The Rise and Fall of Michael Jackson

So I have to say that the death of Farrah Fawcett was just breaking in the news when word of Michael Jackson being rushed to the hospital was streaking across my television. My first thought was terrible. I hoped he didn’t pull through. I hate saying that, but it was my first thought. I think it was just enough is enough. In these years since his first allegations of child molesting, there were probably countless victims seduced by money, fame or incompetent parents.

Some part of me just wanted this tortured soul to just be done. I haven’t considered him in a happy way since his first allegations broke. Since then I just feel terrible for the little boy that had no childhood and unknown abuses forced upon him. I felt sorry for his self-loathing of his very face, race and perhaps gender. What troubled mind had to be behind that mask of that warped face. His empty celebrity friendships and contrived marriages that no one believed. Perhaps now he can find some peace. There was no room for peace in his lifestyle as it was the day he left. Sure he could have made a great comeback, but the money or fame just wasn’t worth it, wrapped up in all that pain. I tried to explain the complicated phenomenon that is Michael Jackson, to my sons; there is just no way to completely grasp it. It’s a cautionary tale that gets told over and over. Start with nothing, throw in some unreal talent with hard work and fame and fortune eventually become your undoing.

I admired his talent and his work ethic. His art form certainly had staying power. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the “man in the mirror.” The scary macabre creature he evolved into. I almost feel his appearance was the only way he could warn his victims before anything happened. My kids were frightened by his very image. It was dark (or should I say lighter), it was feminine (perhaps to compensate for his missing mother when out on the road, a figure to protect him), it was military (or as I like to call it, the gay Nazi look), to create a tough image to face the world. What a troubled creature.

In fact, it dawned on me that his album titles truly captured his rise and fall in simple phrases: first he was OFF THE WALL, and then he was the THRILLER. That success led him to turning to the BAD side of himself and then he evolved into being truly DANGEROUS. Eventually all the talent in the world could not overcome the press and he became HISTORY and proved that in the end he could never be INVINCIBLE from life’s harsh lessons. It would be interesting to find out how those titles were created because it does timeline his tragic life. It’s like a cryptic message.

I did like some of his music, how could you not. So, I will try to remember the younger Michael Jackson, the sweet boy singing ABC and even the grown up Off the Wall young, talented, black man. If I go any further I cannot separate the scary monster in THRILLER, from his epic Hollywood tragedy. I mean take a look at his scary face in the video and compare it to him after all the surgeries, it’s really not that far off. It’s sad, I feel for the boy he was and felt sorry for the man he became. His children are sad, certainly, but perhaps have been given the gift of some semblance of a normal life. That is the only thing I truly care about now. I hope they can understand what happened, remember the good times and learn from his off the wall lifestyle. I hope he and his family find peace and hope that the others he hurt can now heal and have some closure. He just didn’t have an encore in him. Let’s just remember the music and forget the rest.

Related articles

• Jackson’s death shocks fans (cbc.ca)
• Michael Jackson’s celebrity suicide (salon.com)
• RIP Michael and Farrah (deadseastorebyrv.blogspot.com)