In your opinion, is Robert Pattinson the biggest pop icon of a generation?

by LESLIE GORNSTEIN

Let’s put it this way: When I floated your suggestion past a historian who specializes in this sort of thing, he had to fight the urge to laugh. (Further evidence against your theory: I myself cackled freely, and the professor didn’t try to stop me.)

“He doesn’t even come close,” says cultural critic Paul Levinson, professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University.

At the risk of crushing you completely, here’s why, plus some examples of real pop icons:

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