R.I.P. Michael Jackson “The King of Pop” Culture
We always hear our parents/grandparents talk about exactly when and where they were when they found out Kennedy was assassinated. This is a feeling that my mom often reclaims but I never thought I’d have that feeling. Come September 11th, 2001 and I’ll never erase the illness I felt as I sat in front of the TV watching the Twin Towers crumble to the floor. Today, as I sat in the parking lot of a 7/11, I felt that same exact sickness for the second time in my life. It’s hard to describe it but it begins with an initial shock, then the numbness and then an overwhelming feeling of dizziness as if your about to faint. Once that feeling had wiped away, the tears began to stream down.
June 25th, 2009 has quickly become one of the darkest days in the world of Pop Culture. It is difficult for me to try and figure out what the death of Michael Jackson can be compared to and what the ultimate impact of it will have on society because I have never experience something like this in my 20 years of life. One thing is for sure, life WILL go on but how exactly will Jackson be remembered. Michael Jackson was a legend, he was a musical genius and most importantly, his heart was always in the right place. I was born in the not so distant year of 1989 and I would say that it was around this time
that Jackson’s career began in slow downfall. Those of my generation are only familiar with the “freak phase” of Jackson, the man who “dyed his skin white,” “got multiple nose jobs” and he infamously “molested multiple children. (I put all of these in quotations because none of them were actually proven true.) There were allegations, there were the rumors but there were never the facts. I can’t help but feel as though we pushed Jackson to his ultimate fate. There has been nothing but negativity for this past decade concerning the “King of Pop.” Every move he made was always followed by an insult to his appearance and every career comeback he attempted was always met with doubt. Jackson occasionally cited medical reasons for backing out
of high profile appearance and most of the time the “B.S.” card was pulled on him but we really have no idea whether it was bullshit or if there were some truths to it. In retrospect what intrigues me most about Jackson is the sense of mystery that constantly surrounded him. For a man proclaimed the most famous celebrity in the world, we know absolutely nothing about who he really was.
There has always been the questions about Michael Jackson’s obsession with children but to me it seems very obvious. Michael Jackson was not sexually attracted to children, he was in love with the idea of being a child. Jackson’s favorite story of all time was “Peter Pan”, the story of a boy who never grew up and remained a kid forever. His obsession with this story led to creation of the now infamous Neverland Ranch. Jackson did not relate to the character of Peter Pan, he wanted to BE Peter. From a young age, Jackson was thrown into the spotlight when he fronted The Jackson 5. He was forced to become an adult and was robbed of a childhood. I feel as though Jackson over the past few decades was trying to reclaim his long lost childhood that he never had. In an interview with CBS news Jackson stated that the one song that he truly invested his personal voice into was the song, “Childhood.” Upon reading the lyrics, I can not help but feel sorry for Jackson. He was never a mystery like I thought, no one chose to listen to what he had to say.
‘Have you seen my Childhood?
I’m searching for the world that I come from
‘Cause I’ve been looking around
In the lost and found of my heart…
No one understands me
They view it as such strange eccentricities…
‘Cause I keep kidding around
Like a child, but pardon me…
People say I’m not okay
‘Cause I love such elementary things…
It’s been my fate to compensate,
for the Childhood
I’ve never known…
Have you seen my Childhood?
I’m searching for that wonder in my youth
Like pirates in adventurous dreams,
Of conquest and kings on the throne…
Before you judge me, try hard to love me,
Look within your heart then ask,
Have you seen my Childhood?”
What troubles me the most is the feeling that we are in essence killing off the icons that have shaped us through our lifetime. Judy Garland, Elvis and now Michael Jackson. All three have followed the exact same pattern of fame and all have met very similar fates. It’s almost become a cliche at this point but it is a cliche that CAN be broken. Many predicted the imminent death of Britney Spears but less than a year later, she has a top selling album and a sold out concert tour. What pains me the most about Jackson’s death is the fact that he never got that redemption from the public. His sold out 50-show “This is It” tour was to be at the 02 Arena in England later this month but we’ll never know how much of the legend was still left in MJ. His legacy will live on but so will his infamy; we tend to forget about the negative which comforts me to some degree but I can not help but feel it is all a lie. The public and the media destroyed Anna Nicole when she was alive but after her passing she was hailed as a “modern day Marilyn Monroe.” I will never begin to understand our society–we love to build our celebrities up, then cheer as their fame begins tumbling down. I can not help but recall the infamous MJ interview in which Bashir tore about any last credibility Jackson had. I’m guilty to finding it entertaining but now I feel as if my enjoyment of seeing that is the root cause of how Michael ended up this way. Why do we find others dismay so entertaining? We thirst from others misfortunes to help feed our ambitions or lack thereof. What a childish was to go about our lives yet for many of us, there is no shame in doing so. Until now.
I’m writing this mainly to help capture the emotions of this day. It’s been almost 12 hours since I heard the news and I’m still in absolute shock. It is heartwarming to see the outpouring of love Jackon’s death brought but it is disheartening to see the negative and heartlessness of some people. I do not think many in my generation understand who Jackson was and the barriers that he broke and the lines that he crossed. I do not know what leads some one to write things such as
-ok Michael Jackson died. get over it. f*ck.
-MAYBE IF HE HADN’T GONE FROM BLACK TO WHITE he wouldn’t have died. Who does that?
-Did you hear Michael Jackson’s kids are free? T
-he was good 30 yrs ago.. and when he made thriller…. people changed.. I mean, he died as a white female.
It is heartless people that would say thing so classless that truly disgust me but this is very much a product of the world we have created. Our sensationalism of celebrities will only lead to their demise. The public made Michael Jackson and the public killed Michael Jackson. I think it is perfectly healthy to obsess over a celebrity, I am guilty as charged with that but the idea of taking pleasure in their downfall is becoming too overwhelming. Instead of continuously refreshing the repulsive perezhilton.com, log onto to the BBC.co.uk and educate yourself about world events. Celebrity gossip is fueled by an obsession with negativity. There is enough cynicism in this world that there is no need for this artificial bullshit. Let’s become productive members of society and stop spoiling our minds. Let us learn from this sad occurrence. Let us grow. Let us become stronger. Let us move on. Let us become educated but most of all let’s stop this beast before it grows even stronger. Rest in peace Michael Jackson! You will forever be missed and loved!
