Wednesday, May 4, 2011

GraceLand

The meaning of the title has several direct and indirect connotations, causing a certain ambiguity that ends up fitting the novel in a very appropriate way. For instance, the song is clearly a reference to Elvis Presley, of whom Elvis Oke is the namesake. But Presley's Graceland is a relic of dated pop iconography, kitsch, and even a gift shop. Graceland comes to be a kind of monolith of bad taste in the American cultural landscape. Nonetheless, it is an important aspect of mass media culture, which America has exported to an incredible degree. 
The other reference that comes to mind is one Abani must certainly have been aware of (Abani is a musician himself), which is the Paul Simon album and song of the same title (below). The lyrics are bittersweet, cataloguing a trip Simon is taking to visit Presley's Graceland Estate. What makes this album especially relevant is the incorporation of several South African musicians, including the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The album was recorded in South Africa in 1986, and included many African references and music styles, including Isicathamiya and Mbaqanga (Zulu). This particular reference indicates the notion of cultural fluidity, and that cultural import and export rarely goes one way. The references pile up: Elvis carries the name he does, which relates to Presley's Graceland, but the African aspects of Paul Simon's Graceland point to both Oke and Presley, and visa versa. The confusion is an effective indicator that culture doesn't truly belong to any one group of people. 




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