made him one.

Proof of that is the fact Lecter appeared years before silence of the lambs in a movie called "manhunter"

That movie was an adaptation of the novel Red Dragon which Harris wrote before Silence of The Lambs. Lecter(already in jail, like in Silence) helps advise a serial killer.

In the movie role he acted like an idiot, wasn't menacing at all and no one gave a shit about him.

After Silence of the Lambs of course they had to remake Red Dragon and try to feature Lecter more than he was in the actual book and although Hopkins played him well, it wasn't the impact of the original.

In fact as the cash cow books kept coming Lecter's become a borderline super powered hero and its gotten old.

But say the name and everyone knows who he is.

ETA Hopkins played Lecter a final time in "Hannibal" the book and movie were so bad even he couldn't make it rise over the total bucket of suck it was.

Maybe you've never raced into hell and persuaded a lost soul to leave with you. Or pulled the dead from the grave and have them go back on their own while you caught your breath.

 

[rjordan]

I don't think authors create Iconic characters, readers do.

Chicken-Egg in a way. The writer might very well intend the character to be iconic--representative of something--but the readers have to accept it as true.

And fuck Noirtrash for mentioning Jim Rockford in another post as iconic. I checked Netflix, they have the series, and I was up until 3am binge watching. Now my day is shot and I had plans. Maybe I'll just go back and watch 1 or 2 more episodes.

rj

 

[sr71plt]

I'll bet this is a lead in to posting again on Raymond Chandler and Philip Marlowe.

I'll agree with the "readers designate characters as iconic" comment.

 

[PervOtaku]

The writings of Joseph Campbell are a good place to start here.