For many moons now, I have been fascinated by Elvis as a work of American culture. “The king of rock and roll”, a true male sex symbol, flamboyant, masculine, immortalized in roadside figurines and cardboard cutouts. Until about a year ago, I had never consumed his work, for the text overshadowed the art. On social media, I witnessed discourse surrounding his repackaging of black artists' music and style to a white audience and his relationships with women. It seemed he'd fallen out of favor in the current political climate, which I found intriguing in contrast with his original controversies in more conservative circles of his time. He sits between liberation and conservatism, so I began to consume his art to explore that grey area. The music remains insignificant in regards to his image; in the context of Image Music Text, I found that Elvis himself is the artwork, rather than the artist.
He speaks to the country conservatism wants to identify with. Loud, strong, Christian, hot-blooded, and free. The “again “ in “Make America Great Again” is referring to the turn of the century, when Elvis was in his prime. As America declines, as Elvis did in the 70s, we long for the years when we were undeniably the king. Before we had to acknowledge that we built our kingdom off the backs of marginalized groups. The modern denial of Elvis as the king of rock and roll goes hand in hand with the acknowledgement of the United States as the symbol of freedom we crave to be. Elvis was created as a mascot of America, and his image changes as the image of our country is reevaluated.
My project for this class has been about the difference between the self and the persona. What lies between my outward identity and my personal essence? Elvis, as a symbol or a piece of art, created by American culture and record companies, has no personal essence. Any identity he possessed as a man was as mortal as any human being, but the identity that was crafted is immortal.
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