As an individual who grew up listening to MJ, spending hours on end practicing his dance routines and who's first horror movie was 'Thriller', to hear that he is gone does not invoke sadness but rather invokes a sense of satisfaction and happiness that I lived in the era of a legend.
Funny, how the media jumped on this one, "the kids aren't MJ's!" "drug fiend who died a beggar," are just a few of the negative headlines that jump out at us from newspapers in every newstand. Now, I accept that MJ was not perfect, but tainting his image now does not bode well for the generations coming up, MJ will, or rather, SHOULD be to the next generation, what Bob Marley is to our generation, a "pioneer of our time." For this reason I am writing this article, to highlight the positives I and the world has seen and maybe forgotten.
People generally ostracise what they fail to comprehend....which is pretty much everything when it comes to celebrity. So, no surprise then, the media circus surrounding Michael's death, eh?
Even worse is the uncertainty over how Michael's life should be remembered, "Peter Pan of Neverland" or "Global Icon who had the power to unite the world through his music"?
"Michael will be larger in death than he was in life," his father, Joe Jackson stated, but this is not a man who was unnappreciated in his career, this is a man who reached the top, set high standards and surpassed any artist, living or dead, with his showmanship, smooth voice and versatility. He was a charitable patron, not many know that Michael Jackson has the Guiness World record for the Pop Star who has supported the most charities, 'but never mind that' the media say.
The Man
Michael Jackson was a celebrity, but he was celebrated for the right reasons, in fact, he was a model celebrity. For all his quirks and eccentricity, Mr Jackson remained a private man.
His lifestyle was constantly attacked, however, the difference between his celebrity being attacked and the celebrities we see today being attacked, is that Michael Jackson enforced such an extreme level of privacy in his life, he did not yearn for the attention of the media, he did not need to. In this day and time a private celebrity, "must have something to hide," so the media went to work, afterall, it is just a job for them, they do not care how many careers and lives they destroy along the way, as long as they get the 'exclusive' news piece.
How many times can you say that Michael Jackson was in the news for hitting a paparazzi, an unwarranted outburst or drunken antics as our current celebritities are so willingly associated?
For 40years of his life Mr Jackson had been in the spotlight and he handled it so well, yes, there was the emphasis on the 'many faces of Michael Jackson' but everyone has a flaw no one is perfect.
When the progression or degression of his face is mentioned, as always, it is surrounded by guess work worthy of a politician who does not know his subject.
It is rumoured that Mr Jackson, did not get on well with his father and wanted to be as far removed from him as possible, ergo the external changes we saw.
But the physical adjustments did not change the man he was. He was still a multi-platinum selling artist, still a showman, still a pioneer and most importantly of all, he was still a father and a black man, as Jamie Foxx said at the BET Awards, "Michael died a black man. He belongs to us."
Much has been made of Michael Jackson's fatherhood, many have said his eccentricity makes him an unfit father, but it is true to say how one acts in public does not reflect how one acts in the privacy of his/her home. This is refelected all over society, the men and women whom the public and media put on pedestals as role model and icons until factors of their private life come out into the open.
It is fair to say that if an adult has a negative experience in his/her youth they will do everything in their power to ensure their own children are protected from such experiences. The same can be said for Michael Jackson, from a young age he was thrust into the limelight and has been in the limelight ever since, missing out on a "normal" life and having to think as an adult at an extremely premature age. Mr. Jackson did not want his children to have the same experience, so he went to extreme measures to protect his children, yes, the methods may have seemed weird and unnecessary, but if a man loves his children and is willing to do anything to protect his children, who are we to judge?
In all the talk of Michael Jackson's apparent 'free-spending' lifestyle and debts it is a point often overlooked, that Mr Jackson was in the year 2000, handed the Guiness World Record for the "Most Charities Supported By a Pop Star". It states that Michael Jackson has supported 39 charity organizations either with monetary donations through sponsorships of their projects or by participating in their silent auction, lets not forget, he also set up the Heal The World Foundation. So to say that Mr Jackson was irresponsible with his money is an unfair and perhaps inaccurate appraisal of the kind of person he was.
In essence, Michael Jackson was no different from the rest of us if we compare him as a man, he was a man doing what he needed to do to survive. The only thing that separates him from us is his willingness to exceed the boundaries set by society and media.
The Legend
Not much needs to be said about Michael Jackson's achievements, we all saw it or even experienced it at some point in our lives.
While I was not born in the 60s to see Michael's entrance on the showbiz scene, it does not take a genius to guess that his entrance must have been immense.
Quincy Jones, owner of Motown Records who signed Michael Jackson, said of him, "To call Michael the 'King of Pop' is simply not enough, Michael was the greatest entertainer in history."
Yes, Mr Jackson was a show man, a great singer and dancer, but there was more to him than a performing act, many are in the same field as Mr Jackson but have failed to reach the same heights, such heights allowed him to become, the first performer to earn £100 million in ONE year, a multi-platinum selling artist and a captivating show man.
It is fair to say, Michael Jackson was a perfectionist, practising hours on end, until his words and scintillating dance moves were second nature. He worked his magic in almost every country around the world, casting spells on the thousands that came out to see him, no concert of Mr Jackson's was complete without a few dozens fans fainting in his presence, such was the power he had over his fans.So, is Micheal Jackson a 'legend'?
In order to answer that, we first need to understand what a legend is. A legend is a non-historical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.
So according to this definition, yes, Michael Jackson is a legend, and he can have the media to thank for that, for all the negative coverage of his life, the media have unwittingly made him a legend. It is through the media that we hear stories of his life leading to more elaborate stories told by different people in different ways, not far removed from a game of 'chinese whispers'.
How Michael will be portrayed down the years is up for much debate, he was a very controversial character who invoked every emotion possible in people around the world fans and non-fans alike.
The Revolutionary
While Mr Jackson did not incite riots or protests, he was an effective revolutionary in the use of his music in sending out messages to the world.
Michael Jackson had a very strong message in his songs and he used the power in his voice effectively, to lead us on a journey through feelings of anger, sadness, hurt, happiness and achievement.
Michael Jackson's songs in some way, either related to his personal life or called out for us to unite, with many in between being very much songs of love and desire. His songs also used powerful videography to portray these messages, take for example, the song 'Leave Me Alone', in essence, the video emphasises the tabloid view on personal life and public image and he illustrates this through stylistic imagery, taking us on a journey through a theme park while depicting the media as dogs in suits, only out to savage him. In the end of the video we see that Mr Jackson himself is the theme park in which the media play. The video was a way of laying down the gauntlet to the media and telling them that he is willing to take them on through his music.
The genius of Michael is that he understood that 'a picture paints a thousand words', so majority of his songs were seemingly very mainstream, if you only go by the lyrics, speaking heartbreak, love and women, but if you then look at the video the songs you see a totally different story. A song like 'Leave me alone' would make any person who has not seen the video believe that Mr Jackson was talking about a woman who was after his money or taking advantage of him with his crafty use of words like 'baby' and 'girl', this widely made his songs acceptable, but beneath these songs, are strong messages for all who would but listen and see.
Michael Jackson perfectly used his music as a channel to broadcast his humanitarian views to the world, with songs such as, 'Heal the World' and 'Earth Song'. Such a passion for what he believed in allowed Michael Jackson to reach out and touch the hearts of millions, it is not often that you see a performer who puts their heart into their music and is willing to step down from their pedestal challenge the world to do something about the problems that affect the common man.
The plight of the common man was very much high in MJ's thoughts, in the song 'They don't Care About Us', Michael speaks of injustice, challenges race issues and the government.
Personally observing, this song was the most robust challenger Michael Jackson had put out to those that would seek to do him harm with lyrics such as, 'Beat me, hate me you can never break me, will me, thrill me you can never kill me.'
It is also fitting that the chorus is 'all i wanna say is they don't really care about us,' using those words, Mr Jackson forges a connection with the masses of the people by telling the world he is no different from the rest of us he also suffered injustice, discrimination and hard times. Also this is the ONLY Michael Jackson song that had TWO music videos, one being choreographed in a prison setting and the other being filmed in a shanty town in Rio de Janeiro, famed for its high poverty levels, again the message is huge, "they don't care about us."
To consolidate my summary of the affect his music had on us, not too long after his death I attended a tribute to Michael Jackson at Trafalgar Square, mainly populated by young people, so there was always the chance that something may go wrong, but the power of Michael produced an influx of positive energy and unity very rare among young people, that is until the police, stereotyping as per usual, began to surround the perimeter in hope that if anything broke out they could contain it. Up until then, the songs being sung were Michael's song of joy laughter and expression, but on appearance of the police the song 'Beat it' rang loud around Trafalgar Square directed at the police, with young people not becoming anti-social but showing a sense of unity against those that do them injustice.
This experience showed me that the spirit of Michael Jackson will live long and forever in the hearts of the people, his words were simple, "unite against oppression, unite against injustice and embrace eachother."
Michael Jackson had a gift which he shared with us, the ability to captivate, inspire and encourage his fans. He was a revolutionary in the sense that he used his music, not only to make money, but beyond that he used his music to invoke change, create a community of unity and peace in a hostile world THAT is what Michael Jackson should be remembered for.
Remember him, for the happiness he brought you when you were sad, the determination he gave you to make things happen and the love and joy that he spread through his music and dance routines. Remember.
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