Over spring break, I watched the Elvis movie. The movie covered the 1968 performance that Elvis gave in wake of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Elvis passionately sings about
“If I can dream of a better land, where all my brothers walk hand in hand”
Elvis alludes to the American dream as outlined in the founding documents by referring to Martin Luther’s dream “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” He does so in verse 2 where he sings;
The repeated use of weather metaphors throughout the song may encourage the audience to draw parallels to the instability of the American dream which relates wider inequality gaps. This is a result of the inherit racism imbedded in American culture and the need to oppress the minority. I find the use of weather, to be an interesting choice for metaphors and one that has impact because its ever-changing and tends to have large impact on our daily lives. Weather dictates what we do with our days, what we wear and much more.