Duran Duran are many people’s favorite band and is beloved by many especially people that grew up in the eighties.  They are a band that are based out of England but the do many tours in the United States. They currently have four active members and there have been many past members throughout the years. This band can definitely be seen as a pop culture Icon because their music is appreciated by millions of people worldwide. Most people that aren’t familiar with this band has probably at one time or another heard one of their many songs or seen one of their videos.

    The first major example of their demographic is their appeal to men through an artifact their song Hungry Like the Wolf. This song is not only just a good song its words try to tell a story that’s prevalent to men. They use the audio mode of song to try to explain their point while bringing musicality to all of their fan base. The media could be visual through the images that it implants in the mind. The genre is persuasive because the lyrics try to get you to go after what you want. The song uses the image in your mind of a wolf stalking its prey to symbolize a man chasing after a woman.  It uses the word choice of the hunt to symbolize the idea of this man following this girl. This use of the rhetorical appeal pathos is used to try to make everybody relate to the song as a whole. The song word choice is supposed to heighten your emotions to make it possible to relate which is why it is pathos.  The purpose of this song is to tell the men that they can chase after a girl if they know that the girl likes them. The purpose in today’s world is just for joy of music. They want to try to relate with all people on a level they can understand, and they want to use lyrics that people can easily under. Now the song is not necessarily the best with its lyrics but many still love it because of the genre and the beat that it has. The song also is very catchy which helps because people generally remember songs that they can remember the words and beat. The genre of this song is like pop or rock which was smart because that was the popular genre in the eighties and nineties. It also helps them gain popularity because they now have the fan base of two different genres that listen to this song. All of these things combined are the reason why Hungry Like the Wolf is a very well-known song worldwide and this popularity helped contribute to Duran Duran’s success. The audience for this song is not only for their many fans, it is also really intended for men.  

     One artifact that really helps the bands credibility is an ad for Coachella from 2011. Coachella is a huge music festival in California that many people attend therefore most of the performers are very well known or become well known. Coachella is also a concert that is in the United States which only helps grow their worldwide popularity. Keep in mind that the concert was in 2011 showing that the band is still relevant to this day. They did however sing some of their older songs. Though they have many newer songs even people today are more familiar with their older songs. That was a strategy because certain people might know the songs but not who sings it and they wanted to change that. The mode is visual because the viewers can look at the advertisement. The media is through an advertisement or face to face that was put up by Coachella. The genre is persuasive trying to get people to come out by wetting the taste buds with the advertisement. They are helped by the use of Ethos in the advertisement. The ethos comes because Coachella is a credible music festival, that in turn means that Duran Duran must be a credible band otherwise they wouldn’t be asked participate. The audience is to all of the bands fan base in the United States and England as well as all the people that enjoy and attend Coachella. The purpose of the advertisement is to get people to try to attend their music festival. The purpose for the band could also be to help them gain more of a fan base and spread what they love with the world. The advertisement lists some of the bands most famous and well known songs because they want the fans to hear the songs that they believe the people will know the best. The advertisement is as much for Duran Duran as it is for Coachella trying to get fans to come. Coachella uses the fame of the band to try to get major fans from England to travel to see the band and therefore boosting their profits. The advertisement also uses very bright colors so that people are attracted to it and it hooks people immediately when they look at it. The advertisement put the songs in white to make it pop in the advertisement.  The font is bigger so that people can read the important parts. The advertisement also gives the fans the members names and the place and date of the festival making it easier for people to read.

     The third artifact is a promotional poster for the James Bond movie A View To A Kill in which Duran Duran had the main theme song. James Bond is a movie franchise that a lot of people have probably heard of and have watched at some point. This franchise helps grow the popularity of the band because people can hear one of their songs in a major movie series. The poster uses ethos very well and effectively, the use of James Bond is a celebrity which intrigues people, and the movie series is very well known and credible thus increasing the credibility of the band. The mode is through a visual and the median is a poster. The poster has the band’s name in red to symbolize blood for James Bond more than likely, it also uses a picture of the band and James bond so that people could see what they looked like. The genre is informative and persuasive because it wants you to come out but has pictures to inform you of the movie. The point of the poster is to try to get people to come see the James Bond movie in the theater. The purpose of the poster for the band is to get their music out through a large fan base. The audience for the poster is not only the fans of James Bond, it is also the fans of Duran Duran who might come out to see the movie just to listen to the song. The band had a great platform to get their music out to the public and only helped increase their fame. The movie is an action movie so the music blended in well because the band had that type of music.  

   Not only was the band recognized because of their many artifacts they were also known because of their look. Most people in the eighties dressed similar to the way that the band dressed when they were on stage. This look made them more popular because it probably gave the people something to relate with because of the eighties look. The band always gave an electric performance during concerts and fans could frequently get involved within the performance. Not only was their music very good their music videos are probably recognizable by their true fans. The videos that they make are very action packed and usually match the song very well. With all these factors in mind and the artifacts presented in this paper it is safe to say that Duran Duran are pop culture icons. Fans all over the world listen to the band and most people probably know at least one of their songs. The band is still relevant as they are still touring the world to this day, so we can assume that they will be well known for several years to come.

    Through the use of these three artifacts as well as their videos and their look the band has become very famous. In my opinion an Icon is someone recognizable worldwide for their accomplishments. The band did start in England however, their music has spread to the United States and many Americans have more than likely heard of one of the bands songs. This factor has helped them blossom from a popular band to pop culture icons. They used and took advantage of some major platforms to make them credible and famous. Though they are all older now that hasn’t stopped them from touring and releasing new music quite frequently. They have shown that they love what they do otherwise they probably would have stopped by now. Their music now might not be as popular as the music that they released in the eighties, but major fans still continue to buy the music because of the popularity that they still hold. Some of their songs still play on the radio today because the music still is catchy even today.Let’s all give thanks to Duran Duran for what they have done for Pop/Rock music and for being the icons that they are today.