Wednesday, August 14, 2002
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Wednesday, August 14, 2002 |
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Attention, fans: Elvis is still dead By
MONROE ROARK The annual pilgrimage to Graceland has begun. Fans from all over the world come by the thousands every year at this time to the Memphis estate of Elvis Presley to pay their respects. If any entertainer has ever been close to becoming a religious icon, it's the King of Rock & Roll. I was a 10-year-old living less than two miles from Graceland's front gate, just a hundred yards off Elvis Presley Boulevard, when I saw the news reports on television announcing Elvis' untimely demise. Friday will mark 25 years since that day, and if anything, Elvis is bigger than ever, despite being dead longer than he was actually in show business. His estate brings in millions of dollars each year, and the real estate around Graceland has become a beehive of tourist attractions and Elvis-related memorabilia. Is there any city in the United States that does not have people making a living as Elvis impersonators? One published report stated that more than 30,000 people around the world perform as Elvis for fun or profit. Add to that the more than 12,000 Elvis items available recently on Ebay and the 300 different college courses on Elvis around the country, and it's not hard to get the picture. I suppose that the freakiest story I've heard lately is about the artist in Georgia who owns a wart removed from Presley while he was still alive. She has reportedly turned down numerous offers from people who would buy it and use it to clone him. Insert your own punch line here. Anyway, as many as 70,000 people could be descending upon Memphis this week to commemorate the silver anniversary of Elvis' death. Perhaps the most televised moment of the week will be the candlelight vigil at Graceland, which gives the entire Elvis experience an aura unlike any other celebrity. From Marilyn Monroe to Princess Diana, no famous person has come close to this kind of postmortem attention. But the important thing Elvis has in common with those two notables is that he's dead. He was dead 25 years ago, and he's still dead. Despite the UFO-like sightings reported practically on a weekly basis, he's still just dead. Thousands of people will march somberly up and down the sidewalk in front of his mansion this week, many of them carrying candles and even weeping, but I have to wonder what kind of effect this activity has on their lives. We know it doesn't have any effect on Elvis; he'll still be dead. For me, the great thing about entertainment is that it's just that entertainment. Whether it be a good song or a good movie or whatever, it takes you out of your stressful life for a few moments and gives you some enjoyment before you return to that stressful life. That's all entertainers do. They entertain. They're not here to give us profound statements on social issues, although many try to do that. I can't think of a single entertainer whose political or social views I value simply because of their status in show business. That's crazy. Ironically, I don't know that Elvis himself ever tried to influence anyone in that way while he was alive. That makes his influence in death even more amazing. His music is still with us and can be enjoyed for what it is fun, entertaining, whatever you think it is. It certainly brings back pleasant memories for many who grew up listening to him during his heyday. But what other effect can a dead entertainer possibly have? This man who brought happiness to so many was scarcely happy himself. In his final years, the ones he made happiest were pharmacists; he needed pills to go to sleep and more pills to get up in the morning, plus a variety of other "medicine" to get him through the day. I really don't have a problem with Elvis at all. It's the incredible deification of him that I find hard to fathom. And this week's festivities in Memphis, while an enjoyable lark for some, will signify that too many people have sad, empty lives and are desperately seeking fulfillment. We need to keep entertainment in its proper perspective, and we need to take a serious look at what passes for heroes and idols in this country. Aug. 16 should be a reminder of that, in this year or any other. Because after it has come and gone, one thing is certain. Elvis will still be dead.
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