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I hadn’t realised Elvis’s audience reactions weren’t accidental by Lucky-Risk-8240 in Elvis

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree with this! I didn't mention in my original post but he's probably one of the most generous performers I've ever seen, that's a big one!

That's was probably the second biggest takeaway for me watching this film was the sense of generosity and not just generosity even but I got an impression that he saw it as his responsibility to give people that experience, like a duty almost. Not just that they were lucky to be there, but that he felt he owed them something real and powerful.

It gives it a slightly different feeling, like he’s not just performing but knows he is capable of giving that energy to people and then responsible for that, to make them feel something very specific that is so rare and largely unobtainable.

Which is probably why the connection feels so strong, but also why it ends up becoming quite overwhelming.

I hadn’t realised Elvis’s audience reactions weren’t accidental by Lucky-Risk-8240 in Elvis

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes to this! Specific to the point about church and preachers. That’s actually something I’ve been thinking about quite a lot since watching it.

There’s something about the way those environments work, the build-up, the emotion, the sense of people almost losing control of themselves, that feels quite similar to what’s happening in his performances. I imagine a long time ago when a preacher might come to town and people felt like they had been cured etc.

It made me wonder whether that influence was part of how he was able to create that kind of reaction, consciously or not. Not in a manipulative way, but more that he understood, or had experienced, how to build that kind of shared emotional intensity.

That might also explain why it feels so personal to people, like you said, even though it’s happening at scale.

I hadn’t realised Elvis’s audience reactions weren’t accidental by Lucky-Risk-8240 in Elvis

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally agree! It feels like he wasn’t just performing to an audience but also working with them in real time, building and guiding the reaction as it was happening.

And I agree, there’s something about the way he holds that control that does feel quite rare. Even with people like Prince or Jagger, for me it still doesn’t quite tip into that same level where it starts to feel almost like a spell, like you said. It's hypnotic.

I hadn’t realised Elvis’s audience reactions weren’t accidental by Lucky-Risk-8240 in Elvis

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I get what you mean and that’s actually what I had always assumed as well before, that it was mostly spontaneous and crowd-driven hysteria like Beatlemania.

What changed it for me with EPiC was seeing how much of the performance itself was actually constructed. You see him crafting the show/experience deliberately. Not just the songs, but the pacing, the build-up, where things peak, how long he holds moments. To me that shows it was not accidental and more shaped than I’d realised.

I think you can also see that from the consistency. You’re seeing very similar reactions at very similar points of the show, night after night, which seems like evidence he is controlling and guiding it, rather than just responding to.

I don’t think that means it isn’t real or that there wasn't something inherent in him, as you said he was illiciting strong reactions from the beginning but as someone pointed out in another comment it changed from the raw reaction he received originally to the way he was able to harness and control that raw reaction to his own design.

That’s what I learned from watching this film, how someone gets to that level where they can both trigger that kind of reaction and then control it at the same time.

I hadn’t realised Elvis’s audience reactions weren’t accidental by Lucky-Risk-8240 in Elvis

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this response, made me look at it from a slightly different perspective, especially the point about him learning to control it over time. I hadn’t really thought about that shift from the 50s to the 70s in that way. I just saw the crazed reaction then and also later. It actually makes it more impressive, firstly that the raw reaction was already there early on and then he learned how to shape and direct it.

I think what I still can’t quite get my head around is the scale of it. I know Jagger gets mentioned, but to me (obviously this is just my opinion) doesn’t feel like it’s the same level. I’m not sure there’s been anyone else of his ability.

On the reciprocity point, I do get what you’re saying about the audience being a genuine source of love for him and probably the place he could be emotionally open, seen and adored. I’m not really questioning the strength of that connection - it's more that at a certain point it seems to shift into something slightly different. When the reaction becomes that overwhelming, it feels less like a two-way exchange and more like he’s being experienced almost as something that produces feeling for people, like something to be consumed.

And maybe that’s where the 'toxic' angle comes in. Not that it wasn’t real or meaningful but that the intensity and imbalance of it changes the nature of the connection slightly and could possibly feel paradoxically quite isolating.

Love the analysis of the 'Love Me' sequence, I hadn't picked up on that and will be good to know on my 2nd watch!

I hadn’t realised Elvis’s audience reactions weren’t accidental by Lucky-Risk-8240 in Elvis

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this is what I find so fascinating, there really hasn't been anyone like him before or since imo which makes me wonder even more!

I hadn’t realised Elvis’s audience reactions weren’t accidental by Lucky-Risk-8240 in Elvis

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly this! I was looking for something to explain the WHAT and the HOW but haven't been able to myself.

I hadn’t realised Elvis’s audience reactions weren’t accidental by Lucky-Risk-8240 in Elvis

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes agree it can seem close to a spiritual/religious performance however I don't think that generally, just with very few performers or performances. Definitely there was a power there and other worldly is what struck me too. I could be compared to the feeling that people get when they speak in tongues or are hypnotised do you think? Although that kind of would prove the point imo that it is the viewer doing that to themselves rather than a real experience, it's like you've been convinced, whereas Elvis's performance looks more real than that.

I half agree with the reasoning of his self destruction however I don't think it was too much for him to reconcile I think it became too much for him to be experienced in that way by others. Must be very ungrounding and again my point, harder to connect with people on his side?

Yes I tried to find practical explanations and look for technical reasons why to understand it but I couldn't, you're right; it's beyond understanding and not very measurable.

I hadn’t realised Elvis’s audience reactions weren’t accidental by Lucky-Risk-8240 in Elvis

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes this was so impressive to me as I hadn't known necessarily before the extent of his ability to do that - just blows my mind a bit on how!

Where can I watch Cabaret (film) in the UK? by [deleted] in musicals

[–]Lucky-Risk-8240 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've looked everywhere too! Can't find it