The Issues of the Rat Pack and What it Means to Me

A detailed Summary of The Issues of the Rat Pack and What it Means to Me


The Image I selected was a black and white photo of the Rat Pack in Las Vegas. It contains four men. Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra. The picture is a snapshot of the four men sitting down all dressed in suits. Sammy Davis Jr. is in the center with Dean Martin to his right. Sinatra and Lawford are on the flanks. All the men are not smiling, however Sinatra appears to have a smirk on his face.

The photo is a sign, which is made up of two parts. The first part is the signifier, which is the actual image itself. In this case it is a just four men sitting down. The second part of the sign is the meaning, which is called the signified. The thing that is signified in this photo is the idea of the wild and crazy times that were occurring at the time of this photo.

The photo to me is an icon. An icon is something that has more to it than just the visual. What the photo means to me is


. In the 1950's the Rat Pack were famous because they are entailers and the fact that they parties hard came second. In the present the Rat Pat now represents a time when you drank and had a good time and took what you wanted and didn't ask. The Rat Pack (especially Frank Sinatra) has become a culture phenomenon and found a new generation of fans who appreciate the lifestyle that the Pack led and that they (as the consumer) want to lead. The Pack music and movie are enjoying resurgence because of the negotiated meaning that every one has developed about the Rat Pack. This has been most evidenced by the movie Ocean's Eleven which is a remake of Rat Pack movie. It now stars several young entertainers attempting to recreate the charm of the original Rat Pack.

a lifestyle. A lifestyle that is hedonistic in nature, a time when a person gambled, smoked too many cigarettes, drank too much, stayed out late and didn't

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 619
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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