what is a defining image?

[xiaoxiaomuyu]

Dear all,

i am not clear about the meaning of the adjective "defining"

i found "defining moment" in online dictionary, which means a point at which a situation is clearly seen to start to change.

But what about a defining image?

i came across this expression in the following sentence:

Li pulled out of China's government-run sports training system in 2008, preferring to take control of her career, but the image of the tattooed star lifting the French Open trophy is expected to be the defining image that inspires a new generation of tennis players in China.

[BobK]

You're on the right track with 'defining moment'. If at that moment someone takes a photograph which is then syndicated and published in hundreds of newspapers and on hundreds of web-pages - that is a defining image. (It doesn't have to be a photograph, but it often is; for example, for many people, the defining image of the Mexico Olympics was this: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_I5nYWgRnit...wer-poster.jpg )

b

[emsr2d2]

Absolutely. A photograph taken of a defining moment can (but does not always) become a defining image.

Here is another of the most famous defining images.

[BobK]

Warning: that image is a famous photograph taken in South-East Asia, depicting the realities of the consequences for civilians of a particularly heinous kind of warfare. It's disturbing, and at least one person has questioned its appropriateness. It did happen though, and it is a defining image, so I don't want to censor it - not that it'd have much effect if I did anyway, as the picture has been reproduced millions of times already.

But if you do click on the link, don't expect to enjoy what you see.

(Incidentally, I heard a radio program about this image about a year ago. The woman - now in her 40s I think, and living in Canada - is still known as 'the girl in the photo'.)

b

[emsr2d2]

Apologies if anyone was disturbed by it. I would say that I would have been very surprised if anyone on here (or anywhere else) had never seen it before. I did not perhaps think that choice through and, at the very least, should have put a warning of my own on the post.