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Michael Jackson – Sociological Thriller

Stanislaus Jude — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:32:02 +0000

We were part of his torment when he was alive — yes, by laughing, we are guilty — and we are part of his mourning when he departed. For all his musical genius, Michael Jackson was on the wrong end of many cruel barbs, not least because of his extreme cosmetic surgeries and alleged molestation of minors. But the King of Pop is a sociological thriller of royal proportions.

Race and Ethicity

It’s easy to berate MJ for his skin bleaching. Over the past four decades, we watched in horror as the cute little black boy in “The Jackson 5” turned into a white man. But beneath the surface, it is perhaps a story about the racial inequality that exists.

What was it like growing up in a time where Rosa Parks had to fight for her right — and the rights of all African-Americans — to have a seat on a public bus? What effect did it have on a boy, who despite being celebrated as one of the greatest performers of all time was a racial minority, in a country which only recently saw its first black President?

Michael evidently felt strongly about the colour of his skin when he released this 1991 hit, Black or White.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It don’t matter if you’re black or white, the king sang. It shouldn’t matter. But it did. And it still does. Singapore celebrated its first Malay military general last month to much media fanfare. Why should it matter his race, so long as he is capable? But the truth is: racial inequality still persists, in Singapore, in the United States, in every corner of society.

I was watching Adam Sandler’s “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan”, where Israeli migrants to America had their dreams dashed because their racial/national identity dictated that they worked in electronic stores. Zohan and his Palestinean nemesis “The Phantom” shared a bond in that they both wanted to do something outside of their assigned boundaries by dreaming of cutting hair and selling shoes, respectively.

What about the Malay boy in Singapore who dreams of being a pilot? Or the African-American who wants to do more than excel in sports?

Then you remember Michael was a star in a white-dominated industry. (I bet you can’t name 5 African-American artistes outside of rap, soul, or rhythm and blues).

We can only imagine MJ’s loneliness.

Gender

Days after his death, Michael’s ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley once again emphasised their marriage was not a sham to cover-up his sexual orientation. Believe her or not, it doesn’t matter. The real question is: why does he need to hide anything?

The problem is not Michael, but the social construct of gender norms.

So what if MJ — or anyone else, for that matter — was male, female, bisexual, gay, or androgynous?

Apparently, it matters to people. People like Thio Su Mien, who engineered a takeover of women’s rights group AWARE because the group had “pro-gay” tendencies.

Sometime in history, some guy decided there are 2 genders — male and female — and everything else was deviant. Oh, if only life were so simple. For the record, academics argue that there are 5 sexes. And who are we to judge anyway?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Deviance

I noticed a strange phenomenon when I was an undergraduate. At the first class of each semester, the lecturer invites each person to introduce himself. And it doesn’t take Columbus to quickly discover that we try very hard to be different, to stand out from the rest of the class. Without exception, someone would point out that he was, in the words of a famed Bangkok T-shirt, “same same, but different”. There’s nothing wrong with being “complicated”, or “a contradiction”, or having “taken a different path” from others to have gotten a seat in the lecture room. In a country where the majority of the population lives in indifferent pigeon holes, we yearn to be different — be it via brightly hued hair, body piercings, or distinguishing tattoos. In a sense, it is our way of saying: “I don’t want to be categorized”. I am not just “a shy boy”, or “daddy’s girl”, or “a scholar”; I am all of the above, perhaps none, perhaps some. I am me.
And yet, when push comes to shove, the piercing glances and whispers — ironically because you are different — get too much to bear, and give in to the urge to dive away from the limelight and be “normal”.

Michael Jackson was different. He was special. And we couldn’t handle it.

Rest In Peace, Michael.

Passing of a Legend: R.I.P. Michael Jackson — The King of Pop

Stanislaus Jude — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:09:53 +0000

It would take something special to jolt me out of my 3-month long break from writing. And there are few things in this world more special than Michael Jackson. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last 30 hours, you would have heard the tragic news: that the King of Pop has passed away from a cardiac arrest at the age of 50.

And unless your heart is as hard as that rock you’ve been hiding under, you might have shed a tear or two in private, as I did.

On the surface, Michael’s story is a simple one. Child prodigy born into a family of entertainers, the Jackson 5, and becomes the greatest artiste of the generation. He then self-destructs with his extravagantly lavish lifestyle, countless cosmetic surgeries and skin bleaching, and persistent allegations of sexual misconduct with young boys who stayed over at his place. In the end, he was called “a freak” and made the target of ridicule in more than a few movies.

But that is just on the surface. I’ll write more tomorrow about this when I’m less tired and my eyes are drier. For now, enjoy this Michael Jackson MTV “They Don’t Care About Us”. You can call him names; you can make fun of him. But you can’t take away the musical genius that is Michael Jackson.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also check out this uber-cool Brazilian version.

“They Don’t Care About Us”

Skin head, dead head
Everybody gone bad
Situation, aggravation
Everybody allegation
In the suite, on the news
Everybody dog food
Bang bang, shot dead
Everybody’s gone mad