George Barber uses the paintbox effects of video to challenge Warhol's definitive image of Marilyn, in a video which is both a portrait of the star as well as a subversive homage to the pop artist in 101 Pictures That Andy Never Thought Of. Barber is one of many artists who have used the moving image to challenge perceptions of well-known figures and their portrayal in media and film. Harold Offeh's impersonation of Mammy, the archetypal black maid of Gone with the Wind is another example of the way in which artists questions popular representations.. In Peter Gidal's Heads a succession of tightly framed head shots of well known figures from the worlds of art and music are made unfamiliar by Gidal's unflinching close-ups.

Artists have also used film and video to celebrate figures who have achieved an iconic status through their deeds in politics and arts. Isaac Julien's biographical films Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask and Looking for Langston could be seen as a homage to two iconic figures in the history of black consciousness. Jayne Parker's beautifully composed black and white portraits of the body builder Andrulla Blanchette and the trapeze artist Vicki Amedume are rare celebrations of female strength and athleticism. French writer and filmmaker Marguerite Duras, the subject of his film Interview with Marguerite Duras represents for David Lamelas an exemplary form of French intellectualism. In a playful shift between the time frame of the filmmaking process and the gallery experience, the click of a stills camera can be heard in Lamelas' conventional documentary interview with Duras, forewarning of the photographs which would later appear to accompany the film in a Parisenne gallery space.