Happy In Bag

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

We're Caught In a Trap

My Elvis Presley is not the Elvis on parade- literally and figuratively- last Friday in downtown Kansas City. In today’s popular consciousness, Elvis is an obese buffoon.

The Elvis in my mind recorded at Sun Studio and hung out with Bobby "Blue" Bland. The man who returned from the Army, sold his soul to Tom Parker and died in 1977 bears little resemblance to the Elvis I choose to recognize.

Sure, it’s fun to goof on Elvis. Jelly doughnuts and fat guys bellowing to Burning Love are always good for a laugh. The 18th Annual Elvis Parade is meant to be "wacky." But it’s also disheartening that the legacy of Elvis, like so much in our culture, is reduced to its crassest level. My Elvis is not a punch line.

The sincere Elvis pictured here, along with his fetching Priscilla, failed to draw much favorable response in the performance competition at Barney Allis Plaza. You see, even though he’s aware that he's absurd by definition, he’s not selling irony. He never had a chance.

4 Comments:

  • At 5:28 PM, Blogger Anna said…

    Thank you for your nice coments about us. I think that is the year that the parade really started to go downhill. Anywho, thanks for the "fetching" comment!

     
  • At 8:14 AM, Blogger Happy In Bag said…

    Anna:

    I'm glad you tracked down your image, Anna. I hope you're still out there doing your thing.

     
  • At 9:49 AM, Blogger Anna said…

    Michael and I still do a little here and there, but we've really slowed down. I dont know if you know that Michael and I got married two days after that pic was taken. Great pic by the way. We have a two year old daughter and a son due on July 1st! We've been too busy lately!

     
  • At 10:11 AM, Blogger Happy In Bag said…

    Congratulations!

     

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