There are endless symbols in our world today. Each symbol has the power of representing an idea or belief without any spoken words. The idea of representing can be thought of as an idea which already exists and through symbols or images that same idea can be identified.
Take for example the skull and crossbones symbol. Most, especially in the US, associate this with toxic or death. Another many can unfortunately admit to using is the middle finger. This symbol, although unpleasant, still represents a certain idea that many are familiar with.
Certain situations can arise where signals get crossed and an image that means one thing in one cultural can take on a whole different representation in another. An example of this would be the creation of the automobile called a "Nova" made by Chevy. In the US, sales were high and saw modest success. However, in the Spanish culture, Nova translates the "no va" which means "no go" or "does not go." Not too many people want a car that does not move, therefore, it was not a huge success in this culture.
Representation can sometimes be manipulated from the truth through the power of the media. The actual truth may not always be associated with a certain symbol and it is not easy to try to change the meaning of a symbol.
The only question is when and how do we learn what these symbols mean? How do we know that an American flag represents liberty or freedom when others think of it as something completely different?
