Culture Vulture

Trust CNN to come up with an interesting concept — a show which journeys into the world of art,architecture,music,fashion,music and identifies cultural icons and the ways in which they influence our world. CNN’s new show not only does all that,but it also encourages us,the viewers,to identify icons that we want to see on the show. This is certainly television of the new age—interactive and relevant.

So far,the show has explored a variety of icons,from the Louvre Museum’s glass pyramids and their architect,IM Pei,to the fabulous world of Les Paul guitars and their contribution to rock and roll history. The great thing is that Icon manages to shed light on many inter-related topics,without becoming fragmented and shallow. At the same time,it eschews pedantry in favour of a lightness of touch which is commendable.

The show is hosted by Monita Rajpal,who does a good job of appearing enthusiastic,without going overboard. She’s got the right qualities required from a television show host–– she’s well-dressed without being distracting,is fluent and informative and does not ever centre the show around herself. It’s about the cultural icons and she remembers that.

Icon is for the layperson,not the scholar,so it lays out all its content in an easy-to-digest format and does not go into information overload. It also tries very hard to relay up-to-date information. In the episode about the Louvre,it not only spoke about the history of the palace-turned-museum,but also dealt with an upcoming exhibition of Arab art and the new enclosure that is being built for it. The episode also featured information about the book and its movie,The Da Vinci Code (which was shot in the museum) and an interview with the architect of the museum’s famous glass pyramids,IM Pei.

So far,the icons featured seem to be those that are largely relevant to the Western world. It would be great if the show could also feature icons from the East like Pandit Ravi Shankar or Toyota.

Rating: ****

Verdict: This show is a great opportunity for viewers to actually participate in understanding the world. It should not be missed.