I like to observe the cultural icons we've created for our
national conceptual shorthand and deconstruct them. Like
this one for instance, universally understood in America to
signify a rich, exploitative capitalist. It's a hold over from the
J.P. Morgan image at the close of the 19th century: The
banker's striped trousers. The upper class silk top hat. The
expensive Cuban cigar. The overfed corpulence indicating
piggish, I-scarf-up-more-than-my-fair-share behavior. The
white handlebar moustache signifying that it took time to
accumulate a fortune. No Mark Zuckerbergs, Bill Gates or
Steve Jobs overnight billionaires in their 20's back then. The
only ham-handed element to assure everyone gets the
message of the icon is the money bags. How long will we
keep this image? It's already been 120-130 years. Cultural
touchstones like Aunt Jemimah and Betty Crocker have
been modernized. Will this kind of update happen to the rich
capitalist icon? If so, what will he look like in the year 2100?
