White Supremacy in Elvis

This week I watched the new Elvis movie which is based on Elvis and his rise to fame. Other than focusing on the main part of the movie which was the relationship between Elvis and his manager, I was more focused on his relationship with black culture. The movie shows the black neighborhood in which he grew up and there was a focal scene where he heard music from a church which drew him in and gave him the inspiration to get immersed in music.

He goes on to get famous for this “new” type of music and dancing that is deemed unacceptable by most of society. The movie slightly mentions it, but the reason that these moves were unacceptable is because they were seen as dances that black people would do. The media didn’t want this type of style to become popular and give black people any type of influence.

In class, we talked about how white supremacy can happen because of ignorance which can be said to have happened in this situation. Though Elvis had great infatuation with black culture and music, some have said that he stole songs that he heard from smaller black artists. Elvis may not have realized it, but the fact that he was able to succeed off of music that was not usually socially acceptable is an example of the media favoring white men. He helped in creating a system in which some people are rewarded for the same actions that others are punished for.

This is not the beginning of when cultural appropriation began or the first time we have seen white favored in the media, but it does the raise the question of when it will end, and the steps we can take to break this systemic issue?