Elvis
There are many new things that I now know about Elvis. I knew that he died from drug overdose, but I found out in class that he actually died on the toilet. I found that to be very interesting and quite embarrassing. Something else that I had never known was that Elvis and Eminem are actually very similar. Back in his time, Elvis was seen as a corrupter for young people. He had the nickname, “Elvis pelvis”, and was seen as a bad influence. Today, Eminem is seen the same way.
I thought it was pretty interesting to learn about the Pilgrimage to Graceland. I had never thought of it as being a pilgrimage before discussing it in class. I do think that the concepts are solid enough for it to be considered a pilgrimage. There is travel involved, which is a big part of the Turner model. There is also a limin, metaphorical death, and community as a major component. Along with the Eliade model, there is also potential for sacred space and there is an axis mundi. I think that this is enough to back the fact that it is a pilgrimage, although some may not agree.
On the other hand, I do not really see this pilgrimage as being a religion. We discussed that Elvis and Jesus really do have a lot of things in common and the pilgrimage exemplifies a lot of the religious characteristics we have come up with in class, but I don’t think that it is enough. I just can’t seem to compare Elvis and Jesus even if they do have a lot of similarities. I don’t think Elvis qualifies as an ultimate reality, even if many people do look up to him as such. There are a lot of the concepts of religion that have the potential to be present, but they aren’t fully grasped. For example, I do not see anything involving the pilgrimage to be considered sacred and that is a big component of my definition of religion.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
I agree that in class we did learn a lot about Elvis that I had never known before and it was very interesting to learn about the pilgrimage to Graceland. I do agree with you that it should be considered a pilgrimage because by definition it fits in perfect to almost both models. In the Eliade model Elvis’s house is considered the sacred space and the axis mundi could be his grave site on the top of the hill. In the turner model there is a limin where you cross from the outside of his land through the gates to the inside of his land. I also believe that there is a huge sense of community because of all the people who loved Elvis Presley and still listen to his music today. I do see your point on how you say it is not a religion and I agree that this should not be considered a religion but, there are people who really do look at Elvis as Jesus and do consider his song lyrics to be there bible. I think make many great points but it many be able to be considered a religion by some.