Rock With You!

Michael Joseph Jackson, the seventh of nine children from a talented family called The Jacksons, turns 50 years old today. The most famous man in the world gained his lofty position through his art of music, of performing, his success, and the notoriety that resulted from that success. Simultaneously revered and reviled for who he is, Michael’s excellence and commitment to that excellence has never been successfully challenged. As an icon of American culture and beloved figure all over the world, there’s no doubt that one way or another this single man has significantly affected or made an imprint onto the lives of everyone who has any knowledge of his existence. And now this living legend has reached the golden milestone.

Born in 1958, the year the Grammy Awards began, along with musical peers and fellow legends Prince (June 7th) and Madonna (August 16th) who also turned 50 this year, Michael’s unique tale stands at the junction of so many topics of contention in our society. The talented young boy from the ghettos of Gary, Indiana outside Chicago worked with his brothers to make real the fabled American Dream. Under the guidance of father Joe and the support of mother Katherine, Michael as part of this Jackson 5 set on a journey that illustrated for the world to see the societal contrasts between poverty and wealth, “Black” and “White”, masculinity and femininity, influence and impotence, childhood and adulthood, conformity and individualism, religion and secularism, the private and the public, persona and person. Through his own efforts and outside of his power, Michael became a figure, a playing piece to work out the struggles we have with our collective identity and the anger that struggle produces. Because of this, this entertainer gets a strong reaction pro and con whenever he is mentioned. One man became a society’s litmus test.

The anger you see when they wonder “How can a Black boy turn White?” “Why isn’t he normal like all of us and do what we do?” “Why does he spend so much money and such things?” “Why would a 50-year old man hang out with kids?” “Is his voice high like that because he’s gay?” These questions leave Michael simultaneously with the image of a covert Black Panther-like individual as well as one who hates his heritage. With the simultaneous image of the creepy pedophile lurking around the corner as well as the harmless but tragic kid in an adult’s body. With the image of a gaudy wasteful spender as well as a Godfather-like ‘baller’, a big shot caller. With the image of an unsettling ‘weirdo’ as well as one who leads charting his own path. With the image of holiness as if a Jesus or a Buddha as well as a lying despicable cult leader leading his followers on the path of ruin. With the image of a housebound recluse as well as one who purposely seeks attention with antics. An unbound genius or a lost soul consumed by madness. It’s The King, Wacko Jacko, and just plain everyday Michael what the people see in their very diverse and definitive opinions. But perhaps the following will explain what made this man who he is.

Joseph Jackson the father grew up during the Great Depression and learned to toughen his heart to survive. Social status determined by ethnicity and economic class led Joe to want to box his way out or sing strumming his guitar toward a better life. But realities of living led him to Gary’s steel mills where he worked feverishly to support his growing family. Going to work with holes in his shoes and providing sustenance by digging up abandoned frozen potatoes in farming fields, Joe slowly saw that fable called the American Dream slip away from him creating an even harder bitter heart. Upon discovering that his sons had talent, the Dream of Martin and the Dream of Legend stirred him to prevent that kind of disappointment for his sons. With a rough childhood of his own he pushed his kids to the limits to create excellence costing them a childhood in the process. The alternative was to see his children fall victim to Statistics Row where Gary’s ghettos would claim so many lives to drug abuse, gang life, and the hopelessness of poverty as the Steel Belt began to Rust. The focus for the future paid off and his sons became stars allowing them to influence the world and gain wealth as was denied to him. The price paid by this push, however, affected the young frontman in ways that would not be understood for years to come.

But this Jackson 5, coming in the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s assassination and schism between the “Civil Rights” and “Black Power” factions in the Black community, performed excellently giving psychological hope to Black people young and old. Five young Black boys on stage together in solidarity representing the fruits of past labors. The future lay within them with their Naturals crowning as they gave a preview of the day when “the races” would finally bury the hatchet. They were “The Sound of Young America”. This explains the hurt still in people’s hearts when this prize representative Michael came down with vitiligo, a condition that destroys the pigment of the skin, and fell victim to self-image issues acquired from growing up a child star in “Hollywood”. As his success grew, his facial image changed both through means of nature and the hands of man making it difficult to see the man within. The ones who lament over the end of “Black Michael” with the introduction of “White Michael”. Those who loved the beauty of his appearance and forgot about the beauty of his soul.

Fame. The Jackson 5 were sex symbols. Teen heartthrobs. Crush objects. So overwhelmed were they by what this collection of performers represented, that females lost all composure. Impassioned shrieks and screams. Over emotional young ladies with eyes that resembled deer in headlights. From the beginning it was never ‘normal’. So in love were they by their beauty that they forgot to approach the group as human beings. Infatuation turned into obsession and the must-have Jacksons had fans break into their house just to get a little closer among many other such incidents. Of course it had to affect the one up in front the most. Maybe this is why Billie Jean is his signature song. When people ask you “Do you go to the bathroom?” it won’t take long for you to recognize that you have been set apart from the others and with the status Michael achieved as a performer over the years relating to the man down the street would become more and more difficult. But despite being put on this strange pedestal, Michael saw himself as a ordinary guy who just loves to perform simply to make people happy. His art was his trade just like a plumber fixes pipes and a baker makes cakes (thank his mother for keeping him grounded). He loved what he did and put that excellence instilled in him early on behind everything he put effort into. Regardless, it wouldn’t only be the fans that would separate Michael from his humanity.

The press had a vested interest in this unusual talent, a talent that eclipsed his brothers’ already formidable talent. The curiosity factor which brings in fans and star watchers in turn brings in dollars and cents. The machine dictates that what goes up must come down. Praise him to the highest heavens and then condemn him to the lowest of hells. The ego of the media makes them sees themselves as one-in-the-same with another’s success. Many of them believe they are Caesar to thumbs up or thumbs down what lives or dies. Only the end user counts, the fans who enjoy the artist. But the press is one persistent middleman. To refuse to play along in their game results in punishment: a punishment of bounty-bound photographers getting as intrusive as a crazed fan in order to get the winning shot, a punishment of legally covered character assassination to reduce popular value. In this quest for money through viewership/readership, media outlets create questions and debates about what role media should take and how they should perform those roles. The press has the right of freedom but are they abusing that right at someone’s expense? What IS the line?

Fans, press, and the entertainment business itself with its known cutthroat and dishonest practices drove the sensitive artist to seek company with those who would treat him with the humanity he deserves. Rarely finding this type of person from his age-contemporary peers, he befriended the elders and the youngsters. The private person this talented individual sought to preserve was maintained in such relationships. 60 Minutes’ Andy Rooney in his cantankerous ways represents how the old expresses frankness and children on shows like Kids Say The Darndest Things represent how the young expresses frankness. No filter to hide behind, two very different sources of purity. The old are no longer trying to impress or achieve and the young don’t have the understanding to put on masks. From the young, Michael saw a raw energy that inspired him personally and professionally. From the old, Michael derived hard-earned wisdom and a chance to share that youthful energy. But this is not how most people relate to the very old and very young. It’s not encouraged to actively seek the company of such groups of people. Children and old folks are only to be tolerated, the unspoken theme goes.

“Michael the Abnormal” with his true-to-self behaviors and unflinching convictions about life only antagonized the many parties who wished to control and direct him. “Children don’t lie,” he once said. This is not necessarily all true but it’s not too far from the truth. As a former member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses portion of Christianity, Michael still expresses his intent to follow in Jesus Christ’s footsteps. The inevitable conflict of his performing life and his religious life still results in a man holding firm to convictions made early on in his life. In this manner, he didn’t change with the times and follow the fashions of the period. Going by the King James version of the Christian Bible, Matthew 19:14 says, “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for such is the kingdom of heaven.” Perhaps this underlines his focus and devotion to children and their causes, a devotion that makes some uncomfortable and some to think that there are sinister motivations behind it. Going in public and incognito to orphanages, hospitals the world over spending quality time, giving presents, even designing facilities for aid, Michael appears to take that passage quite literally. A devotion he’s so dedicated to that he’s even allowed children to stay at his home erasing the line between stranger and family. This choice getting him into trouble on a couple of occasions with accusations of sexual abuse from his hosted guests. These accusations legally resolved but publicly disputed.

“Abnormal” became “Freak” as he continued to defy convention (Michael expertly exampled this perception of himself in his 1996 film short “Ghosts”). The joke of Michael the Black boy who became a White woman ties into past perceptions about him being homosexual, a designation still tied into immoral behavior by some in society. The soft-spoken high-pitched voice, the non-stereotypically macho attitude, the facial makeup used to mask his skin condition and block the damaging sunrays, the hairstyles and dress styles, and the rejections of socially commanded behaviors create the ever-present cloud of rumor and suspicion that blocks his shining aura. Yet despite the calls to “normalize” and “get in line”, he continued to be true to himself free to pursue the kind of personal happiness he sought after as expressed in the U.S.A.’s Declaration of Independence.

This is an admirable quality because it shows leadership. He weathers criticism and nay saying never stopping to be who he is in his soul of souls. Whereas some buy a garage full of 1,000 cars or some buy a closet full of 1,000’s of shoes or some buy a cabinet full of 1,000 guns, Michael finds his happiness mega-style on a Ferris wheel. He finds his happiness on stage to applause and cheer. He finds his happiness crafting works in the studio. He finds in his happiness in a child’s smile. He finds his happiness in going undercover in disguise to see how everyday people live and act. He finds his happiness when he sees all types of nationalities in harmony throughout his international travels. He finds his happiness in a silly prank or a goofy expression. Unlike his father Michael’s heart didn’t harden and grow bitter despite the costs from the struggle for success. It was what his father planned for him and family long ago. An example for all peoples, Michael maintained his humanity throughout the pressures and the joy derived from these things reflects itself in his resonant works.

Society’s litmus test should be its tale of hope. From Michael Jackson we learned what to do and what not to do, what we should do and what we should not do, what we could do and what we could not do. From him we learn about excellence, the costs to gain that excellence, and the excellence it takes to rise above the costs. The courage it takes to stay on this path. Is it possible for a one to not sell their soul in the pursuit of fortune and fame? How can a person do this and still stay relevant to global consciousness throughout the generations? Some people look at Michael Jackson and see a tragedy. I look at Michael Jackson and see a triumph. Hard won with some battle scars, but ultimately victorious. There will never be a repeat to this legendary story so appreciate these 50 years of Michael Jackson the man and the marvel. There’ll never be another one like him.