where YOUR memories live again

Graceland Plaza is such a vital part of the performances 
of fans and funs. It's more than just a location, more than a place.
It's the borderland where these two cultures overlap.
It's the battlefield for people who are
empowered through the act of shopping. 
It's where the power bloc meets the people. 
Here we have the classic battle between 
the controller and the controlled.
EPE tries to control the behaviors of fans and funs several ways:
through the layout of Graceland Plaza,
having every museum or attraction exit into a gift shop;
through proffering "official" Elvis merchandise as opposed
to the unofficial goods made by fans or "unauthorized dealers"; 
by presenting only merchandise that 
promotes a positive image of Elvis;
by raising the prices of merchandise during 
International Elvis Tribute Week; by packaging
Elvis's life into a series of quantifiable "
tours" designed to give fans
an "authentic" Elvis experience; and by selling pre-packaged 
and pre-lived memories of Elvis to people who are fully capable
of making their own memories. 
But fans and funs actively work and play
to control their identities as fans and funs.
They can sample the pieces of Elvis they want. 
They can choose to buy or make or imagine texts of Elvis
that help them construct their identities as fans and funs, 
no matter what EPE says or does.
The performance of shopping at Graceland Plaza is a specific
instance of how fan and fun cultural identities manifest
themselves in a postmodern consumer society. In many ways,
Graceland Plaza is just like any other tourist trap 
shopping area: there are tons of kitschy souvenirs to buy 
or look at; it's labelled and copyrighted; etc. 
But it's also unlike any other tourist trap I've ever seen. 
Yes, it's a place of economic capital, but the cultural capital
that is exchanged there is more important.
In this one place, two cultures meet annually, 
identities are integrally linked to the act of shopping, 
postmodern consumer consumption includes not just stuff,
but images, performances, personas, and games.

Dan, ethnographer
Columbus, OH