The Legacy of Michael Jackson

The first thing that happened after I saw TMZ reported that Michael Jackson died yesterday was worry about my good friend Molly, away at camp, separated from the world, not knowing that one of her pop culture faves had suddenly passed away. I texted her about it, and we held out hope that it was misreported until a legitimate news site confirmed the death. At about 6:00pm EDT, CNN, the AP and other news outlets confirmed the death like they were calling a state in a Presidential election.

The second thing that happened was Twitter. I twittered (tweeted) my shock, as did Becca and many others. What disturbed me, though, was how on the right side of the Twitter page is the trending topics, and how Michael Jackson shot up to the top of the list. But it wasn't Michael Jackson, it was "Micheal Jackson." Here is a guy who has been famous for in excess of 40 years. In a society where we know at least 15 people named "Michael" in each of our extended families, and enough thousands of Twitter users misspelled his name to put "Micheal Jackson" at the top of trending topics. How does that happen?

I grew up at the height of Michael's popularity. I was 5 years old when "Billie Jean" was released. The first Michael Jackson song I heard wasn't actually a Michael Jackson, but "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "Eat It," the classic parody of "Beat It." I soon caught into the Michael Jackson craze, unsuccessfully attempting to Moonwalk, kick my leg out while shooting my arm up into the air and screaming. I could never imitate the moves. But I tried, as did everyone else.

Ronald Reagan deserves a tremendous amount of credit for standing against the oppression of communism, not backing down and eventually forcing the system to crack under its faulty foundations. Reagan's belief that Western values of freedom, exposed to the people oppressed in communist nations, would dismantle these regimes. Let no doubt enter your mind about the role that the popular culture of America also played into this. Watch the videos of Michael Jackson concerts abroad, where thousands upon thousands of young people fell over themselves to catch a glimpse of Jackson as he passed by. Or in concert, when girls (and boys) would faint during a climactic moment in a song. To many of the oppressed, Michael Jackson WAS America. He was the expression of freedom. He gave them a taste of what it could be to live in liberty.

In the mid to late 80s, the celebrity charity structure took off: Farm Aid, Live Aid, USA for Africa, benefits for the environment, against apartheid, saving the whales, etc. To the average person, much of this was brow-beating from the rich entertainers telling us we need to be better people in a "do-as-I-say" mold. Which is why "Man In the Mirror" is my second favorite Michael song. To change the world, you have to start looking at what you can do and not expect others to do it for you. I may be alone in this, but I consider it to be a great conservative anthem. If you see a "kid in the street without enough to eat," don't walk by and hope someone does something about it. Don't expect government to fix anything. Don't think that you can just talk about the problem. You have to step forward. Plus, the song is catchy as all get-out and features the awesomeness that is "shamone."

Michael Jackson melded group choreography into his songs so expertly that it has become cliche in pop music. He helped transformed the music video. "Thriller" would not be the same without the long-form John Landis-directed short film, in what probably should have been a silly "Monster Mash" Halloween song but instead became iconic for the zombie dance, and of course Vincent Price's rap to conclude the song with Michael's werewolf eyes as the final shot, shocking his girlfriend. I could go on and on about how his videos helped tell the story of the song and set the standard for all performers to come or how he used technology such as CGI morphing technology in the "Black or White" video almost before anyone else and now it is commonplace.

You can't ignore the negative stuff: the molestation charges, the plastic surgery, the weird outfits and behavior. Naming your kid "Blanket." And there's a trend that I've read to identify him as simply "eccentric." There's so much more than that at play to simply say that he was eccentric.

So I'm sad that Michael Jackson has died. I am sad for his children who will not have their father. I'm sad for his friends and family--the ones who truly cared about him. But I am glad that he left a significant legacy for us. This is not Kurt Cobain or James Dean, dying before his fans could grasp at the notion of unfulfilled potential. Michael Jackson accomplished great things over a long period of time. We benefit from it.

By the way, "I Want You Back" is the greatest pop song of all time. I won't accept arguments. Watch a clip of the Jackson 5 on The Ed Sullivan Show and you'll see why he was destined for greatness.