Rest In Peace, {CelebName}
So, Michael Jackson died.
I’ll wait here while the pain subsides.
Done? Good. If you’re anything like me, it was a short trip from shock, to grief, to apathy. Michael Jackson was nothing to me, or at least nothing positive. He was just another man and his loss is no more tragic to me than the loss of any other man anywhere else in the world, and in many ways it was less so.
For certain he produced a lot of music, much of which people adored and some of which managed to shape people’s life in a positive manor. For that I feel the same remorse I would if any great band or musician decided (willfully) to stop producing music. It is a loss for art, it is a loss for some people who have benefited on a deeper level thanks to that art. But it is not tragic. I could list off a half dozen musicians who have, one way or another, helped me a lot through their music. If any of them stopped making music, and many have, I would feel a personal loss regardless of whether they continued living.
The personal connection that many people seem to feel to him befuddles me though. He was a husband, a father, a brother and a son. For all of those who lost such, I feel regret, but I am reminded that it happens every day, and always has. The loss of one man does not warrant 24/7 news coverage nor a city-stopping homage. If ever it did, surely it was some President or soldier or humanitarian. Not a performer. (Note: this is not to discredit any of his humanitarian work, but its certainly not what defined his life).
How do so many people feel such a deep, profound personal loss for someone they never knew personally? Someone who was by most accounts extraordinarily private and mysterious?
Rewind a month and ask yourself what MJ was known for then? Despite a small army of fiercely loyal fans, the first association people had was “child molester.” An unfair label most likely, as he was exonerated, but in the court of public opinion he was a very troubled man at best, and a deranged lunatic at worst. The most attention MJ has gotten in the past decade was for a child molestation trial and for dangling a baby off a balcony; a far cry from deep-seated emotional connection to a lyric uttered or a boundary broken. While his last widely revered album was released 18 years ago, he’s been the butt of every joke about skin color, plastic surgery and pedophilia ever since.
What separates his death from any other comes down to his celebrity, and the media exaggeration of such. We’ve decided, as a society, that one death is more important than any other, and that for certain people, it’s ok to shut down Los Angeles, place the body into a gold coffin and put it on every network on the air. CNN specifically has had what I consider egregious coverage; reporting the most trite details (or sometimes lack of details) as if they are on even grounds with North Korea firing missiles or President Obama meeting with Russia or our new major military offensive in Afghanistan. Actually that’s not right because if anything, those stories were under-reported.
An argument that I have read is that MJ had enormous piles of trouble– more than his fair share. This is most likely true. The life of a child performer is a tough one. But I neither excuse him from his actions because of this nor think he is more deserving of mourning. I mourn people who are losing their homes more than those living in mansions (and paying for them with debt). I mourn people who live without heat in the winter more than those who have to sell off their ferris wheels. I mourn children who are abused– physically, emotionally or sexually– by their parents more than those who are exploited by them for their talents. I mourn the thousands of people that lose a father/husband/son each and every day because this country can’t figure out that healthcare is a right, or that nutrition and exercise must be taught in schools, or that we do not belong in Iraq. Those deaths are tragic, and those deaths are worthy of our remorse.
Michael Jackson is a man who had troubles and never found a way to cope. For better or worse, that makes him very, very ordinary.
Posted via email from Chris’s posterous
I agree with most of your comments. I think the media always has their ’story de jour’ and they pick the bones to death. Prior to his early death Michael Jackson was not even a story that lasted more then a few seconds of occasionally mentioning his come back.
I saw very little of the coverage in the last few days (I stopped watching due to the constant coverage). I did see his little girl speak of him today. My heart went out to her as well as all children who loose a parent so early in life. Michael did not loose his parents early in his life he lost his child hood. How many of us know what that would be like? We have not walked in his shoes so we have no way of knowing. What is obvious to me is that he was a tortured soul who never found his way back from the abusive robbery of his child hood.
I have tolerance for any one wishing to grieve in any way they choose. Even if some did not support him in life they want or need to support him in death. I for one want to let them do that for what ever reason they choose.
Tolerance for each other is what is needed. My ending thought though is where was all this when he needed it the most?
While I agree that it is ridiculous the way that the media has covered every single detail that has come out since it was reported that he collapsed and was taken to a hospital, I think that the memorial was very appropriate. First of all, it is impossible to truly discount Michael Jackson’s humanitarian work when it was such a large part of this life. He is known to have supported 39 charities, not the least of which is the Heal the World Foundation, and the money raised by “We Are the World,” which is still one of the highest selling singles of all time.
On top of his humanitarian contributions to society, he added a lot to the humanities. “Thiller” was one of the first music videos tht really was used to tell a story, and show that it was a legitimate art form. Following in the tradition of James Brown any of his dance techniques have both inspired contemporary dancers and have expanded the art with his unique style.
As for his music, whether you like it or not, two generations have grown up with his voice as the soundtrack of their childhood. Thriller and Bad are still some of the highest selling albums of all-time. If you are to ask just about anyone for 10 defining things from the 80’s he will likely be on just about everyone’s list. Some have called him the Elvis of our age, but this isn’t quite right, since Elvis didn’t write his music.
MJ wasn’t perfect. Far from it. He is a tragic figure who coped in strange ways, and ultimately it looks like unhealthy ways, and he made some poor decisions. The controversies that surrounded him also shaped our culture.
His work both as an entertainer, and in his other work has touched millions, and he has inspired many others how will go on to do great things. His death is culturally significant for these reasons, if only because of how significant his life was. While CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and the rest will beat this dead horse into a fine gooey paste, it doesn’t mean that poor horse wasn’t something special. His death is a cultural tragedy, and his life will always be a treasure for the world.