At a young age, I knew who Elvis was thanks to my parent's diverse musical taste. Although I only listened to his hits such as "Hound Dog," and "Jailhouse Rock" I was aware of how provocative he and his music was-thanks to my father's musical tidbits. It wasn't till I read Gael Sweeney's article The King of White Trash Culture that I gained a whole new perspective of Elvis's and how his persona was seen by many.
Sweeney starts the article by defining "White Trash," that which is gaudy and excessive, and differentiating it from camp. In explaining Camp, she uses John Waters, considered the king of camp. This concept is regarded as for the elite that looks into the white trash but for parodic reasons. Sweeney states that Waters has even called his films celebrations of white trash. As a native of Baltimore and knowing of Waters plus where he shot his films, I can speak that Waters films are the dichotomy that Sweeney is trying to describe. Waters shoots most of his movies in an area known as Lutherville, which is a middle-class neighborhood often associated with the quintessential suburban lifestyle.
The concept of contradiction seems to be an idea seen throughout the article. Sweeney states that Elvis was perceived in two ways: as a person, he was polite, soft-spoken, and polished, but when he sang he was excessive, sexual, and crude--white trash. The "White Trash" side of Elvis, to me, seems to be more synonyms with him now and quite frankly always has been. It is only the younger audience that he appealed to that accepted him, but even then not all of them. That brings me to Viva Las Vegas, a film, and song that, to me sums up Elvis reputation and Sweeney's argument neatly.
In Viva Las Vegas, Elvis plays a wannabe race car driver but doesn't have the funds to buy a motor for his car. In the beginning, he works as a mechanic and is often in a dirty jumpsuit with smeared oil on his face. It isn't until more than a quarter into the film that we see this excessive "white trash nature," especially through Elvis's clothes. When he is singing the song "Viva Las Vegas," Elvis is dressed in a pink shirt that is barely buttoned, black slacks, and an almost too small black blazer. This could be seen as unkempt and fulfilling the connotation of sloppiness and White Trash. In another scene, where he is trying to woo Rusty he is wearing a maitre d' jacket, which looks like a costume, and bright blue pants. Here is the excess to which many "white trash" people are known for. Aside from Elvis gaining a hit song out of this movie, the city of Las Vegas and Elvis became synonymous. Today, Vegas is riddled with Elvis impersonators donning his famous white suit, quaffed hair, and gold necklace. For Sweeney, these people are not embodying white trash like Elvis but instead paying respects to him in a quasi-religious way.
Lastly, Sweeney mentioned an article titled "White Trash Nation," and of that list, some of those people come from affluent and intelligent families-Bill Clinton and Heidi Fleiss, while others did not. So what makes one "white trash?" For "The King," it was a combination of where he came from but also from the conscious choices he made in his career. Sweeney, doesn't mention this but many quote on quote "white trash" people are content with how they dress, act, and thus are perceived. For Elvis in the beginning, in my opinion, he was trying to find his style, and the sweet southern boy persona didn't fit. And unlike fellow musician Johnny Cash there wasn't much distinct about him, so he had to craft something that would be memorable for generations to come which he more than achieved.
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