The Semiotics of Ice-T

Kangaroo Ice-T

Anthropomorphic Resistance. Transformed like Gregor Samsa, Ice-T does not wilt away in his bedroom or become crushed underfoot, he is a dynamic figure of real human emotions. The common perception of anthropomorphic creatures as cute cartoons is subverted here as Ice-T becomes grotesque. This is what Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck might look like if they were flesh and blood being created by military experiments. Like Ice-T, they would probably be very angry.

Postmodern Subversion. A reinvention of meaning in a bleak, post-American wilderness. A formation of Golden Gate bridges to a new order. The revolutionary call of Body Count has been answered by a future society and our civilzation, like the bridge inhabited by Ice-T and his followers, is recognizable only as a relic of the past. Whereas Body Count Ice-T was a prophet of destruction, Johnny Mnemonic Ice-T (JM Ice-T) is a new pillar of the post-structural society. Symbols of the past - bridges, BMX goggles, dolphins - derive new meaning in the world JM Ice-T is constructing from the ruins. However, JM Ice-T is not unchallenged, a hegemon in the form of a transnational corporation, or zaibatsu, threatens the fragile world of JM Ice-T. In his continuing struggle he promises only hardship.