Word: iconic
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...London-trained lawyer and a sophisticated politician, Gandhi gave Indians a proud identity and sense of nationhood. Many venerated him as a mahatma (great soul). His protests in 1930 presaged the moment in 1947 when Britain would grant India independence and Gandhi would achieve worldwide status as a moral icon. His example lives on in nonviolent activists of our day such as Lech Walesa and Nelson Mandela...
...Pisanello, Pollaiuolo and Uccello, the subject is seen in strict profile. This gives her remoteness: she doesn't look back at you or acknowledge your gaze in any way. She is on display in all her finery, in scarlet velvet or cloth of gold, in brocade and pearls--an icon of marital success and faithfulness. (The catalog has an excellent essay by Roberta Landini and Mary Bulgarella on the arcane intricacies of status and ladies' fashion in 15th century Florence.) Her existence as a silhouette, an untouchable presence--or rather, apparition--reinforces the idea of virtue. So does the purity...
...Wicket Ways An icon to fans in his native India, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to reach 10,000 one-day runs. The only record the modest 28-year-old is in no danger of grabbing is the 99.94 Test average of Australia's Sir Donald Bradman, who died this year...
...surprising, therefore, that The Lord of the Rings caught on at a time of deep disillusionment with America and its leaders. In the 1960s, the series became a defining icon of the counterculture movement. Led Zeppelin’s music is sprinkled with references to Tolkien’s work, and “Frodo Lives” bumper stickers could be found across the country. At that time of pervasive doubt and division about the morality of bombing a small country in Southeast Asia, The Lord of the Rings caught on exactly because its characters were idealized embodiments...
...officials have repeatedly warned, the war on terrorism is not about bin Laden. His capture or death would certainly deal a harsh blow to al Qaeda and destroy his carefully-constructed image as America's nemesis. But depriving the movement of its poster-boy icon and chief spokesman won't necessarily extinguish the threat it represents. Bin Laden has never been the network's operational commander, and although he is known to his acolytes as "the sheikh" he has no clerical standing, either. His contribution may have come primarily as a rainmaker raising funds among wealthy Gulf Arabs...