Can we discuss Michael Jackson?
Can we discuss Michael Jackson?
#1Can we discuss Michael Jackson?
Posted: 9/22/24 at 2:41pm
The person, and not just the music. Such a complicated life, which obviously broke him. I’m not sure if this thread would survive mention of certain accusation, especially what with a Broadway musical running.
Where to start?
Do you still listen to his work?
Was he gay?
Was societal oppression and personal suppression a leading cause of his multiple problems?
Why are so many people so quick to defend him?
Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$
#2Can we discuss Michael Jackson?
Posted: 9/23/24 at 11:21am
I watched the movie I Saw the TV Glow last night, and afterwards, while reading discourse on it, I saw Michael Jackson come up constantly. The film is a story about an autism-coded Black male from a repressive home, who winds up locked in a permanent childlike state while his trauma and his repressed gender and sexual identity issues both battle him with increasing severity.
My hypothesis on Jackson is, "maybe he wasn't a predator, but he was still a creep. A genius, once in a lifetime talent, but still untrustworthy and dangerous whether or not he had malicious intent." Probably SOMEWHERE under the queer umbrella, and quite likely somewhere on the neurodivergence spectrum too.
One fact about him that I find interesting is his use of babies and toddlers as almost romanticized fashion accessories during the eighties, using Black children almost as stand-ins for the "friend, baby, partner" status Bubbles the Monkey would acquire later in his career. In a strange way, it makes me think he wasn't an overt predator, because if you need to hide in plain sight, you don't use little boys as accessories in your public image so blatantly.
#3Can we discuss Michael Jackson?
Posted: 9/23/24 at 1:21pm
Thank you, interesting.
I think I’d like your hypothesis to be correct, but I have my doubts. How could such a man-child have the self-awareness to write a song like “Childhood”? Or such a socially conscious one like “They Don’t Care About Us”?
I think he was 100% gay, fearful of being disfellowshipped from the Jehovah’s Witnesses and losing the love of his family. Throw in child stardom and a violent father… and you get Michael Jackson. A life DESTROYED by homophobic and misogynistic mindsets, and one which dragged other young lives down with it.
The thing that really bothers me is that this aspect of his story is completely erased and never talked about. Closeted men are also a significant part of gay history and perhaps some lessons could be learned.
Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$
#4Can we discuss Michael Jackson?
Posted: 9/23/24 at 11:27pm
Have you seen the clip where he slips for a second and drops the feminine, American neutral voice and speaks in a midwestern black man’s baritone for a second, then shifts back? It’s kind of haunting: for just a second we see a different person under the affectations and madness.
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