5. Santa Claus
What child has not been frightened into behaving thanks to the
ever-present youthful fear of Santa not providing come Christmas? Almost
all western children were told by their parents that Santa would leave
them nothing if they misbehaved. I speak from experience when I say that
it was one of the most effective methods of stopping tantrums! Funnily
enough, though, the fear always dissipates on Christmas Eve as you just
know that Santa will be coming – even if you did slip up a few times.
4. Barbie
As Barbie has progressed from a pretty young woman to whom all girls
could aspire, to something often verging on the likeness of a harlot,
one can wonder whether it was Barbie influencing children, or children
influencing Barbie. There are certainly many similarities. Barbie has
depicted almost every possible female lifestyle choice and I think there
can be no doubt that she has been at the start of the path many women
have taken in life.
3. Robin Hood
This could potentially lead to a debate about whether Hood existed or
not, but I am of the opinion that he did not. Therefore, he is listed
as my number eight on the list. I am sure we have all heard someone
justifying theft because the victim is wealthy – and where did this
justification come from? Not just the principles of redistribution of
wealth that many of us live under in Western Society (read envy taxes)
but the fact that to this day, we are all raised believing Robin Hood
was a hero – when, in fact, he was a thief. Stealing is almost always
wrong, and just because Robin Hood gave the proceeds of his crimes to
poor people, it is not a valid justification. As for the previously
mentioned taxes, there is every reason for us to believe that the
majority of people accept these taxes because of their prior belief in
the false morality of the Robin Hood story.
2. Cowboys
This is one for the boys obviously! Even in remote New Zealand where I
grew up, all the boys played “Cowboys and Indians”. The cowboy was a
great hero with a shining gun who represented the morality of Western
ideals: manliness, defense of justice, protection of women and children.
No doubt many now cringe at the lack of political correctness involved
in the game and stereotype, but kids aren’t politically correct (thank
God) and certainly won’t be hindered because of it. The influence of the
Cowboy movie genre is indisputable an immense one. Oh – and for those
who say “but cowboys are real!” – yes – but this is about the concept –
not about a specific person – just as we might say Santa existed as St
Nicholas, the concept is bigger than any one person.
1. The Marlboro Man
How many men reading this list who smoke, are smoking cigarettes with
filters? Venturing a guess I would say all of them. Before the Marlboro
Man campaign began, “real men” didn’t smoke cigarettes with filters –
they were for women. The aim of the Marlboro Man campaign was primarily
to get men smoking filtered marlboro cigarettes. The influence of the
campaign is abundantly clear today. The campaign is considered to be one
of the best in all history. According to Wikipedia, it transformed a
feminine campaign, with the slogan ‘Mild as May’, into one that was
masculine, in a matter of months
Source : http://top5s.net
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