How Did Elvis Presley Influence Popular Culture

1287 Words6 Pages
Commonly referred to as the “King of Rock”, Elvis Presley has had an extensive impact on popular culture since the birth of his career. Elvis was not the first to sing in a rock n’ roll style, nor the first to trample racial barriers in entertainment without using minstrelsy or blackface, nor was he the last. However, on stage the only thing that was white about Elvis was the color of his face; his voice and body language, among other things had a sense of racial ambiguity. This caused the line between blacks and whites to become grayed and raised questions and fears concerning the strength and extent of Jim Crow’s confines. In turn, his version and style of this new genre of music became extremely popular throughout the mid 20th century. Presley’s rock n’ roll music quickly spread across the nation and was made popular and accessible…show more content…
Ball was much more than just America’s favorite comedienne. She was a TV pioneer who's business decisions have shaped the landscape of 21st century popular culture in many aspects. Lucy made many creative choices throughout her career that have had irrevocable repercussions on the landscape of pop culture. For instance, CBS cringed when Ball wanted them to cast Desi Arnaz, who came to be known as Ricky Ricardo as her onscreen husband. This was due to the fact that she was white and he was Cuban and it was unheard of for such love affair to be featured on television. However, Ball firmly stood her ground and in turn gave nationwide TV the first interracial couple. She also was the first female producer to head a major television company, Desilu, which is the studio that produced Mission Impossible and Star Trek, along with many other classics. In addition, Ball insisted on shooting the show in front of a live audience and also pioneered the use of the eminent three-camera technique which is still a standard and still used in filming

More about How Did Elvis Presley Influence Popular Culture

Open Document