If I had to pick just one iconic picture, this would be it, sheerly for its absurd ubiquity. There was a time when you could not watch the news without seeing this paparazzi snapshot, which apparently symbolized the downfall of a child celebrity to the lure of drugs, clubs and fun. For all we know, she could just be sneezing – it’s not terribly clear what’s happening – but it was enough to put a serious cog in Lindsay’s career.

This is probably the actual iconic photo of our generation. Her scared eyes and surprising beauty reminded war-crazy Americans that people in that vague, sandy territory were actually people.

“Why so serious?” Heath Ledger’s sudden death happened at a time when he played one of his darkest, most complex characters, which added extra weight to the mystery of the scenario. Instead of remembering him just for his wide smile in teenybopper movies, we saw his bloody mouth and terrifying smile.

The incestuous, disturbingly sexual and vulnerable nature of Annie Leibovitz’ Miley Cyrus shoot seemed to reflect just how incestuous and sexual the teen star-generating machine was.

Ah, the gleeful joy on Brit’s face as she shaves off her hair and becomes a bald weirdo. People called her crazy and bipolar – maybe she was – but it could also be that she wanted to give a huge middle finger to the many industries that relied on her being beautiful.

Tom Cruise’s overdone show of enthusiasm for his wife on Oprah made us question everything else about him. Is he even straight? Is his religion a fraud? Is his marriage abusive? Celebrities are a vortex indeed.

Rihanna and Chris Brown’s abusive relationship showcased plenty of disturbing facts about relationships, gender and violence, but the creepiest thing of all was how formulaic the PR reaction was. Chris Brown’s team had that shit on lockdown, and although we still feel queasy about it, his career has resumed.

This photo of Allison Harvard,  America’s Next Top Model contestant/ 4chan meme “creepychan,” is a true collision of cultures. The chicks who watch Top Model probably have no idea what 4chan is, and those bros reblogging pictures of cats wouldn’t be caught dead watching Tyra Banks. But with the weird yet beautiful Allison, the two cultures happened to meet. Beyond that, Allison’s success as a blonde model contrasts with her dark, gothic internet persona, showing how TV and the net can create new channels of personality for anyone.

I had to pick one Terry Richardson image. I really wanted to do the GQ cover featuring the stars of Glee looking too sexy for class, but I picked this one instead. The image of Kanye West licking the head of a model like it’s nothing but a cantaloupe just shows how intriguing his massive ego is.

–Becky Lang