Goodnight, Mr. Jackson
Michael Jackson in his famous red jacket. [source]
Like people aroudn the world, I just finished watching the public memorial service for Michael Jackson. The range of people involved in what I can’t help but describe as “the production” really drove home just how widely and deeply Jackson’s death is being felt. The family and friends who organized the event managed to create an event that felt intimate and personal while still providing an occasion for public catharsis, the latter being necessary not only to placate die-hard fans in mourning, but also to allow for the kind of public reflection that certain deaths require.
It goes practically without saying that Michael Jackson’s death is very sad — almost all deaths are. However, his death is also very significant. In addition to being an occasion of deep personal loss for his family, friends, and colleagues, and for a global community of fans, Michael Jackson’s death is also one of the occasions that I think most brilliantly illuminates the political, cultural, and historical value of pop culture and the people who produce it. Michael Jackson mattered, and he will continue to matter for decades. The body of work that Michael Jackson has left behind is more than a body of great pop tunes — although it is certainly that as well. Rather, Jackson leaves in his wake significant changes in American and global popular cultured.
It was Michael Jackson’s work that forced the integration of MTV. And, while MTV now have been relegated to cultural irrelevancy, the significance of the channel in the early 1980s is difficult to dispute. The whiteness of MTV had significant implications for the sales and popularity of individual songs and of artists. It was both a hitmaker and a starmaker. Jackson’s “Billie Jean” took MTV by storm — a hit so big it simply couldn’t be ignored. [source] The video and the rest of the videos produced for Thriller helped make MTV not a national sensation, but a global brand. The relationship was mutually beneficial, and Jackson attained a level of global superstardom afforded to very few.
Jackson launched trends in music, in fashion, in film, and in television. He shaped the entire aesthetic of a nation for a number of years, and contributed directly to the globalization of popular culture. To be dismissive of Michael Jackson is to be dismissive of mass culture in the most vulgar way imaginable. To try to make sense of American culture without acknowledging the significance of Jackson would be ridiculous. As his death passes into tabloid farce, perhaps there will be attempts to do that. That would be a shame, though, and I hope as we move from grieving in the present to writing the history in the future, the records will accept Jackson as a significant player in the development of popular culture.
More immediately, I hope the public outpouring of grief can serve as some comfort to his family. As controversial as Jackson remains, even in death, there can be no doubt that he was deeply beloved.
And, on a less somber note, a round up of links:
- Scorpeze has an excellent post about the musical and artistic significance of Thriller.* [link]
- Erin Bradley has a roundup of Craigslist posts referencing Michael Jackson. [link]
- Qool DJ Marv’s “Minding Michael: Part One” mix* [link]
- Guardian’s liveblogging of the memorial [link]
- Gawker’s live coverage (including some great images) [link]
- “The Persecution of Michael Jackson” by Ishmael Reed [link]
*Via Jay Smooth.