Michael Jackson's Death -- What Does it Say About Us?

Michael Jackson's death has brought mixed emotions to the millions of people who knew and loved his music. Yet I cannot help but wonder what the incredible response to his death says about our society.

The online activity to his death has been historic and mindblowing. Yahoo's story on his hospitalization reportedly got 800,000 pageviews in ten minutes. Google News had so many searches for him that they thought they were under an automated attack, and they saw one of the largest mobile search spikes they have ever seen. On Twitter as many as 30% of tweets related to Michael Jackson on the day of his death.

Yes, he was the legendary King of Pop and millions enjoyed his music but I cannot help but wonder if in our fascination with his death, we are missing many of the ways that we supported the problems he struggled with his entire life. Deepak Chopra wrote here on Huffington Post, "He declared often, as former child stars do, that he was robbed of his childhood. Considering the monstrously exaggerated value our society places on celebrity, which was showered on Michael without stint, the public was callous to his very real personal pain."

Yet isn't the "monstrous exaggerated value that our society places on celebrity" us? And how much of the response is just this? While at one level, our culture puts celebrities on a pedestal and adores them, we seem to get more satisfaction when they fall -- and the harder the better. There is a part of our culture that seems to relish and find satisfaction in the suffering of celebrities. As people wait to hear the coroners reports of how Jackson died, how many of us secretly hope to learn that he was on numerous medications to dull the enormous suffering and isolation he faced? Sure, we love of our celebrities, but we seem to love them more the more they suffer.

So while people are posting tributes and comments on blogs and social networks like Facebook and Twitter, possibly the best tribute that we can make to Michael Jackson is to end the "monstrously exaggerated value our society places on celebrity," particularly as it relates to young stars. We can do this by refusing to consume media that feeds this beast, that sets celebrities off as special and then highlights their inadequacies and downfalls. In doing so, maybe the next young great entertainers will not be robbed of their childhood, and can live a rich, quality life.

How beautiful if Jackson's death can help our culture transform how we view and relate to celebrities. The culture is, after all, only us, and we decide what to support or not in every action we take.

Follow Soren Gordhamer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SorenG

Comments

[caryberry]

Thought provoking article. For every person caught up in celebrity hype that runs non-stop thanks to the vanilla (i.e. mediocre) media there is another person that really does not care what celebrities do, say, or think. Mass media force feeds the public what amounts to a nutritionally empty diet of celebrity gossip and pseudo-interest as a cheap form of news. Over-processed, junk food for the masses.

Everyone dies. The end.

[Lassie1]

Hey, we all here in the Lassie1 family were as big MJ fans as could be found anywhere! But we are as interested in the dirt that may or may not be coming out in the weeks ahead, and why not? As far as enjoying celebrities falling off the pedestal, why not? Anyone who manages to be $500 million in debt is most interesting when they crash and burn. I had to scrape together a big $5 with a couple of bills and a couple handfuls of change to buy gas this morning, and no one is worrying about my "personal pain".

[Uncle Kudzu]

"Anyone who manages to be $500 million in debt is most interesting when they crash and burn."

Lassie1, i'm not sure "enjoy" is the right word. it's just really difficult not to stare at this particular train wreck.

[Nudalhade]

I think the lion's share of the curiosity was based on prurient interest in his peccadilos as well as his strange quest to be white.

A lot of folks don't think MJ ranks with the King (Elvis) or the Beatles. Sorry, truth sometimes hurts.

[Uncle Kudzu]

yup, Nudalhade, i am ashamed to admit that i am one of the ones who was fascinated by his peculiar behavior and his tragic pursuit of becoming a scary white lady. that is certainly not to say that i took pleasure in it, as the article might maintain. MJ seems to be one of those who became confused when mass adulation told him he was something he was not.

as to where he ranks, when i think of gifted black musical talents, i think of Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Living Color, Tracy Chapman, etc...

The Jackson 5 i recall as having some fun little pop tunes that i enjoyed for a moment in my youth, much as i enjoyed the Monkees and the Partridge Family. nothing wrong with those.

[M.j. Gray]

I have to disagree with you, AceintheHole.

The point of Gordhamer's post was that we place far, far too much emphasis on celebrity. We love the superstar more than our own lives, in many cases, and we salivate when they quite humanly fall from the pedestal we put them on.

The people you cited, Moses, Jesus, Lincoln, MLK are a poor comparison because those men actually did things that would eventually change the socio-political landscape of their time and have far-reaching effects long into the future.

Michael Jackson was simply a fantastic entertainer who knew how to give his adoring public what they wanted. Don't get me wrong, I'm a longtime MJ fan, but I realize that he never passed a law, he never fought or ended a war, he never developed a cure for any disease, he never wrote a theory on macroeconomics. These things hold far more value, but are nowhere near as much fun as "Off the Wall."

What our society does is place emphasis on the people who give us the fun stuff because it is easier to understand and help us escape from the complex or mundane. Now, should we remember and honor MJ? Absolutely, but it should be for his entertaining gifts, not for changing the world. He didn't. He just helped us to have fun.

[AceInTheHole]

Thank you M.j. Gray, for taking the time to respond to my little observation,on the long tradition of honoring various iconic and not so iconic figures in history. I have to disagree with the precept that anyone has the wisdom to determine the criteria that others should apply to honoring others that they choose to honor..
I could have added people like Michael Jordan and Muhamad Ali and Sammy Davis Jr. MEGER Evans , or even Huey Newton to that list and who is qualified and by what authority ,to be the arbitrator to remove anyone of these folks from being highly honored by those who choose to do so
I don't look forward to a day when our right to honor those we choose to honor is abridged or even compromised by another human being.or government.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts on this subject.
Ace

[Soren Gordhamer - Huffpost Blogger]

Ace in the Hole,

Thanks for your thoughts. I don't think anyone (certainly not me) is arguing that our right to honor those we choose be abridged or compromised, but I think it fair to ask if being fascinating by and relishing in someone's suffering is really a form of honoring.

[AceInTheHole]

With all due respect, I find your article somewhat counter-intuitive, because the ability to place other human beings in high regard is very natural for most people. That's why we build statues and monuments and write biographies and have fan clubs and revere people like Moses, Jesus, Lincoln, and MLK, long after they die.

[Antifascist-08]

Beautiful

Dream

On

[Einstein44]

Soren,
Excellent article and I totally agree on your eloquent thoughts.