While reading
Elvis Culture by Erika Doss, I kept trying to imagine what it would be like to
live in the world where Elvis had recently emerged as a rock sensation. Doss
and Sweeney both talked about the immediate and powerful response that America
displayed when hearing, but more importantly seeing Elvis for the first time in
1956 on the Ed Sullivan show.
Doss
states that Television itself was one of the contributing factors that lead to America’s
quick obsession and attraction to Elvis. “The new medium of television helped
facilitate Elvis's mass attention, drawing squeals of desire from fans and
prompting howls of protest from critics and clergy.” It’s amazing to think about
how Elvis used the relatively new form of media that is Television, to promote
his image across the nation. Today, it a norm for the celebrities and stars of
our generation to promote their images and get themselves known through other
various types of media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Instagram as well as
TV- all very visually focused forms of media.
People
might have heard him on the radio, but it’s funny to see what a different
reaction people had to seeing rather than listening. Elvis is a visual
spectacle and it only makes sense that American reacted the way that it did
when watching him thrust his hips and move in ways that were never seen or done
before. His charisma, looks, charm and overall persona could only be captured
through visual mediums such as television and the many movies he stared in. Elvis’s
image rocked America and impacted the lives of millions of people worldwide. Do
you think that Elvis would be as famous or have as many fans if he became a
star in a time when there was no television?
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