First Thoughts on "The Wild One"

I’ve mentioned it on the show (perhaps too often!) but the overuse of the word “iconic” is one of my primary current Discourse pet peeves. People drop it for anything and everything, seemingly unaware (or free of care) that its ubiquity neutralizes what is, and should be, a precise and particular term of art. There are times when no word but “iconic” will do, and one of them is when describing Marlon Brando in The Wild One. His entire look here—the leather jacket, motorcycle cap, sideburns and sneer—is iconic. That image, the expression of contempt on his face as clear and legible as the “Johnny” emblazoned on his jacket, became the go-to illustration of dissatisfied youth in the 1950s. 

It’s one of those pop culture penetrations that almost feels accidental, or at least contrary to the original intentions of the work that spawned it. The Wild One is a Stanley Kramer production, you see (uh oh), and the opening text is about what you’d expect from his Important Social Issues style guide: