Images of Elvis Presley in American culture, 1977-1997 : the mystery terrain

Abstract

Was Al Gore only half-kidding at 1992 Democratic Convention when he compared Bill Clinton to the King? Why does Elvis's name and image still pop up in so many movies, television shows, and songs? From black velvet paintings, comic books, and postage stamps to impersonators, movie characters, and sports stars, Images of Elvis Presley in American Culture, 1977--1997 provides a surprisingly broad vista from which to view American popular culture. An insightful exploration of America's overwhelming and enduring cultural fascination with expanding and elusive Elvis myth, this book combines historical, textual, and sociocultural analysis with a wide range of resource materials to examine many images of Elvis in American culture. Focusing on period following his death in 1977 up to present, Elvis Presley in American Culture, 1977--1997 informs and entertains popular readers and academicians in American studies, popular culture, radio/television/film, sociology, music, and 20th-century American history. Elvis fans (Elfans) and collectors of Elvis Presley materials and memorabilia also need to add this perspective-enhancing book to your personal libraries. Author George Plasketes shows us how representations, reflections, responses, and references to Elvis in art, artifacts, film, video, television, music, performance, literature, memorabilia, and alleged sightings, continue to make American culture a mystery terrain of endless Elvistas. The repetition of these images is a link to our cultural identity. Elvis Presley in American Culture, 1977--1997 provides necessary critical analysis and resource guide to various representations of Elvis during past 20 years, to give readers an engaging and informative way to pursue and interpret expansive and ever-evolving Elvis myth and its importance to American popular culture.

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