The King is Dead…
Okay, I’m sure that headline has been used over a million times in the past few days, but I’ve got nothing better…
I am not one for celebrity gossip or anything like that. I believe in living life in the real world, caring about people close to you, rather than expending emotions on people who don’t know you and who aren’t really worth your tears or other feelings. But I have to admit that MJ’s death has shocked me. I’ve felt this way when truly great people have died or have undergone horrible traumas, even if I don’t know them. But I’ve never thought twice about most celebrity experiences. I mean, I grew up loving Farah Fawcett but felt nothing when I heard she died. But MJ is different.
In fact, he’s so different that I allowed my judgment to get clouded by my emotions when I would hear about his pedophilia charges. If he had been anyone else, I would not have questioned most of the stories–although the one by the child with cancer was iffy because his mother was so untrustworthy–and would have presumed he was guilty, based on the evidence. But for MJ, I kept hoping that he would be proven innocent. Of course, he was never found guilty, but that’s because of pay-offs and a damn good legal team. But make no mistake: he was guilty of some form of highly inappropriate behaviour.
And now that he’s dead, you can bet that more people will be coming out with their stories; these are people who did not want to lose their seat on the gravy train that was MJ. It will be hard to figure out how much is real and how much is false, but there will be some undeniable evidence presented. We’re already learning (this has actually been known for a short while already) that much of MJ’s freakish persona was a ruse, designed by MJ himself for a variety of reasons. Yet people will continue to believe many of the stories, even after they’re proven false. Why? Because people need consistency in their lives, and thier image of MJ is one of those things. He truly was such an important part of our (pop) culture that it’s going to be hard for many people to see him in any different light than they’ve seen him for so long.
I won’t go on beyond this for now. I am only going to say that the next few weeks to years are going to be as bizarre re. MJ as they were for the past 10-20 years. And pretty soon, “MJ sightings” are going to overtake “Elvis sightings” in the tabloids and minds of many…
June 28th, 2009 at 11:25 am
This story has saddened me more than I ever thought it would. From the “get-go” of the child molestation charges, the wacky outfits, hiding his children, when out in public in weird costumes…. Ididn’t think he would live long. During the second court appearance for child molestation charges when he arrived in pajamas, basically being led by his bodyguards he looked too drugged up to even know where he was.
Name calling like “wacko-jacko” didn’t help, and apparently neither did any intervention from family. I think it’s interesting that I thought, it’s the “Elvis Presely Groupthink leetches” all over again (as confirmed by Lisa Marie Presely.)
Here was yet another star that predicted their own death so accurately (Enter John Lennon and Andy Warhol.) The difference was that this incredibally talented man-child could have been so much more. I grew up listening to him (not that I was a fan, @ that time I liked Duran Duran - and yes I’m really 19!!) but you can’t deny talent when you see it. I remember his breakout on the scene, the Pepsi commercials, the Thriller concerts, the glitter glove, the chilffens charities he helped, including hospital visits, the worldwide pandemonium. This is the first major star of my generation to pass away.
I can only hope that the MDs that Deepak Chopra is quoted as saying were nothing more than drug pushers enabling his habit get caught & jailed; and that his family and the people who TRULY knew him (especially his children) will be able to somehow find it in their hearts to move on.
RIP Michael Jackson