The proliferation of skulls in popular culture: a case study of how the traditional symbol of mortality was rendered meaningless

Abstract

For centuries, depictions of skulls symbolised either warnings of lethal threat or moralistic reminders of the transience of life and the vanity of earthly pleasures. However, by the first decade of the twenty-first century, skulls adorned women’s clothing, expensive men’s watches, baby bags and even the belt buckle of a California governor. As words with continuous repetition are reduced to mere sounds, so too are visual symbols – even traditional and emotionally potent ones – rendered meaningless when differently framed by various agencies. Developed here is a social history of how this symbol was largely emptied of its traditional connotations owing to a ‘perfect storm’ of cultural trends, ranging from the skull’s increasing use in popular culture, a doomsday millennial zeitgeist, the death-accepting ethos of Latino immigrants filling a vacuum within a death-denying (and defying) culture, to the growing public expectations of a forthcoming post-mortal world.