When I bought tickets to the Michael Jackson concert in London, I was incredibly excited because I was going to be in the midst of a cultural icon, a world-wide legend, The Man and probably most important, The Myth. As we remember Michael Jackson on this day and in the future, I can't help but emphasize how the idea of memory is so crucial to our conception of star identity and ultimately how timelessness can be used a signifer of stardom.
In many ways, Jackson existed outside of time and within the cultural imagination of society. The Michael that has passed on today is not the Michael that we are mourning. We feel an incredible loss of the young and vibrant boy on the Ed Sullivan show singing and dancing with the Jackson Five, the innovative dance moves, Thriller, the essence of a global entertainer. We also remember the scandal...the whirlwind erratic behavior, the lawsuits, the courtrooms, a tragic star's Peter Pan syndrome.
In the midst of all of this, we are left with an unfinished picture of Jackson--his life gone, but his narrative still very much alive. There will be stories, many stories, written about the media talent, anecdotes shared, but we will never know his "truth." Fragments of his self will tried to be pieced together but Jackson will remain an enigma, a star whose celebrity and fame is so surreal that any authentic image of him will always seem to escape our grasp.
No comments:
Post a Comment