medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Besides pilgrimage, there is also a contemporary form of secular "ad
sanctus" burial. The guy who managed to purchase the burial spot
directly over that of Marilyn Monroe specifically asked to be buried
face downwards. His wife, who is still alive, has announced her
intention to relocate her husband and sell this felicitous spot. A
Japanese guy apparently "bought" it on E-bay recently for several
million dollars, but reneged when he ran into a financial hiccup.
Cheers,
Jim
rochelle altman wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> Stella, you wrote:
>
>> Are pilgrims to Graceland part of a community with a shared history?
>> I'd say not, but perhaps I'm being influenced by my personal beliefs...
>>
>> Stella
>
> Oddly enough, they are.
>
> The vast majority of Presley fans are in the same cohort, both in
> terms of age and similar cultural contexts. The trips to Graceland
> *are* pilgrimages. As Terrence pointed out, they do feel some kind of
> "magic" merely to touch something their idol held. (I did not make a
> copy of the student's paper, so I can't give you the bib she collected
> on this.) There are still reports of "Elvis sightings." Elvis that
> was, that is, not as he would be if he lived to over 100. I tend to
> think that by holding a ""piece" of something he used they feel they
> are keeping him alive. This known worship of a singer-idol is why
> Marjorie's students could connect with her example.
>
> There are people out there who still shed a tear over "The day the
> music died" -- that is, when Buddy Holly died in an airplane crash
> back in the 1950's. And that song is still played, though I'd think
> his fans are getting rather long in the tooth.
>
> (Can you imagine a worse film to show on a flight than The Buddy Holly
> Story? Well, that's exactly where I saw it as a prisoner of Zenda, er,
> in-flight entertainment -- no channel choices back then. And I was on
> a prop plane, too.)
>
> Then there were the Sinatra fans. As Sinatra aged, so did his swooning
> followers. (There were enough articles on that.) I don't think anyone
> actually worshipped Sinatra, but who knows? They certainly still
> "swooned" and called out "Oh, Frankie."
>
> So, yes, we do have to test personal beliefs rather frequently. But
> isn't that precisely what this thread is about?
>
> Back to my cyber cubby-hole,
>
> Rochelle
>
>> At 11:59 23/09/2009, you wrote:
>>> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
>>> culture
>>>
>>> Rochelle Altman wrote:
>>>
>>> : In fact, one of my former students, a devout
>>> : Catholic and a life turn-around student with five
>>> : step-stair children and a husband who deserted
>>> : the family, did a lot of research on relics of
>>> : saints. When she wrote up her term paper, she
>>> : compared the Medieval desire to collect (and
>>> : fight over) saint's relics to Graceland and what
>>> : goes on there.
>>>
>>> Coincidentally, just yesterday I saw a television advertisment
>>> for one of those part-work thingies: this one is devoted to
>>> Presley, and comes with "replica artefacts" from Graceland.
>>> There may not be a literal belief in "wonder-working or salvific"
>>> properties (to use John Dillon's phrase), but there clearly is,
>>> for some, a kind of magic (for want of a better word) in
>>> possession: how else does one explain the ability to keep
>>> re-releasing recordings, for example, and have some of the same
>>> people buy them; or the enormous prices attached to items that
>>> have a direct link to performers (e. g., John Lennon's old guitar
>>> string, in one case I recall)?
>>>
>>>
>>> Terrence Lockyer
>>> Johannesburg, South Africa
>> `*****************************************
>> Dr Stella Rock
>> Senior Research Fellow
>> Department of History
>> University of Sussex
>> Brighton BN1 9QL
>> Email:[log in to unmask]
>> http://www.sussex.ac.uk/history/profile17617.html
>
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