Introduction
Elvis is a 2022 dramatic musical, showing the biography of the famous singer Elvis Presley and his infamous manager, Colonel Tom Parker. It portrays the uneasy relationships between the two, focusing on Elvis’ experiences and musical influences. It starts by showing how young Elvis was inspired by African American blues, which he performed in his village. Then it depicts how he becomes increasingly exhausted by his tight show schedules and eventually dies. The movie shows Elvis’ personal experiences, inspirations, and challenges.
A Classical Hollywood Style in Elvis: Verisimilitude, Character Arc, and Mise-en-Scène
Three mentioned characteristics, verisimilitude, character arc, and mise-en-scène, are distinctive features of a Hollywood film style. Verisimilitude aims to show realistic events and behaviors, convincing the watcher that they must believe the story they see on the screen. Character arc depicts the character’s life path, which constantly changes them: at the beginning and end, there are almost two different characters. Mise-en-scène is abundant visual effects, such as specific camera positions, lights, and special effects, that emphasize scenes to convey meaning.
All three characteristics are vividly present in Elvis: the film’s setting is realistic, Elvis changes significantly during the plot, and bright visual elements are present. The setting is based on the real Elvis Presley’s story, despite its focus on specific aspects to deeply show his emotions and experiences. Elvis changes significantly during the film, demonstrating how he evolved from an ordinary boy who sought relief in music to a full-size celebrity and became a victim of this lifestyle. Lastly, various camera positions and detail-rich scenes convey the atmosphere of the 1960s – 1970s popular culture.
Styles and Subgenres Analysis
Elvis is a realist movie, and its subgenre can be characterized as a show musical with elements of the folk genre. While music is an integral part of the movie, it is primarily an extension of the characters’ activities, and it is not overfilled by musical performances and exhibitions, concentrating on the characters’ stories. It is a musical, as the music is usually performed on shows, either by Elvis or others, and the film focuses on the business aspects of the music industry. There are often talks about commercial aspects of music; for example, there is a scene where musical producers reflect on whether Elvis‘ music will “sell” or not (Elvis 13:00).
Examples of the folk subgenre influences are scenes where emotionally charged moments from the Elvis’ ordinary life are shown, such as his argument with his mother, as he felt no understanding and compassion from her (Elvis 43:20). Thus, Elvis is a realist show musical, showing various musicians, including Elvis himself, performing on various shows and also focusing on his experiences and inner world.
Story Analysis
The story shows that Elvis is progressive, as it shows the complicated and mostly non-linear path of his personal and professional becoming rather than simply concentrating on his professional growth due to hard work. The film portrays examples of blues music by African Americans and country music by Whites to show the primary musical influences on Elvis and how he combined them. In addition, it focuses on his experiences and inspirations to show how he formulated his style and what influenced his behavior and, eventually, led him to conflicts, health problems, and death.
Music and Spirit Connection in Elvis
One of the features that conveys a musical’s meaning is the context of the music presented in it. By connecting people and their thoughts, music plays the role of a global medium, expressing deep human values. In Elvis, there is a bright scene where young Elvis runs with his fellows to watch how older African Americans dance and spend time together in joy, listening to the live blues sessions. One of them, noticing that Elvis sneaked into the session, allowed him to stay, saying that “he has a spirit” (Elvis 12:00).
It clearly showed how Elvis was fascinated by the power of music and how others recognized his ability to understand it deeply. Other examples include his large-scale show, where he performed while Colonel Parker was negotiating (Elvis 1:45:00 – 1:50:00). Thousands of people sang with him and were inspired by his songs.
Film Summary: Articles Analysis
Two articles connected with these themes were chosen and analyzed to summarize the movie’s genre, story, and meaning. The first one, “Appropriation or Appreciation? How ‘Elvis‘ Highlights His Complicated History with Black Music,” was written by Naledi Ushe in USA Today in 2022. It focuses on reflections about how Black music, such as blues and R&B, influenced Elvis’s style and how he popularized this music while being white. The second, “See If You Are Real,” was written in October 2022 by Nicky Otis Smith in CounterPunch. It shows why cinema movies often capture reality much better than documentaries and mentions Elvis as a bright example.
In the first article, the author tries to formulate whether Elvis popularized styles typically performed by African Americans or just stole them. She points out, with evidence, that popular Black artists of these times, such as Little Richard, were much more limited in their possibilities than Elvis Presley (Ushe). Little Richard, portrayed by Alton Mason, appeared in Elvis, and the young musician’s fascination with him was clearly shown.
While the movie focuses on Black music’s influence on his style, the article shows that many people think Elvis appropriated some bright characteristics of this music to reach popularity. In the movie, his uneasy relations with Black people are clearly shown: in these times, racial discrimination was present everywhere, but Elvis is shown as being friendly toward them. Thus, the article points out these facts and claims that many of these people, including Little Richard, can also be titled pioneers of rock’ n’ roll music.
The second article compares documentaries, where all stories shown should be as close to reality as possible, and other films, which can easily twist them to reach the necessary emotional effect in the viewers. The author argues that the latter is more successful in depicting reality, even though it may seem counterintuitive. As an example relevant to the current analysis, he shows how the Elvis movie conveys the meaning of Elvis’s life, emotions, and experience, despite not being a documentary (Smith).
It is a dramatic musical, and despite being based on the actual Elvis’ story, it is not a simple retelling. Instead, it dives into the musician’s inner world, showing his desires and inspirations, how they raised him to success and glory, and how he suffered from their challenges. Therefore, this article shows viewers can discover much more by experiencing live events, charged by characters’ emotions, than via simple documentary stories.
Conclusion
In Elvis, while demonstrating the life path of the famous musician, various musical and life events that were the most influential in his life are shown. In scenes where he experiences the African American blues, becomes fascinated, and then uses these melodies to create his music, the unifying power of music is conveyed. Elvis Presley masters this power, and it becomes the key to his success. The movie also shows his emotions and relations with his mother and other people, which were often full of conflicts. Therefore, it portrays the life path of the famous musician in detail, revealing how he was influenced and which factors led to his challenges and, eventually, his early death.
Works Cited
Elvis. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, Warner Bros, 2022.
Smith, Nicky Otis. “See If You Are Really Real.” CounterPunch. 2022. Web.
Ushe, Naledi. “Appropriation or Appreciation? How ‘Elvis’ Highlights His Complicated History with Black Music.” USA Today, 2022. Web.