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Remembering Michael Jackson -- The Man in Our Mirror
During the past week, the public reaction to the death of Michael Jackson as reflected both in our media and the media in countries throughout the world drives home a cultural phenomenon in our country that I have observed for years: The African-American "experience," as expressed in language, dance, fashion, sports, literature and music comprises much of the fuel that ignites the engine of popular culture in the United States. The domestic and international outpouring of multi-racial, intergenerational public response to the death of Michael is an indication of just how powerful that engine can be.
Predictably, the King of Pop's death eclipsed the interest of much of the media in the saga of South Carolina Governor Sanford, but also the passing of other celebrities like Farrah Fawcett and Karl Malden. The reason is simple: Jackson's fame was at a stratospherically higher level.
Eleven thousand tickets have been allocated for a public memorial service at the LA Staples Center. Within ninety minutes following the announcement of the service there were four million hits on the internet. More than a million and a half people registered online to qualify for this paltry pool of tickets. And although they are non-transferable, capitalism finds its way in: tickets to attend the service have been bid as high as $10,000 on eBay.
This is the calculus of superstar status.
Jackson's level of fame could only have been possible in a relatively slender band of time -- the period between the post-Civil Rights acceptance of black music by mainstream America and that pre-internet era when there were relatively few broadcast options ruling mass media. The vast posthumous public acclaim of Jackson can best be seen in this "Twitter age" of the instant mass transmission of individual information. Every person with a laptop or a smart phone can tell the whole world exactly what Thriller or Bad meant to them. These communication technology innovations facilitated the election of our first African-American president of the United States.
Ironically, however, this is the same "narrowcasting" environment that will prevent the likes of Jackson's kind of success from ever coming along again. Audiences are far too splintered to fall in line -- and in love -- en masse with a single recording artist today the way they could for Michael Jackson in the eighties and nineties. The times when you walked along a street and heard the same album drifting out of bars, clothing boutiques and record stores is gone.
Yet those same individuals fractured into a thousand different pop culture directions have coalesced over the last week into one massive fan base to let the world know how much Michael meant to them.
The transmission of Michael Jackson's music and dance in his heyday may have been facilitated by nationwide and international radio play rotation and MTV broadcasts, More importantly, he was the racial and ethnic crossover beneficiary of the struggle, leadership and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. James Baldwin's "The Fire Next Time" and other African-American cultural touchstones raised the consciousness of black and white people on the issue of race. They and Dr. King challenged us to think not about a black America or a white America, but, as President Barack Obama has said, a "United States of America."
Reverend Al Sharpton got it right. Yes -- before Tiger Woods, Ophra Winfrey, Michael Jordan, and Barack Obama, Michael Jackson was the first major African-American "idol" to be embraced by a majority of whites and blacks in America.
All the more a pity that Michael approached his heritage in such an oblique way.
The legendary performer James Brown shouted in song, "I'm Black and I'm Proud!" One wonders if Michael Jackson, in his later years, really felt he was either of those. He was torn and tormented by the color of his skin, facial features and hair. He seemed to want to "shed" his "blackness" and assume the features of a new, less black, more white persona.
The English philosopher Joseph Campbell has described the classic "hero's journey" in literature. It is not the individual person that determines or defines a "hero," it is the journey that shapes the hero. A hero can be flawed but still a hero. Moreover, not all "heroes" are victorious. A "failed" journey can even be a "heroic" one. Some stories can end nobly without ending happily.
Much of America and the world honor Jackson as a "flawed hero" of their or their children's generation. They have taken all of Michael's imperfections -- real and imagined -- into account and have embraced him as a reflection of their own sense of joy and peace, and the irrelevance of race and color. Even the instances of alleged sexual abuse of boys and millions of dollars in out of court settlements wasn't enough to staunch the affection the world at large has for Michael. In the end, it seems he represented hope, inspiration and the celebration of life, however unorthodox his own life may have been.
We will forever be indebted to Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, and to producer Quincy Jones for helping the expression of the genius that was Michael Jackson. Let's just not forget that their talents were only part of the perfect storm that lead to such a celebrated legacy.
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I still like the "Free Willy" song, "Will You Be There." Good music
"Reverend Al Sharpton got it right. Yes -- before Tiger Woods, Ophra Winfrey, Michael Jordan, and Barack Obama, Michael Jackson was the first major African-American "idol" to be embraced by a majority of whites and blacks in America. " IMO I would have to say Jimi Hendrix was without a doubt the "first" Major "Idol" of African heritage to be embraced by whites. Most of my White friends couldn't care less about Michael Jackson.
I posted the following early, never made it on the forum, so here goes again.
This Is It....7 July 2009
The worst day in the Jackson Family's life....where they will see their beloved son, brother, uncle, cousin laid to rest. May Michael find the peace that he didn't experience in life.
Michael, the 'man-child' who gave soo much to humanity....I, personally, will cry along with the family in spirit. Michael J. Jackson put a smile on my face, loved his music and boogied to it.
He was soo misunderstood by his critics, but that's o.k., fore his fans will never forget him. He wanted to spread the love to all people and for that I thank God for sending Michael to us.
I can't stand when people say Michael Jackson didn't want to be black.... Try looking up the disease: Vitiligo . It's not friggin make believe.
Check out the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6xJlyJgfS8
REMIX
http://djonathandavids.podomatic.com/entry/2009-07-06T20_57_57-07_00
BlueZoo I'm a Fan of BlueZoo I'm a fan of this user permalink
"MJ was nothing more than an exceptional entertainer and is not deserving of the worship being extended to him. It's absolutely uncalled for and sickening."
_________________________________________________________
Actually, in addition to being an exceptional entertainer, Michael Jackson was an exceptional humanitarian.
In his lifetime, Michael contributed more than $300 million to various organizations, which earned him a title in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the pop star to "Most Support Charities."
He didn't just write a check. He visited burn units, cancer clinics, and met with terminally ill kids at his concerts. Here's a partial list of charities he contributed to.
http://www.jacksonaction.com/?page=charity.htm
He was torn and tormented by the color of his skin, facial features and hair. He seemed to want to "shed" his "blackness" and assume the features of a new, less black, more white persona.
I don't think Michael Jackson wanted to shed his blackness. However..let's take the era. White America dictated the rules. Women and men ..lightened their skin..got the job over the darker skinned talent. Straightened their hair..or shaved it..like the Basketball players did in the 80's and 90's. In White America ..there was a door open for blacks ...as long as you tried to conform to white America's ..not too black..rules.
The era of Malcom X was over.
yup.....and still, today...w.hite people are all over the television trying to push their views on the public....they don't understand the AA community, though they think they do....how sad because 'they' are really the 'odd' ones, they just don't know it.
Not public Funeral - funeral service for Michael Jackson, but a mega-event for millions of profit, this is the scandal of the year !
In the rush to comment on the passing of Michael Jackson, I'm not surprised that so many people have gotten the story wrong. It has been confirmed numerous times that he had vitiligo, a skin disorder that results in depigmentation of the skin....he was not lightening himself out of self hatred; he had a medical condition.
Secondly, We can not assume that racial self-hatred was the primary reason for the plastic surgeries as evidence suggests there are other plausible reasons (a compulsion towards self-mutilation or a quasi-addiction to the effects of anesthesia) that at least contributed to the multiple surgeries.
Lastly, on numerous occasions Michael Jackson spoke about his pride in being black and about racism in the entertainment industry. Any review of his body of work will note that he often worked with other black entertainers when surely he could have chosen not to. Why are we questioning his "loyalty" to the black community?
As an African-American teenage girl I spent many hours mooning over Michael Jackson in my youth but had not followed him closely in many years. Yet in the wake of his death, I've come to have a greater appreciation for Michael Jackson the man...not the superstar or the hero or the media created image...but the beautiful, talented, fragile, and flawed human being who deserves our compassion not just our social critiques.
Thank you for your post.
'The times when you walked along a street and heard the same album drifting out of bars, clothing boutiques and record stores is gone."
Excellent.
Technology has a way of making everything seem disposable.
What's the flavor of the week on your iPod?
I dug out my Michael Jackson vinyl records and my kids were in awe.
Micheal will be missed, and like most of us there are things some just don't understand about either of us, whether micheal was ashame of being black is no concern of mine, we don't know if that is true. African americans as a whole would use ultra bleaching cream (supposably to fade dark spots) so does that mean that the person did not want to be black. Micheal, was a musical genius, and that is what I will remember about him. Me and my brother would go down our own soul train line to the jacksons music. What always puzzles me though, is it would have been nice if Micheal could have seen and heard all the good things people have said about him while he was alive, I personally don't think he thought as many people still loved him.
He may have realized that there were many fans who still believed in him and loved him since his upcoming tour tickets sold out almost immediately. He was still here to see that. I hope his soul is at peace. I always was an MJ fan and will remember the impact he had in my life with his music.
Sorry - not that I had anything against him, but I NEVER "fell in love" with him. He left me cold.
He still leaves me in awe with just a clip on the television. A tiny minute clip of his dancing..and its wow..how does he do that? Never witnessed such talent. I don't know anyone who can compare from any era.
There is an old West African polythesic legend about meeting several different guardian spirits at the Crossroads for favors. Its the legend of Rock and Roll. The cornerstone of American music success.
Without Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown, there would be no Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, Beatles, Michael Jackson or Justin Timberlake.
The point of celebrating the life of MJ for some is to give props to black music for all the ways it has brought people together. The reaching influence of black America is so profound, even rac ists have no idea how Africanized they are when they worship at their fundie churches and tap their toes to old Skynard songs. Heavy metal fans--guess who was a blues band before they became metal? Just about ALL of them.
Sharpton never gets anything right--both Sidney Poitier & Bill Cosby beat out Michael Jackson by quite a few years. It was people like Poitier and Cosby who paved the way for Michael Jackson, but go ahead and rewrite history, I just don't know why you'd want to, that's all.
Let's be serious, most of those attending the MJ memorial are going for the "I was there" factor. Bragging rights and some strange sense that the memorial is historic. Hysteric is probably a better term for it.
The over-reaction to MJ's death says more about our country than it does about Michael Jackson. This is a really bad case of mass narcissism.
Whatever Sharpton might get right or wrong is beyond your judgment. As for Cosby and Poitier, they did not achieve the world wide adulation that MJ enjoys. This nation was hardly ready for Cosby and Poitier, who, despite their achievements and talents were still confined to the chitlin' circuit for the most part.
MJ transcended that on the strength of his talent and his generation. Certainly he is an heir to all those who came before him, but if you know anything about MJ, you'd know that he was the first to acknowledge his predecessors and what he took from each one. He understood clearly his place in the scheme of things, and that more than anything else, contributed to his legitimacy and strength as an artist.
You can rewrite history if you want. You certainly cannot judge why anyone would want to go to his
memorial service. Like any such event, people are there for their own reasons. Why do people continue to go to Graceland? Hysteria?
Poitier and Cosby were not on the "chitlin circuit." If they did not receive the world wide attention that Mr. Jackson received is not the issue (pop stars always get more attention and the media was much bigger and more influential in the 80's than in the 60's, anyway). The point is that they were accepted by most of white America in a time of deep racial division within our country. Mr. Poitier and Mr. Cosby were transcendent long before MJ came along.
Sorry, whatever Sharpton does get wrong is completely within my judgement.
The nuttiness that surrounded the death of Elvis was almost as hysteric as that of the over-reaction to Jackson's death. Thank God the media was not as prevelant then as it is today.
I disagree with thoughts that Michael Jackson shunned blackness or shied away from that perspective or culture. If we review many of his videos, we see that he often utilized an entirely black cast and frequently mixed in visuals around that culture. Remember the Time, Smooth Criminal, Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Rock My World, Keep It in the Closet, Jam = these all had primarily or solely black casts. Other key videos certainly mixed the apparent ethnicity, but always included or featured African Americans. Most of his music collaborators were also people of color. Of course we know his stated musical and performance idols are black performers.
One may change one's own looks and wear many different styles, whatever, but continuing to embrace and surround oneself with a culture and/or people is undeniable in his case. In this way Michael Jackson was a strong proponent of so-to-speak "blackness." At the same time his message was "it doesn't matter if you're black or white."
He is unique, and he did not "abandon" a race or culture as some suggest.
I agree.
It is a mystery to me why any black person would stand up for this man who was so disgusted by his blackness he used his resources to change the color of his skin.
He had vitiligo. Would you say this man hates his blackness too?
http://www.bagofnothing.com/2007/12/black-tv-anchor-turning-white/
It's a mystery to me why people can be so ignorant.
Check out the video on vitiligo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6xJlyJgfS8
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