Analyzing the Iconic Image of Che Guevara - 1913 Words

It is hard to travel anywhere in the world without seeing somewhere the iconic image of Che Guevara on a T-Shirt, souvenir, or poster. The original photographer, and the Irish artist who turned that photograph into a print, are virtually unknown. However, their image has been redistributed to the point where it can effectively be called an icon or a meme. There is no small amount of irony in the fact that an icon of communism has become an emblem of capitalism: as the image has been bought and sold countless times in countless countries around the world. The iconic image of Che Guevara has a hipster chic to it, but also political panache. To don the Che Guevara image means one does not agree with the establishment and is part of the 99%. However, Che Guevara is a controversial figure too. The image has been banned in some parts of the world, because Che was a radical revolutionary who was not against the use of armed uprisings in communist revolts. Therefore, the iconic Che Guevara i mage created first in Cuba and turned into pop art by an Irishman is a paradoxical and typically postmodern cultural meme. The Che Guevara iconic image represents an exact moment in history that is distinct and important. The most specific moment in time the iconic image represents was the second Alberto Kordas shutter snapped and he took the photograph for a local Havana newspaper in 1960; he was covering a mass funeral ¦held by Fidel Castro for a group of Cubans killed in the explosion of