"The whole world loves American movies, blue jeans, jazz and rock and roll. It is probably a better way to get to know our country than by what politicians or airline commercials represent." —Billy Joel

"Busted flat in Baton Rouge, Waitin' for a train, When I was feelin' near as faded as my jeans" —Janis Joplin

One common definition of culture is described as the "values, norms, institutions and artifacts" that are "passed on from one generation to another by learning alone" (Hoult 93). Often the interrogation of cultural meaning leads to categorizing and dividing into subsystems such as "sociological" and "technological". These subsystems address "people and their interactions with each other", and "material objects and their uses", respectively (Forsberg). But are there some cases where the social interactions are defined by the objects we use? What about the clothing we wear? When speaking of culture and our clothes—blue jeans in particular—no amount of dividing and categorizing can mitigate the deep and rich cultural milieu surrounding the 'all American blue jean'. The sentiment often seen or heard in movies and books is the 'favorite pair' or 'perfect pair' of blue jeans. The symbolic significance of jeans is seen in the intense marketing efforts to. There are plenty of images associating a certain brand with the 'ideal'. But this is true for almost any consumer product in our society. So what makes blue jeans so different? Is it their long history? Or is it the constant accessibility to diverse tools of expression that jeans offer? Jeans can be powerful symbols bearing significant meaning; the cut, the brand and also the 'way' jeans are worn. Are they unkempt and worn out? Are they stained and soiled, bearing the oily signs of a gear-head or motorcycle fanatic? Or perhaps you own a bedazzler... enough said. The meaning-rich subtexts from advertising and pop culture offer a variety of identity 'markers' and identity 'tellers'. It's because the identity markers and tellers are widely accepted and understood that makes the symbolic meaning so effective.

How far can we go in discussing the symbolic power of blue jeans in our society? Can a pair of pants really define our values, or norms, play a role in our institutions or be labeled as artifacts? It is very clear that in America (and nearly everywhere else), denim jeans represent behemoths of symbolic culture. From the earliest account of canvas overalls in the mid-nineteenth century California Gold Rush to James Dean and Marlon Brando to the legendary '501 Blues' campaign in the '80's, jeans have been omnipresent in American cultural landscapes. The "501 Blues" campaign was arguably the one move that launched Levi's to cultural icon status. Those images today are touted as blackmailing material for such 501-era actors as Bruce Willis who may guest-star on late night television; but in their day, those images really made an impression. There were few things I wanted more than button-fly 501 Levi's (zippers weren't cool). My Mom tried to pass off 'Lee' jeans or 'Wranglers' as suitable substitutes but I wouldn't have it. I had seen the commercials, I knew what was cool and what wasn't. Plus, I had already endured years of persecution as a kid from having to wear body jewelry and a bullet-proof variety of pants known (appropriately) as 'Tough Skins'. And to make matters worse, they were hand-me-downs (and olive-green).