Michael Jackson - Icon or Iconoclast?
Posted: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
by Gerry Charbonneau
http://nibblednews.typepad.com
Michael Jackson was an energetic entertainer whose onstage presence, upbeat style and innovative dance routines charmed and mesmerized an adoring public.
He was in many respects both an icon and an iconoclast. He was at times a very private individual as well as a public and controversial figure.
His musical creativity transformed him into a star and not merely a performer. He loved entertaining and dancing and expressed himself and his feelings through his music and dance routines. As an icon he represented the talent and the energy and the turbulence of the troubled times in which he lived.
His onstage energy and musical passion thrilled his audiences. His style was flexible, fun and totally entertaining. His theatrical performances thrilled the young and his music itself enchanted the old. He was a man for all seasons and all people.
His personal life at times was plagued by controversy and criticism. This did not however stop nor dampen the creative genius inside Jacko. His friends and family knew the real person. His fans and his detractors were aware of the entertainer and the man that the press , spin doctors and publicity agents foist upon the public. Elvis Presley received the same love/hate treatment from a fickle press when he experienced low points in his career.
Many talk show hosts are now placing Michael Jackson under a microscope to determine if his death was indeed natural or drug related. This approach while satisfying public curiosity merely dissects and eventually discards the remains of the targeted individual. The essence and the personality and the humanity of the man are often time thrown out the window.
Whatever the coroner's findings may reveal let's remember that Michael Jackson was a talented and gifted entertainer who dared to share his music and energy and style with us all. We all have skeletons in our closets. Let's revel in our shared humanity with Michael and not condemn him for being a mere mortal.
Janet Jackson at a recent press conference noted the fact that to his adoring public Michael was an icon. To his family he was a son and brother whose presence will be missed very much.
Michael Jackson has left the building!
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Many articles have been written in the same light or near the same light; however, to state that Michael's life of controversary did not affect his genius is far from the truth. It is safe to assume that his failing health condition which brought on his death was largely due to him slowly dying day by day due to being subjected to all the criticism that he could not bear as an icon. He wanted to be loved and adored but was scorned as an alleged pedifile by many; and whether he was innocent as proven, Michael still acted with total lack of discretion in his personal life around young children. This you simply do not do when the world adores you and you a responsible citizen. I am sorry but I, nor do many Americans, have skeletons of such monumental capacity hanging in their closets. If he truly loved and adored children, he would have treated them with respect and not subjected them, nor himself to such distasteful suspicions.
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