Look.
Let's be frank here, okay? (I suddenly have the urge to say, "And don't call me Shirley.") Michael Jackson was weird. As some comedian said, and I'm paraphrasing here, 'Only in America can a poor black guy turn into a rich white guy.' The guy obviously had issues. More issues than all the psychologists/psychiatrists/counselors could ever attempt to talk about. He grew up with an abusive father (come on, admit it - you've seen that Michael Jackson movie on VH1, more than once. Don't lie. I'm onto you). If I'm remembering correctly, his father used to talk about his nose and how wide, how "black" it was. It was something he used to harp on constantly as MJ was growing up, hence his obsession with making it small, petite, and virtually non-existent.
The guy was accused of being a pedophile. In case you have selective amnesia, though, the charges were dropped because the stories of the kid and his family were inconsistent. There was even a Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode paralleling the story ('not based on actual events' my ass, Dick Wolf) where Shirley from Laverne & Shirley was actually poisoning her granddaughter and making her think she had cancer. They then fabricated a story about a famous pop singer who'd had charges of molestation/improper relations with children before, but it all ended up being a plot to get money from him.
So. I mean. I don't know. I'm not saying that MJ didn't do it (he fully admitted letting kids sleep in his bed), but if Dick Wolf, Elliot Stabler, and Olivia Benson are insinuating that people are money-hungry bastards who poison their grandkids to make a more convincing story, then .. you know. It makes you pause and think. Because Benson and Stabler don't lie. They just don't do it. Except when Benson's trying to protect her long-lost brother ..
Anyway, the point is - the guy had his issues. I think people really are money-hungry bastards who'll do just about anything to exploit someone else (is it that far-fetched? Think about the lawsuit-happy culture we all live in right now) .. I mean, it's like that person who sued McDonald's after she spilled her hot coffee in her lap and burned herself.
And won.
That's sick. You're an idiot who ordered hot coffee and were too stupid to put it in a cup holder and instead squeezed the cup between your thighs and oops! Surprise! Hot coffee lap. Deal with your own stupidity and own up to your mistakes.
All of that aside, MJ revolutionized music. He changed it forever.
I was adopted in 1988. MJ was at the early peak of his solo career. Thriller had come out in 1982 (it's the world's best-selling record, in case you weren't aware) and Bad had just come out the year before. My brother's cabbage patch doll was named Michael. My sister's doll was named Billie Jean (these names were given by my brother and sister, respectively). If you watch my arrival video, you can see Michael Jackson's "Bad" video on the TV behind me as I bounce around in my wheeling-chair-with-tray-attached thing, which I called my Boinga Boinga. Don't ask questions. Just keep reading.
The "Thriller" video still scares the shit out of me if I watch it by myself and at night. Because of that video, I sprint past cemeteries if I happen to be walking past one at night. The opening beats of the song immediately pop into my head, in addition to Vincent Price's creepy-as-hell voice over, as I imagine decomposing hands and limbs coming forth from the depths of the crypts and graves and mausoleums. But then I think to myself, "Even if that did happen, we just have to do a synchronized dance sequence with the werewolf hand march and we'll all be okay. They'll think I'm one of them and then I'll turn around as I leave with yellow eyes and fangs. Success!"
Everyone, I don't care who you are, has tried to Moonwalk. And probably fallen over/tripped/backed up into a wall/kicked a small child. Everyone, secretly or not, dances around to Billie Jean, The Way You Make Me Feel, Bad, Beat It, and/or Thriller. Everyone's at least tried to lean the Thriller dance in its entirety. And who didn't cry at the end of Free Willy when "Will You Be There" came on? Admit it! You bawled like a baby. As did everyone else in the theatre. GO FREE WILLY, GO!
Ahem.
His personal life aside, MJ was a staple in the music world. I grew up listening to him, even if it was after he'd made it big. I grew up watching his videos. Wanting to imitate his dance moves, only to realize that I couldn't ever Moonwalk the way he did. The man may have been on the creepy side of life, but my Social Work education has made me look at him for who he really was, despite public persona: the result of an abusive, abusive father, an unhealthy family system, and a child who was stripped of his chance of being a child in order to be a performer.
To quote Micky J himself, "It don't matter if you're black or white." His death is a loss for everyone.
Here's a link to one of my favorite MJ videos, "Black or White."
- May (you remember to listen to the music).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey May,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you on this. Our society, as a whole, will destroy all that MJ did during his career over the years. People will eventually forget the impact he had on the music world and focus in on the scandal, as people always do. Soon we will be hearing people confess that MJ touched them, or did this, or did that. People will enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame, as they always have and always will.
Try this one on for size, a girl was sued for being a good samaritan when she helped her friend out of a car in a car accident. That girl was her best friend. We now live in a world where law suits are involved in simple and basic good deeds. Imagine that.
btw. I saw your mom at the Y a week or so ago and nearly bugged out in the lobby. She's awesome.
Nick,
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that the world can't get passed the greed and the need to make a quick buck. I understand that with the current state of the economy, it's getting harder and harder to look past money - it's a necessary evil, and always has been. But people put so much stock into it that that's the reason we're in this mess in the first place.
I don't know why everything has to be this way. I don't know why people are constantly trying to keep up with the Jones', even though they never will. And money will never make them happy. There've been so many studies of indigenous tribes, who have no real material possessions, and how happy they are with life, with each other, with themselves. They don't have all of these distractions to take them away from living in the moment and appreciating each other.
And my mom IS awesome. Haha. She's snoozing on the recliner right by me. This is what she just said, watching the channel guide: "Oooh. Madame Butterfly, Live from the Met. (a few moments later) LAW & ORDER! So much for Madame Butterfly!"
Thanks for the comment, Nick. :)