4
Thursday, June 24, 1999
Fans Flood Memphis
To Honor the King
Thousands of visitors come
each year to Graceland to
tour the King's mansion and
pay respects to his grave.
By Verna Kale
Arts & Features Editor
Graceland does not attract visitors, it
attracts pilgrims - more than 700,000 of
them a year to be specific.
Only the White House is more
famous.
The mansion, located on Elvis
Presley Boulevard
in Memphis,
Tenn., is a verita
ble Mecca for
Elvis fans, but also
has something to
offer for fans of
anything campy.
onthe/V~\
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cheesy and just plain fun.
From the outside, the home looks like
your garden-variety ‘7os mansion.
Inside, however, visitors can bask in the
shag-carpeted glory of the jungle room.
Other highlights of the tour include
the downstairs rooms, which serve as a
time capsule of sorts to ‘7os interior
design, as well as Elvis’ trophy room
and his grave.
For tourists willing to pay a little
extra, tours of Elvis’ car collection and
jet planes are available.
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From the day after Thanksgiving
until Jan. 8, the house sports Christmas
decorations.
The blue draperies of the living room
are exchanged for red, just as when
Elvis lived there.
For the days leading up to Aug. 16,
the day Elvis died, special events are
also planned. Larger crowds than usual
flock to Graceland to pay respect to the
King. The week of mourning for his loss
culminates with a candlelight vigil on
Aug. 15.
Though Elvis died in 1977, around the
time that today’s college students were
bom, Elvis as a cultural icon remains
important He changed the face of rock
‘n’ roll with his sexually charged danc
ing and R&B influences.
All things considered, Graceland
makes a worthy stop on a road trip for
those traveling through Memphis.
For travelers to Roanoke, Va., anoth
er Elvis-destination invites the devoted
and the curious to have a look.
Known as “Mini Graceland” this
tourist attraction is exactly what it
sounds like: a miniature replica of
Graceland.
Built by Don Epperly in his front
yard at 605 Riverland Rd., Mini
Graceland, at dimensions of roughly six
feet long and three feet tall, looks exact
ly like its larger Memphis counterpart.
It even has miniature trees in the
front yard behind the miniature rock n’
roll gates.
Gr ac .
J|>
Epperly, whose wife is a big Elvis fan,
keeps adding to his miniature memori
al. A model of Elvis’ childhood home as
well as a tiny pink Cadillac also grace the
property.
Just like the real Graceland, Mini
Graceland celebrates Christmas Elvis
Arts
style, complete with decorations.
Graceland remains undoubtedly a
cultural icon. Mini Graceland only dri
ves that home.
The Arts & Features Editor can be
reached at vee@email.unc.edu.
Film Provokes Feeling
Of General Discontent
By Justin Marlowe
Staff Writer
A movie is never merely the sum of
its parts. This is a lesson the moviegoing
public continually learns the hard way.
Consider all that “The General’s
Daughter” has going for it: The film has
big- n a m e
actors and
actresses,
includingjohn
Travolta,
Madeline
Stowe and
Movie Review
“The Generals
Daughter"
ff
James Woods
It’s got a talented director in Simon
West (Con Air) and a compelling story
within its own right. How then can this
movie be anything less than spectacu
lar? Oh, let me count the ways.
First, good actors and actresses
should never be used solely as back
ground characters when they have so
much more to offer.
After she bursting on the scene,
Stowe is quickly reduced to a spectator,
tagging along with the male leads for the
sole purpose of being saved in the end.
Second, a fine line exists between sus
pense and boredom. The movie tries to
keep viewers on the edge of their seats
by revealing information at a tediously
slow pace.
Here “The General’s Daughter” falls
short. Throughout the movie, the view
er gets a sense of progression in one
direction, which gives the impression of
Slip Sailij iar Mttl
an upcoming monumental twist in the
story.
The twist never comes however, and
everyone who sees this mystery/thriller
will figure out all its secrets about 20
minutes into the film.
Characterization is the only recourse
for a suspense film with no suspense, but
this film lacks even that Every character
is stock, from the by-the-book army gen
eral to his rebellious, vengeful daughter
who plans to make him pay for not lov
ing her enough.
I think it would be unfair not to men
tion something good about the movie.
Beautiful Savannah, Ga. provides a
scenic backdrop for the outdoor scenes.
Also, the film does succeed in por
traying the viciousness of rape and the
havoc it can wreak on the lives of the
victim and the victim’s family.
Unfortunately, it does so in a wholly
uninteresting manner, as is so often the
case when a movie tries too hard to step
out of the role of entertainment and into
that of social commentary.
“The General’s Daughter” is not a
typical summer movie, in that it does
not contain gratuitous explosions or vio
lence, and it does provoke some
thought. But that does not make it good.
Anyone looking for a good movie
about the darker side of military life is
advised to rent “A Few Good Men” and
save a couple of bucks.
The Arts & Features Editor can be
reached at vee@email.unc.edu.
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Published: August 14
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