Summary: In the article from Affinity Magazine, a young writer talks about the common misconception that Elvis Presley "created" blues or rock and roll. Elvis in fact got many influences from black blues and rock and roll artists, such as Rosetta Tharpe, and the stealing of their ideas and creativity feeds into the appropriation of black culture. The writer also goes on to talk about how although Presley did make some contributions, many of the ones that people credit him with did not originally belong to him.
Analysis: This is such an important thing that must be shared. Since the founding of this country, black culture has been appropriated, torn at, and ripped apart for political, economic, and social gain. The people that really influenced the things we love today will most likely never be known because they aren't taught at school, and a yearn to learn about black culture is not taught in schools. The people who created all of these wonderful things should be appreciated and celebrated everyday and it's honestly a shame that we don't.
Synthesis: This reminds me of when during the slave trade, african words were taken and reattributed to society to fit the needs of the white southerners down south.
The actual innovators behind many music movements definitely don't get the credit they deserve. You also made a good point about what we learn in school- the people we are forced to memorize are often only in the history books because they were rich white men. Elvis may have had interesting aesthetic contributions, but that does not mean he began a music movement that was initiated before his popularity began.
ReplyDelete-Cal Thompson
I agree. Some of the most significant people in the development of our country don't even get recognized and that makes me sad. They deserve to be known and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI think its really important that people recognize that there's always another side to the story, and I'm happy that this one is out there now.
ReplyDelete