By the grace of Graceland

I sit here on a little patch of grass next to a busy road in the mysterious city that people call Memphis and I ponder many things. Today was the group's first day out "in the field", and it was interesting, exciting, and exhausting to say the least.

In recent years Memphis's main claim to fame is Elvis. No doubt this man did accomplish some great things within his profession. Nevertheless, being in a city that has its most prominent claim to popularity through one celebrity (no matter how great he may have been to some) makes my mind wander onto a more broad but completely related topic. My 20 years of simply living in this country along with only one day out on the town with a group of intelligent peers has made me extremely conscious of the United States obsession with consumption. Especially with "celebrities". A great way to find out about someone/something is by looking at what things they find great amounts of appreciation for and where they focus their time and interests. Americans spend ridiculous amounts of time on those people that we have for various reasons deemed famous.

On a daily basis you are reminded of this. People can easily find celebrities part of American's everyday lifes, from the grocery store line where you find ridiculous gossip magazines to celebrity tourist attractions that mass 600,000+/- visitors a year. Graceland. The entire time, though we are being sold images. But bare in mind that they are typically only the favorable images. I honestly cannot recall seeing one picture of Elvis today, anywhere in Memphis, that was not showing him off in his precious, young man, baby face stage of his career. Not one picture strayed from this, how sad. If this is what we telling people repetitively what sort of implications does it have on the society?

The idea of images makes me think about Jean Baudrillard's theory about simulations. Graceland is a perfect example. Yes, it may have been the grand home of a long dead celebrity, but it is important to remember that was the past. Now it is a very important attraction for Memphis. Elvis may have lived there but the people who hustle your through like sheep now, are there for a very specific reason. Image! This place is to enable people to believe they are stepping into some special warp zone. I am not sure which is worse: the fact that so much is spent on creating images like this for living and dead celebrities everywhere in America or the fact that American's still purchase, at exuberant prices, tickets that privilege them to be part of this ideal, yet simulated world for a temporary time. This thought leads itself to the Elvis wedding as well. Our shuttle bus driver said a couple may purchase 1 out of 3 special wedding packages. There is only three, how in the world can such a wedding be special! People once again only buy the image of Elvis and "special".

I believe the second largest celebrity/ies in Memphis are the fine feathered ducks at the Peabody Hotel. ... Whew I do not even know where to start about that creepy and personally sad relationship. People come from all over and form a crowd around a red carpet to watch 5 ducks waddle to water. One would think this was a very nature thing, after all ducks and water seem to be a renowned pairing. Nope, not so at the Peabody, here it is special. No longer are people going to spend family time in places where they can connect with each other ( a dinner table even for some is too much to ask for), instead they are going to hotels to watch these little celebrities... How interesting.

If I hope to find out what it means to be an American through my fellow American's interest this will no doubt be a long journey. Our freedoms allow many things, but is one of them the right to sell and buy such ideals and simulations that can be found within the realm of our strange and slightly eccentric interest with celebrities big, little, dead, or alive?