The
Cadillac as Cultural Text
Well
I’m the king of the
road
Ain’t got no place to go, no place I call home
Seen the world from behind this old wheel
Driving away from those feelings I feel
-
Cadillac Man
The
Cadillac car has long featured
in the American imagination as a signifier of cool masculinity, mastery
of the
road, financial surplus and a predilection for luxury and comfort (cf.
the
lyrics to ‘Cadillac Man’, quoted above). I
propose to analyze
a number of cultural texts that construct, establish and eventually
subvert
these connotations. I am particularly interested in constructions of
race and
sexual orientation utilizing the vehicle of the Cadillac. Texts to be
analyzed
include Jack Kerouac’s “fag Cadillac” in On
the Road,
rock singer and performer Mink
DeVille, the persona of James ‘Thunder’ Early (played by Eddie Murphy)
in the
2006 movie Dreamgirls,
and various rock ‘n’ roll lyrics featuring
comparisons of Fords and Caddys…
[Paper...]
[Slides...]
[Cadillac
lyrics...]
