Supplemental Post 4: Piecing Together an Image of Elvis

 When I realized we were watching an Elvis movie, I was intrigued because I had never actually seen too much actual footage of Elvis. I have struggled to understand not only what he means and meant as an icon, but simply what he looked like physically. I knew there was “Skinny Young Elvis” with all the moves but I couldn’t quite put together that this was the same man who people called “Fat Elvis” and found pathetic. I also knew there was something about bananas and peanut butter and bacon that he was somehow connected to, so I guess I kind of thought that may have had something to do with his transformation.

After watching Viva Las Vegas, it made a lot more sense why he was and is considered a sex icon. He’s pretty captivating with his appearance, dancing, and charisma. I still couldn’t really see the connection to his later identity so I ventured over to Buzzfeed and searched his name, imagining that some interesting listicals would pop up. The one that was definitely most helpful to me was the “Official Elvis Presley Aging Timeline” which has a series of pictures illustrating his physical appearance throughout his life. It does make more sense to me now, especially after our reading for this week. You can sort of see how it all began to take a toll on him. We demand even more from our favorite celebrities these days, so I hope the same doesn’t happen to any contemporary superstars. It's a great deal of pressure to be admired as much as Elvis was and continues to be even long after his demise.