Random thoughts about Michael Jackson
Jun. 29th, 2009 10:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scottahill1. When I was in 3rd grade (1983-4), I hated Michael Jackson, for the simple reason that everyone else loved him. That might have been the height of Jackson's popularity: Thriller came out in 1982 (so says Wikipedia) and the Motown special was in early 1983, so he was a big deal. And since I had already developed an adversarial relationship with my peers, whatever they loved so much must have been bad. I'm sure a big chunk of that was sour grapes, with a dash of sanctimoniousness thrown in. That said, songs which I might have treated with scorn back then, like "Billie Jean" or "Beat It", give me nothing but happy nostalgic vibes when I hear them now. I avoided 80s music in general during the 80s, but I couldn't keep it from seeping into my soul. :)
2. I only started appreciating MJ in the early 90s, once his popularity was on the wane naturally. In high school I went through a phase where I watched VH1, and so I saw his videos from around that time, "Remember the Time" with the Egyptian setting, and "Black or White" (though without the car-bashing section at the end). Part of what I liked, which hasn't been mentioned in the tributes I've seen, is the dancing; I thought the tightly scripted choreography was really cool, along with his jerky, precision movements.
3. Though while I say that, I should point out that my *dad* owned the Thriller album, and we used to listen to it with him in his room when we were kids (i.e. before the 90s certainly). I don't know how I reconciled my MJ-sucks attitude in school with my listening to MJ at home with my family. Still, my *dad* had a copy. :) Mind you, he has a huge vinyl collection going back to when he was in high school in the 60s if not before that, but I have a sneaking suspicion (based on little evidence, mind you) that Thriller might be the "newest" music in his collection (newest stylistically; he's bought CDs and whatnot since then).
4. I have been very surprised by the overwhelmingly positive treatment Jackson has received this past week. Granted, it is generally considered uncouth to speak ill of the dead, but after years of ridicule, it was a surprise to see the amount of genuine affection that exists for him out there; maybe people were afraid to express any approval for him during his later years, until now, when the eulogizing speak-no-ill spirit frees people from the need to deal with the negative aspects of Jackson's life.
5. Speaking of the negative aspects, the biggest of course were the accusations of pedophilia. I admit that I don't know all the details and the revelations, and of course I don't know what really happened on the Ranch, but I've always been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. First, I find it believable to think that Michael Jackson liked to spend time with kids merely because he liked to spend time with kids, and maybe even pretend that he was a kid again. He certainly didn't have a normal childhood; maybe that lack bothered him. And of course, he clearly had mental issues of one sort of another, which led to bizarre and inappropriate behavior. But I see no reason to think that sex was involved; our culture sees sex everywhere, and pedophiles are the great boogeymen of our age (countries around the world are in the process of censoring the Internet, always under the guise of hunting down child pornography and pedophiles), so any high-profile man who likes to spend time with children not his own inevitably gets the pedophile label attached to him at some point. I wouldn't stake anything on MJ's being innocent in that regard, but I'm comfortable looking past the allegations and seeing him as a brilliant, tragic, bizarre figure.
2. I only started appreciating MJ in the early 90s, once his popularity was on the wane naturally. In high school I went through a phase where I watched VH1, and so I saw his videos from around that time, "Remember the Time" with the Egyptian setting, and "Black or White" (though without the car-bashing section at the end). Part of what I liked, which hasn't been mentioned in the tributes I've seen, is the dancing; I thought the tightly scripted choreography was really cool, along with his jerky, precision movements.
3. Though while I say that, I should point out that my *dad* owned the Thriller album, and we used to listen to it with him in his room when we were kids (i.e. before the 90s certainly). I don't know how I reconciled my MJ-sucks attitude in school with my listening to MJ at home with my family. Still, my *dad* had a copy. :) Mind you, he has a huge vinyl collection going back to when he was in high school in the 60s if not before that, but I have a sneaking suspicion (based on little evidence, mind you) that Thriller might be the "newest" music in his collection (newest stylistically; he's bought CDs and whatnot since then).
4. I have been very surprised by the overwhelmingly positive treatment Jackson has received this past week. Granted, it is generally considered uncouth to speak ill of the dead, but after years of ridicule, it was a surprise to see the amount of genuine affection that exists for him out there; maybe people were afraid to express any approval for him during his later years, until now, when the eulogizing speak-no-ill spirit frees people from the need to deal with the negative aspects of Jackson's life.
5. Speaking of the negative aspects, the biggest of course were the accusations of pedophilia. I admit that I don't know all the details and the revelations, and of course I don't know what really happened on the Ranch, but I've always been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. First, I find it believable to think that Michael Jackson liked to spend time with kids merely because he liked to spend time with kids, and maybe even pretend that he was a kid again. He certainly didn't have a normal childhood; maybe that lack bothered him. And of course, he clearly had mental issues of one sort of another, which led to bizarre and inappropriate behavior. But I see no reason to think that sex was involved; our culture sees sex everywhere, and pedophiles are the great boogeymen of our age (countries around the world are in the process of censoring the Internet, always under the guise of hunting down child pornography and pedophiles), so any high-profile man who likes to spend time with children not his own inevitably gets the pedophile label attached to him at some point. I wouldn't stake anything on MJ's being innocent in that regard, but I'm comfortable looking past the allegations and seeing him as a brilliant, tragic, bizarre figure.
