I am getting back into updating my blog. So initially, I want to post a lot of my past writings. Some more poetry will go up, but for now I want to put up some pieces I have previously had published in various magazine and websites. The following piece on Michael Jackson was originally published in inGen Magazine, which is a monthly magazine in San Francisco.
In one’s childhood there are those rare events profound enough as to to emblazon a memory that remains as vivid as when it actually occurred. I distinctly remember Christmas morning in 1983. I had just turned eleven and while I still had the exuberance of a child for presents under a decorated tree, I had also begun to comprehend the meaning of cool. My hope was that this idea of cool would have my name on it and be amongst the carefully wrapped boxes beneath the family Christmas tree.
So early that morning my brother and I raced as we did every year to the living room eager to rampage through the careful architecture of presents stacked beneath the tree like Godzilla and Mothra in downtown Tokyo. But this year, I didn’t have to search for that one special gift. Instead, it was waiting for me. Leaning up against the wall next to the tree was a boyishly good-looking face looking at me with a smile that said “we’re going to be good friends.” It was a vinyl copy of Michael Jackson’s Thriller with a small bow attached to a corner. I hadn’t find cool, it had found me.
From that moment on, my friends and I sought to imitate Jackson’s every dance move; we waited impatiently for every new video. When the video for the single “Thriller” was premiered on Mtv, we sat in awe at the creative spectacle, the magical story being told through music and dance. Little did we know at the time that we were watching what is still considered to be the greatest music video ever produced. But Thriller really was about the music: for the first time in history, an album borrowed from R’n'B, soul, hard rock and disco and successfully blended it into timeless pop music.
It is impossible to overstate the cultural transformation initiated by Thriller’s release. There were the obvious fashion and dance influences that immediately took place: black and red leather jackets and feeble attempts at the moon walk come to mind. On a larger scale, though, Thriller initiated the era of the modern pop star. With the arrival of cable television and 24-hour news coverage, his every move could now be monitored, every rumor endlessly discussed. Over time, Michael Jackson was transformed from a mortal into a myth: sometimes he would be portrayed as the Herculean hero, and other times he would be labeled the Minotaur.
But beneath the layers of media coverage, court cases and Jackson’s tragic journey through drug addiction lay a man who was perhaps the greatest talent of our time. The quality of his voice was unparalleled in its emotive range: the childlike innocence of “The Girl is Mine” to the raw emotional content of “Beat it.” But he wasn’t just a singer, he was a performer. Nobody could dance like Michael Jackson – nobody. The flow of his body to the rhythm and the constantly cutting-edge dance moves inspired a generation of performers. He is the only singer whose back-up dancers had to keep up with him, never able to match his grace and flair. The remarkable thing when one sees footage of him dancing in the final days before his untimely death was how amazing he still was as a performer – an immortal figure upon the stage.
So much has changed since the release of Thriller. Today’s pop stars come prepackaged with auto-tuned vocals, lip-synced performances and air-brushed videos. Anyone can become a celebrity these days; no talent is required. One of technology’s ironic twists is that it has elevated mere mortals to the stage once graced by the King of Pop. The other irony is that the media that displayed Jackson’s talent to the world would also ultimately be a contributor to his demise. The ever-present eye of the media combined with the ungodly revenues from his album sales and constant touring allowed Jackson to create his hidden world, the details of which we are now just learning.
The shadow of tragedy will forever cast a shadow on Jackson’s legacy. But fame itself has become a tragedy. What has been surprising in the months since his death is that the faults of the man are slowly being forgotten. We are now left with the epic story of his talent: the records, the videos, and the performances. The renewed interest in the life of this artist has made people remember just how remarkable a human being Michael Jackson really was. The mythical beast has been made human once again, and with the return of his humanity, Michael Jackson’s legend lives on.
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