Popular Culture Review 29.2
that represent a diversity of game genres , including Mario Kart , Super Smash Bros ., Dr . Mario , and many more . His image is also used , like Mickey Mouse ’ s , to sell various non-gaming products like shirts , birthday cards , dishes , clocks , and most other kinds of merchandise that you can imagine . Mario has transcended the realm of character and sits firmly in the realm of icon . He can be placed into almost any pop culture environment , where he often does not merely adapt , but often thrives . Despite his appearance as a simple working man , nevertheless , Mario takes different forms throughout his adventure series�everything from Fire Mario to Metal Mario to Paper Mario�he is also a pliable figure of transformation throughout culture in general .
In his essay “ Super Mario , the New Silent Clown ,” Manuel Garin agrees that Mario ’ s tremendous and lasting appeal is tied closely to his aforementioned transformative ability . He too connects the appeal of Mario to the appeal of Mickey Mouse and even Charlie Chaplin . Garin writes , “[ Mario ] has become to video games what Chaplin was to silent film and Mickey Mouse to cartoon animation , a transcultural [ ... ] image that fosters intense cultural re-appropriation ” ( 305 ). Garin should take this further , though . He mainly sticks to establishing Mario as “ an icon of user-generated comedy in hundreds of YouTube parodies ” ( 305 ). This idea ignores Mario ’ s pliability within and throughout his various incarnations in video games themselves . It also ignores how that pliability functions to add comedy and even pathos to the character . Most importantly , it ignores some of what defines Mario as an individual and what allows him his adaptability , roles that call for him to change who and what he is and make the best of difficult circumstances . As such , Mario as an icon is much more than a ripe source of parody . Mario is a working man . He is an immigrant .
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