To start, I had a very difficult time taking this article seriously. Whether that is because my brain is fried due to a work overload or because I simply disagree, the verdict is still out. Coming from a small farm town in Southern Illinois with 500 people, you can trust that I know all about white trash, or at least the stereotypes attributed. In high school, we even had “drive your tractor to school” days, in which they allowed John Deere tractors to be parked on the practice football field. Our mascot was the Midget, and Confederate flags decorated bedrooms, car bumpers, and t-shirts. I had never associated Elvis with white trash before reading this article, and despite being to Graceland once as a child, I really only associated the place with being haunted.
Sweeney’s argument around White Trash to me sounds completely outlandish. It reminds me of a lecture Todd Boyd once gave when speaking about Eminem. He mentions that in some cases, rap and hip-hop are not race-defined, but rather class defined. He gives Eminem as an example because Eminem grew up in projects and rapped about poverty. It’s this that allows him to be respected in the industry more than other rappers who may have grown up more privileged. As for Elvis, since he grew up in a more impoverished area as well, and borrowed from black music and dance, he was widely accepted by whites and blacks alike.
I guess the closest thing we have to an Elvis could be Britney. She’s commonly refered to as white trash with her shoe-less gas station stops, cheeto addiction, and gum chewing. In addition, it looks like she’s got a tragic ending in store just as Elvis did. What does this say about people coming from the impoverished people in the south who essentially go from rags to riches? What does this say about our society in general after such cases of social mobility causing tragedy? I find it all very interesting, yet I still see this as an issue of class in America, not race. Thoughts?
1 comment:
Really—drive your tractor to school day? Sometimes I feel like I missed out on so much because of growing up in L.A. So, I did find this article pretty hilarious. And I do agree that Britney would be the modern example of white trash, rags to riches tale. I guess I never thought to connect White Trash-ness with Elvis. He is “The King.” And since when do we refer to royalty as White Trash? When I think of the velvet pictures of Elvis it makes sense.
I guess what got me most about your response was hip-hop as being class-defined rather than race-defined. I totally see this as true for hip-hop and punk rock. Hip-hop and Punk both started out as a way in which people came together based on their surroundings or marginalization. They created an outlet and discovered ways to educate and express social injustices, inequalities, etc. through music. Many also argue that our musical taste is often the “result of” social constructions more so than personal taste. I guess if we apply this to Elvis it’s pretty obvious. He grew up in the ghettos of Memphis. His social surroundings influenced how he performed; it was not defined by his race.
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