What makes Elvis such a phenomenon well after his death ? This question is best answered by resorting to a more socio-anthropological approach concerned with Elvis’ significance within a wider cultural ensemble.It seems to me one key to understanding Elvis is to first recognize that his figure is paradigmatic of an important cultural shift that occurred in America in the post-War days and the advent of consumerism, as philosopher Charles Taylor has abundantly argued. Acknowledging this makes the heuristics of comparisons with Christian apostleship analytically ill-fated. Second, Elvis can probably best be understood in relation to the ‘civil religion’ of the United States of America as developed since the second half of the twentieth century. Elvis arose in the glory days of America, with the birth of rock’n’roll and the feeling of the becoming of a new golden era — an era of which Elvis fans today are probably somewhat nostalgic.Elvis is intimately tied with a certain feeling and idea of ‘America’.Elvis is a mythical figure in the pantheon delimiting the American Dream : he is a model, and Elvis fans confess finding his life a source of moral lessons: ‘work hard, use your talent, follow your star and be a star’. Furthermore, Elvis confirms the individualist Self-Made Man myth of American Capitalism: “even a boy raised in poverty in Mississippi could make it big” . Elvis is a perfect deity for post-radical transcendence culture: as all stars, he is both unreachable in stardom yet an ordinary guy. This duality without seizing what is at stake, is precisely the reason given by impersonators for what they do (p. 183). These are just a few hints, but it seems to me undeniable that the Elvis phenomenon is potentially rich for religious studies investigation. Rather, Reece’s conclusion is that there is religiosity in Elvis, but that Elvis is not likely to spawn religious movements. (However), Elvis, through this special connection to consumer society’s air du temps and mythological foundations, provided one of the most vivid and enduring templates for rock-star mythology for the past half-century, and probably for decades to come.

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This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "What makes Elvis such a phenomenon well after his death ? This question is best answered by resorting to a more socio-anthropological approach concerned with Elvis’ significance within a wider cultural ensemble.It seems to me one key to understanding Elvis is to first recognize that his figure is paradigmatic of an important cultural shift that occurred in America in the post-War days and the advent of consumerism, as philosopher Charles Taylor has abundantly argued. Acknowledging this makes the heuristics of comparisons with Christian apostleship analytically ill-fated. Second, Elvis can probably best be understood in relation to the ‘civil religion’ of the United States of America as developed since the second half of the twentieth century. Elvis arose in the glory days of America, with the birth of rock’n’roll and the feeling of the becoming of a new golden era — an era of which Elvis fans today are probably somewhat nostalgic.Elvis is intimately tied with a certain feeling and idea of ‘America’.Elvis is a mythical figure in the pantheon delimiting the American Dream : he is a model, and Elvis fans confess finding his life a source of moral lessons: ‘work hard, use your talent, follow your star and be a star’. Furthermore, Elvis confirms the individualist Self-Made Man myth of American Capitalism: “even a boy raised in poverty in Mississippi could make it big” . Elvis is a perfect deity for post-radical transcendence culture: as all stars, he is both unreachable in stardom yet an ordinary guy. This duality without seizing what is at stake, is precisely the reason given by impersonators for what they do (p. 183). These are just a few hints, but it seems to me undeniable that the Elvis phenomenon is potentially rich for religious studies investigation. Rather, Reece’s conclusion is that there is religiosity in Elvis, but that Elvis is not likely to spawn religious movements. (However), Elvis, through this special connection to consumer society’s air du temps and mythological foundations, provided one of the most vivid and enduring templates for rock-star mythology for the past half-century, and probably for decades to come." in the context of "Francois Gautier,, reviewing Gregory Reece's "Elvis Religion; The Cult of the King"" to mean that wisdom is timeless.