The use of animal imagery to represent abstract concepts is a tribal practice common to many different cultures. Humankind has used animal fetishes to mark tribe or clan for thousands of years. In more recent times, totems have found new associations beyond familial affiliation. Photo by Mark McLaughlin

These once shamanistic figures are now ubiquitous parts of the media landscape. There are corporate mascots and entertainment mascots stitched into the very fabric of our lives.

As a cultural practice, the point of the totem is mainly, by way of association, to draw on the innate powers and qualities of the totem figure. Many ancient clans identified with the natural strength and beauty of the animals in their geographic region. Lions and tigers and bears are common ritual figures because they represent striking examples of natural power.

In more modern times, the use of the mascot figure has transformed. It is still a totem that a group uses as a point of identification, but in a particularly modern twist, some groups take a more ironic approach to the figure. The University of California at Santa Cruz, for example, has a banana slug for a mascot. If mascots are usually chosen for characteristics of strength, the slug's high points are not immediately obvious, but when Sluggo showed up in Quentin Tarentino's "Pulp Fiction, " it was a high point, indeed. The slug also is representative of the diverse northern forest ecosystem.

University mascots became a fad in the 19th century. Before that schools did have various icons with which they were associated, such as John Harvard, the religious pilgrim, for whom the university is named. But the idea of showing off the mascot at sporting events is less than 200 years old.

Is there a difference between a mascot, a totem, a logo, or an icon? Do they all strive for the same degree of realism? Do they all foreground comers in the same way, or ritual factors, or the idea of group or individual interests? What is Mickey Mouse to the world? What is he to the Disney Corporation? Is the bat a mascot for Batman or is Batman a logo for DC comics?

Businesses, in fact have a very intimate relationship with many mascots. The Exxon tiger is one famous example. Its logo and slogan suggest that it will make your car strong and powerful. The logo draws our attention to the personal good that the company can perform for us. Businesses use mascots as a means of winning approval. Exxon's mascot does not directly summon up images of the ecological disasters or political scandals that Exxon has been associated with. Corporations want citizen approval, but will happily accept citizen apathy and will tolerate a degree of citizen dislike and disrespect.

Being able to recognize, decode, and evaluate these iconic messages is a demonstration of media literacy. This is a skill that we should become aware of and that children need increased training in.

My personal totem is the Kodiak bear. It can hold its place among the corporate mascots and entertainment mascots.