by Carmen Van Kerckhove
Addicted to Race is New Demographic’s podcast about America’s obsession with race. Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find in this episode:
We dedicate this episode to the memory of Michael Jackson and explore the role that race played in his life and career. In what ways did his music break racial barriers? What did the changes in his physical appearance say about his relationship to his racial identity? Carmen Van Kerckhove and Arturo Garcia discuss.
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Michael Jackson did more for billions of people, especially the working classes, than Dalai Lama (who owned slaves) or even the Pope will ever do. Entertainers have that power to provide out of body secular joy for their global audiences whereas religious figures and politicians don’t-at least not on Micheal Jacksons’s scale. He will be remembered for centuries along with the Beatles.
Media sacred cows like Madonna, won’t be remembered and neither will Britney, they can’t sing and they are recyclers of other’s greatest moments unlike Jackson who originated all of his. They also, along Timberlake and many others, have only been able to cut across racial barriers because Jackson did it first.
It is clear from reading about Jackson’s two trials that they were bogus and trumped charges driven by rabid extortionist parents, one of whom drugged his own child to coax a “confession”. Charlie Chaplin, Jerry Lee Lewis (both of whom are on US postage stamps) and the white celebrity pedophiles (I know you can name a few more who are very popular) or obvious racist reasons.
What Jackson went through as a child, that led him to have such poor judgment , racial confusion as expressed in severe body dysmorphism and bizarre boundaries, can’t be ignored. His father was a warlock who beat him constantly. To not see that abusive and racist component to his plight is to not see it for all it’s horror and thus cheapens his greatness as a talent and clouds the attempts to learn anything. And there is a great deal to be learned from Jackson’s life. The majority of white authors of MJ articles I’ve read has nothing but right wing George Will/Orin Hatch snark to say. Even 60 Minutes ran nothing tonight about MJ, while during the Tonya Harding debacle they dug up an old documentary about her as it was “timely…”
Interesting that Entertainment Tonight already has a widely shown death photo. Whereas one has to hunt for David Carradine’s final roundhouse kick portrait and Sharon Tate and Princess Diana’s death pictures still require a dirt inducing, befouling search into the bowels of the web, Jackson’s death mask is assumed to be as available and exposed as possible-like Corvette Girl’s.
If there is any lesson in his life, its not wholly racial, it is how much people needed him emotionally via his music. His talent may have eclipsed his potential for sanity anyway, even with a white middle class Teri Sheilds type, Presia Canariao stage mom looking after him. Jackson, stable at middle age,the teen dreams of the 70′s just a shed skin.
One might think he would have been a bit boring , but alive. But I feel his unparalleled talent was like curse or a beast to him. When a non performer or media whore like Bethany Frankel or Hedi Montag does get beastly, it inspires endless superiority. Exploitation with camp and self deprecation is great (Shatner, Russ Meyer) without any camp or god forbid self deprecation, exploitation is the worst (Madonna, Paris Hilton) and that’s almost all there is now. That’s why his death is incalculable, there are few left with his talent now not mention his sense of camp and glitz.
Yet his music incredibly has zero subtext and never feels dated, no “For What it’s Worth” Buffalo Springfield/Boomer Third World college chanting/ ominous opening chords or “dated before it was released” Katy Perry schmaltz, just this timeless, timeless charm.
Considering how massive his catalog is and how oppressively misunderstood he was, THAT achievement alone may be his most astonishing.
Edited
“It is clear from reading about Jackson’s two trials that they were bogus and trumped charges driven by rabid extortionist parents, one of whom drugged his own child to coax a “confession”. Charlie Chaplin, Jerry Lee Lewis (both of whom are on US postage stamps) and the white celebrity pedophiles (I know you can name a few more who are very popular and working today) *ESCAPE retrospective vilification, unlike Jackson for obvious racist reasons…*
You really don’t like Madonna much, do you? The only Michael Jackson I care about died a few years ago, to be honest.
I think his insanity speaks probably more to the ridiculous wealth and lack of childhood and less to racial issues, though of course like almost any other public figure with a long career you can read whatever politics you like into it.
@Dersk:
I agree with Spike Lee, with supernatural talent comes a whole lot of other things. I can see where his body dysmorphism came from racist America. Chris Rock was complaining recently how his daughters already want straight hair…
I can also see why Jackson wanted to change the way he looked, as there were no Will Smiths or positive black men in the media during the 60′s/70′s who were not “Bucks or jive talkin bloods” . I don’t see that as any more bizarre than tattoo addicts, those who get breast implants or the many face lifts out there. It did not change his unparalleled talent and it was what he ultimately really wanted to look like.
And yes, I think madonna is vile for how damaging she has been to other women in the industry by giving birth to raunch culture, stealing ideas and bringing porn to eight years kids via the mainstream. I grew up with female performers who could actually sing and play instruments not just work out three hours a day, color their hair, lip sync and flash their vagina. The fact that she is on record as trashing the Jackson family on many occasions and is now trying to attach herself to “the comeback concerts” is just morbid.
As for Madonna’s trafficking of African children, its a vile and disgusting display, largely indulged by the media who has always protected her and her sheep like fans. madonna has actually been very racist but the media completely covered it up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3CBUm7GrNI
Thankfully nannies raise her children!
http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/oprahshow2_ss_20060117
when “Malawian Mashas” start to turn up (or vanish) you can thank Madonna. Who will miss an orphaned Malawian child if they are sold into internet porn or human sex slavery? Madonna has helped opened to the door to make that happen:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1193785/Misguided-Madonnas-just-helping-baby-traffickers.html
“…though of course like almost any other public figure with a long career you can read whatever politics you like into it.”
Whatever. You are obviously not as influenced by great African American performers as I am. Michael Jackson, Paul Robeson are hugely important parts of my life and my childhood.