False Faith or False Comparison? A Critique of the Religious Interpretation of Elvis Fan Culture

Duffett, Mark

doi:10.1080/0300776032000144959

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Unfortunately, when it came to discussing Elvis culture, a number of scholars adopted ideas created by popular parodists, and pursued reworked mass culture perspectives [31]. Because their priority was to frame the Elvis phenomena as a new kind of spiritual practice, some seized upon stereotypes from second-hand sources.…”

Section: The Limits Of Neo-religiosity Scholarshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elvis’ Gospel Music: Between the Secular and the Spiritual?

Duffett

2015

Religions

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Do fans sanctify their heroes? In the past, I have argued that Elvis fandom is not a neo-religious practice but that attention to a modified version of Durkheim's theory of religion can, nevertheless, help to explain it as a form of social interaction. I take that argument further here, first by revealing the ethical and analytical advantages of neo-Durkheimian theory, then by pitting this theory against three aspects of Elvis' sincere engagement with gospel music. Elvis Presley won three Grammy awards for his gospel albums and was the musician who did most to bring the gospel quartet tradition to the mainstream. His eclectic personal ties to spirituality and religion have become a focus of debate within his fan culture. They offer a set of discursive resources through which to explain the emotional impact and social influence of his music. If star musicians are positioned as centres of attention, what happens when they use their privileged position in the spotlight to offer a "spiritual" message?

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Section: The Limits Of Neo-religiosity Scholarshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their diagnosis positions fans as servile and misguided neo-religious believers. [31]. As someone who had completed a Ph.D. working with Elvis fans, I was concerned that the subjects of my research were being misrepresented and treated with neither dignity nor respect.…”

Section: The Limits Of Neo-religiosity Scholarshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elvis’ Gospel Music: Between the Secular and the Spiritual?

Duffett

2015

Religions

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“…Elvis fans are probably the group of fans most widely studied by popular music studies (Harrison 1992;Duffett 2003;Doss 2004); then there is of course Daniel Cavicchi's excellent ethnography of Bruce Springsteen fans (1998), and a more recent piece on followers of David Bowie (Stevenson 2009). Elvis fans are probably the group of fans most widely studied by popular music studies (Harrison 1992;Duffett 2003;Doss 2004); then there is of course Daniel Cavicchi's excellent ethnography of Bruce Springsteen fans (1998), and a more recent piece on followers of David Bowie (Stevenson 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fandom as a religious form: on the reception of pop music by Cliff Richard fans in Liverpool

Löbert¹

2012

Pop. Mus.

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Using the example of Cliff Richard fans, this article investigates to what extent the rites and rituals exercised in fandom can be regarded as representations of a religious form as understood by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Because empirical research has established its significance, the pop concert experience and its echoing effects are used as a starting point to explore the thesis that fans draw and cultivate a distinction between a profane and a sacred domain in their lives. These suggestions are further enriched by Randall Collins' and Gabriele Mordt's analyses of passions. This article adopts their concept of the sacred object as a passion-preserving device. In addition, the argument of popular music scholar Daniel Cavicchi (based on Bruce Springsteen fans) is taken one step further. Finally, I suggest a typology of fan experience that differentiates between primary interaction ritual, secondary interaction ritual, the cult of the individual and special rites.

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“…For further arguments against the 'fandom as religion' paradigm, seeDuffett (2003) andMcCloud (2003).…”

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confidence: 99%