FilmFlicking

Emperor Morphetine · Oscar Winner Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 1802

I've been told to start thinking about what I want to do for a final year project at university next year, and I was thinking that I would do an essay on Elvis Presley's image as a star, and the role of music in his films ( he made quite a few movies).

The idea came after I thought about my interests, and I love music as well as film so I thought it could be an interesting area for further study.

The plan is to do some further research over my summer holiday and get cracking. One of my other ideas was to organise a focus group of Elvis impersonators and show them one, maybe more, of his films and then get them to fill out a questionnaire.

Nothing's certain yet ( I need to pass the second lot of my second year modules to progress), but I was wondering if you guys had any thoughts on the subject?

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Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 9571

Good ideas there but I'm intrigued on the one to ...."organise a focus group of Elvis impersonators and show them one, maybe more, of his films and then get them to fill out a questionnaire."??

What would be the the ultimate goal or answer you would be looking for from that? Or is it in the same vain as asking long term Elvis fans to fill in a questionaire either?...what I'm really asking bud is why Elvis Impersonators.... is there a significance to that?
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Catnapper · Site Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 6164

I'm intrigued by the Elvis impersonators idea too......surely they'd be biased and only have good things to say about him? Could you include people who aren't fans but who like some of his music? Or people who don't really know that much about him?

I'd be curious to hear too about how fans felt about his time in the army.........was it a good thing or bad thing to have such a big celebrity in the army? Also, what did the fans think about him bringing Priscilla Beaulieu back to the US when she was only 14 with the intentions of marrying her when she was older?

Emperor Morphetine · Oscar Winner Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 1802

Well, I planned on asking people who perhaps didn't like or weren't as familar with him too, I just want to see what drives Elvis impersonators to pretty much devote their lives to keeping his music and image alive, as it ties in with the idea of a 'fan culture' to a massive extent.
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Catnapper · Site Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 6164

Ask if you can have funding to go to Las Vegas and check out the Elvis impersonators Darth

Emperor Morphetine · Oscar Winner Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 1802

I could do that, or there was one in my local pub a few weeks back! I'm just really interested in looking into whether the people behind his films looked to manipulate his standing as 'the king of rock and roll' in his films or whether he was encouraged to go against type, as the image everyone has of him is either of a young dynamo or an overweight shadow of his former self.

As a further point of research I want to look into whether his music plays a big part in his image on screen- I know he did a lot of film soundtracks alongside acting in them, but interestingly I've found he didn't write/record a lot of original material, it was all done for him by other sources.

I'm intending on doing some textual analysis of the films themselves alongside audience research- going and perhaps somehow interviewing his fans and maybe people who aren't so familiar with him. It's also quite interesting that he seems to be more popular now he's dead!
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Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 9571

I actually think Cat raises a good study point there Morphy when she brought up him bringing back Priscilla Beaulieu to the US when she was only 14 with the intentions of marrying her....I'm still surprised he got away with that? If that was any star today they would be labeled a paedophile

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Emperor Morphetine · Oscar Winner Joined: 29 Jan 2008 Posts: 1802

Its all a lot more focused now, I've been allocated a supervising tutor and he's told me to just concentrate on analysis of Elvis as a musician and film star and to look at how his films present him- whether they stay faithful to his image or play around with it.

I've done some further research which apparently is good, and according to tutors I have the basis of an interesting project which is nice to hear.
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The Dark Side is a pathway to many abilities, some considered to be..unnatural.

Lucifer_666 · Site Joined: 27 Jul 2007 Posts: 9571

A supervising Tutor? that almost sounds like a leader? nice!!

well done

Good to hear the project is coming on well

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Catnapper · Site Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 6164

Can you go to your Supervising Tutor and ask for specific advice or does he just point you in the right direction? Your project seems to be coming along well