History Art / StatueOfLiberty

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: In Japanese, it becomes ''Jiyuu no Megami'' (The Goddess of Liberty), which is also a shared name in other East Asian translations.

The Statue of Liberty (full name: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'' -- ''Liberty Enlightening the World'') is a French [[{{sculptures}} statue]] given to the United States in 1886 to personify the freedom America offers.

A gift from the people of UsefulNotes/{{France}} (to celebrate the parallel fights for freedom of [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution Colonial America]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution Revolutionary France]], and having helped each other many times), the statue itself was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi[[note]]He modelled the face on his mother and the body on his wife... make of that what you will[[/note]]. Bartholdi on a visit to America selected Bedloe's Island (known as Liberty Island today) in the bay of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity as the location. The project often stalled for funding, and received contributions from many people in France and America. Engineering and construction was handled by several people. The final interior work was done by none other than Gustave Eiffel (yes, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower that one]]). The money for the statue came from several contributors, after a major drive by Joseph Pulitzer which caught people's imagination.

** The statue itself is likened by Emma Lazarus (who was indirectly involved in Lady Liberty's creation) to a modern version of the [[UsefulNotes/SevenWondersOfTheWorld Colossus of Rhodes]]. Althiugh with one major difference: the Greek Colossus commemorates defense against conquest, while Lady Liberty is depicted as a guardian standing by the Golden Door welcoming people to the New World. Incidentally, the Statue of Liberty has outlasted the original Colossus, [[BrieferThanTheyThink which stood for only 54 years]].

* {{Expy}}: The statue itself was likened by Emma Lazarus (who was indirectly involved in Lady Liberty's creation) to a modern version of the [[UsefulNotes/SevenWondersOfTheWorld Colossus of Rhodes]]. With one major difference: the Greek Colossus commemorates defense against conquest, while Lady Liberty is depicted as a guardian standing by the Golden Door welcoming people to the New World. Incidentally, the Statue of Liberty has outlasted the original Colossus, [[BrieferThanTheyThink which stood for only 54 years]].

* LightIsGood: The Statue holds a torch to show that freedom is what enlightens the world.

* HolyHalo: The statues crown gives off seven rays that act as a type of halo, showing Liberty's divine role in human life.

* BreakingTheBonds: At the statue's left foot sits a broken shackle, showing the strength of liberty in defeating tyranny.

* HopeBringer: When people look upon her, whether as a "tempest tossed" immigrant, [[Film/GhostbustersII hate-plagued infused New Yorker]], or others in a bad situation, she stands tall as a reminder of hope and goodness in the world.
-->'''Jon Stewart after 9/11:''' [The World Trade Center, a] symbol of American ingenuity and strength and labor and imagination and commerce and it is gone. But you know what the view is now? The Statue of Liberty. The view from the south of Manhattan is now the Statue of Liberty. You can't beat that.
* AnImmigrantsTale:
** It's an important part of the iconography of the American immigrant due to being one the first part of America a Westerner sailing into [[https://libertycruise.nyc/packages/history-of-ellis-island Ellis Island]] would see. Its importance to immigrants would be lionized in Creator/CharlieChaplin's ''Film/TheImmigrant'' and ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII''.
** Emma Lazarus's poem specifically made the statue part of the immigrant story. She was an American Jewish poet who had initially refused the offer, but after working with refugees from European pogroms, came to understand what America meant to people who were outcasts of society:
--->'''Paul Auster:''' Bartholdi's gigantic effigy was originally intended as a monument to the principles of international republicanism, but ''The New Colossus'' reinvented the statue's purpose, turning Liberty into a welcoming mother, a symbol of hope to the outcasts and downtrodden of the world.

* LivingStatue: Sometimes in fiction the Statue of Liberty got a life of its own, depending of the story. It could be a [[Series/DoctorWho giant Weeping Angel]] or maybe a human-size VideoGame/ClayFighter, for example.
* MonumentalDamage: Oh, don't worry, the actual statue has never been damaged like that. However, in fiction is another matter, where it's a common target for rampaging monsters and natural disasters.
* RedBaron:
** The poem ''The New Colossus'', (the one on the plaque) gives her the epithet, [[CapsLock "MOTHER OF EXILES"]].
** Many a New Yorker, as well as Americans across the country, meanwhile, have affectionately nicknamed her ''Lady Liberty'' over the years, treating her as America's only true 'noblewoman'. The nickname has stuck surprisingly well, as though the statue itself [[AnthropomorphicPersonification has taken it on personally as a mark of affection that somehow manages to make its way to everyone who sees her, despite being an inanimate object.]] The nickname even sees use on this very website!

A depiction of her can be found in the very American painting ''Art/TheApotheosisOfWashington''.

* {{Eagleland}}: Type 1; the Statue serves as a symbol for the opportunity America provides and its dedications to preserving human freedom. Even cynics get sentimental about it.
* EiffelTowerEffect: The Statue often serves as an instant metonym for America and New York. And since Gustave Eiffel did the engineering for it, the Statue ''is'' technically an Eiffel Tower.
* {{Expy}}:
** The statue itself was likened by Emma Lazarus as a modern version of the [[UsefulNotes/SevenWondersOfTheWorld Colossus of Rhodes]]. With one major difference: the Greek Colossus celebrates conquest[[note]]ArtisticLicenseHistory at play here, as the the old Colossus was built to commemorate ''defense'' against conquest[[/note]], while Lady Liberty herself is depicted as a guardian standing by the Golden Door welcoming people to the New World. Incidentally, the Statue of Liberty has outlasted the original Colossus, [[BrieferThanTheyThink which stood for only 54 years]].
** The statue has numerous smaller copies around the world, most famously the one in Las Vegas. There is of course one in Auguste Bartholdi's native city of [[https://www.archi-wiki.org/images/thumb/2/26/Route_de_Strasbourg_Colmar_58666.jpg/1200px-Route_de_Strasbourg_Colmar_58666.jpg Colmar]].

* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: The statue was originally made of shining copper, but the weather turned it green over the years. The public liked it that way so much they resisted attempts to restore it.

** Many a New Yorker, as well as Americans across the country, meanwhile, have affectionately nicknamed her ''Lady Liberty'' over the years, treating her as America's only true 'noble'. The nickname has stuck surprisingly well, as though the statue itself [[AnthropomorphicPersonification has taken it on personally as a mark of affection that somehow manages to make its way to everyone who sees her, despite being an inanimate object.]] The nickname even sees use on this very website!

* AfterTheEnd: Often seen in these kinds of works to show how Man's hubris is ultimately pointless... or give hope that humanity will rise again.
** Inverted in ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'': the destruction of the Statue by the Nazis signified the end of the old United States and the start of "Jahr Null," a new calendar's "Year Zero."

The statue stands on a pedestal on Liberty Island, located just off the coast of Manhattan. It is highly visible from Ellis Island, where [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream immigrants to the United States]] used to be processed before entering the country. It soon became a symbol for the immigrant story, leading to Emma Lazarus's poem on the subject to be engraved on the Statue itself. It stands alongside works like the Art/{{David}} as one of the most influential sculptures in history.

The Statue of Liberty (full name: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'' -- ''Liberty Enlightening the World'') is a French statue given to the United States in 1886 to personify the freedom America offers.

* HopeBringer: When people look upon her, whether as a "temest tossed" immigrant, [[Film/GhostbustersII hate-plagued infused New Yorker]], or others in a bad situation, she stands tall as a reminder of hope and goodness in the world.