The Michael Jackson Biopic

1 He's dead. The media has been positively shocked that a film with uniformly negative reviews is doing so well at the box office. After all, isn't Michael Jackson a child molester in a zero tolerance era? Look at Cesar Chavez, he was scrubbed from modern life within a week. Whereas with Michael Jackson new molestation cases continue to surface over fifteen years since his death. But Cesar Chavez never made music. And music touches people in a way that conventional work and politics do not. That's the power of art. Michael Jackson is the new Marilyn Monroe. However with far superior talent and creative track record. Marilyn was never taken seriously as an actress until "The Misfits." Sure, her scene in "The Seven Year Itch" became iconic in a prudish era, but it didn't require much in the way of acting. But Monroe was troubled. With multiple marriages that did not seem to square, like with Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley and his dermatologist's assistant, Debbie Rowe. And both employed plastic surgery to alter their appearance. And both were notoriously exotic and troubled, people that were human, but that we couldn't quite relate to, they were iconic. I mean Marilyn Monroe was a presence, but she didn't become a legend until she passed prematurely, of an overdose, before the drug scourge hit the middle class suburbs. Jackson died too soon too, and his death was so bizarre...getting propofol to sleep? So what exactly was the story with these two people. It's not exactly clear. And since they're gone, we can't talk to them, we can't excavate the truth, we're left with questions. Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe are both heroes and enigmas. Troubled icons. Illustrations of the perils of fame. They had everything we thought we wanted, but it wasn't enough, it didn't work out for them. But somehow the press completely missed all this. Journalists just can't understand how the public can be flocking to see this film. But people want to get closer, they want to invest their own hopes and dreams in Michael Jackson. Most weren't even born when "I Want You Back" penetrated the airwaves. And those who were were laughing when he sang an ode to a rat, the title song of the film "Ben." And no one expected him to make a major musical statement with "Off the Wall." And "Off the Wall" was just the set-up, for the victory lap, i.e. "Thriller." With "Off the Wall" Jackson had something to prove, he wanted to be taken seriously. With "Thriller," he needed to cement his spot at the apex of the popular music world. And the rest of his life was about trying to stay at this level, continue to have hits, be the "King of Pop," when no one has continued to have this level of success over decades, everybody's career flattens out, fades. And the bizarre personal life, with a kid he hung over a hotel balcony who ultimately was referred to as "Blanket." It wasn't that Jackson was sticking his finger into the eye of protocol like the outrageous performers who preceded him, rather he appeared completely out of touch, like he didn't know what the rules were. And with his changing personal appearance, he was perceived to be a freak. And then he died. And you're telling me people shouldn't be interested in his life? 2 There's nobody close to Michael Jackson today, no one with worldwide appeal whose work is known by seemingly everybody. That paradigm is dead. "Thriller" on MTV was an event, and today what is billed as an event evaporates within twenty four hours, if it had any traction at all. How did this all happen? And can it be replicated? So you've got fans who want to revel in the music, leave this chaotic world behind. And then there are attendees who want to know more of the story... Oldster journalists may know every detail, but the average person does not. And then there are those who go to be inspired...maybe they can pick up some tips on how to make it themselves. Kind of like Freddie Mercury, he was dead too when the Queen biopic triumphed. A guy who was out in a world that couldn't fathom it, after all, the band was named "Queen." And then he died of AIDS. And he composed "Bohemian Rhapsody," which broke all the rules. Michael Jackson had a number of those tracks. Hollywood misread the success of the film "Bohemian Rhapsody," they saw it as a new lane, believed the public was hungry for musical biopics, the stories of legends. But the Elton biopic did only a fraction of Queen's. And Springsteen's was a veritable stiff. But they're both here, alive. And neither embodies the controversy, the weirdness of Michael Jackson, or even Freddie Mercury. 3 So what we've got here is a guy who was the front person for a number of hit records in a number of eras. His music evolved, even if it was questionable whether he himself did. Of course there's the domineering father, the pill addiction after the Pepsi fire. But... Have you ever listened to "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"? Unlike today's music, it isn't built to hook you right away, so you don't switch to another track. Sure, the bass is inviting. And then fifteen seconds in, there's swirling strings more akin to "The Wizard of Oz" than popular music. But then comes an ethereal vocal... "Keep on, with the force, don't stop Don't stop 'til you get enough" When done right music is a release, it sets your mind, and in this case your body, free. It detaches you from everyday life, your troubles, your disappointments, it inspires you. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" was released in an era where rock was competing with disco yet it somehow seemed to transcend both of these genres and appeal to everyone. And it still does! And the 1983 Motown special... He invented his own dance step, people were mesmerized by the moonwalk, it was akin to a magic trick. And "Off the Wall" was not followed up by a formulaic repeat. The ethereal "Billie Jean" lifted the listener into the land of fantasy, hopes and dreams. And the "Thriller" video was a mini-movie, on a whole 'nother level from what came before. And then Jackson lost the plot. He kept descending for a number of years, becoming a caricature of himself, trying desperately to hold on to his fame, to the point where he ultimately no longer made new music or performed live, he became a feature in the tabloids as opposed to the music magazines. Who wouldn't be interested all that? 3 Michael Jackson the myth has eclipsed Michael Jackson the man. The public owns his image now, society is in control of the music and the legend. People know about the bad behavior, but they don't care! Because they're employing selective vision. They're not writing an obituary, rather they focus on the arc they want. And it's going to go on forever. Come on, come up with another star with even one third of the same bizarre lifelong arc? Michael is sui generis, and there will never be another one of him, people need to get closer. 4 But if the press is wrong about this, what else is it wrong about? It couldn't see Trump's victory in 2016, never mind 2024. It keeps excoriating Morgan Wallen but he is the biggest streaming act in the nation, far in excess of everybody else. But didn't he use the "N-word"? Absolutely, at the end of a drunken night, as a term of endearment to his buddy. And if you don't think rap/Black culture has penetrated even the most remote hamlets, you're unaware of the fact that cable TV and the internet are everywhere. To the point where we ended up getting white rappers. Doesn't mean that Wallen should have employed the epithet, but his fans... They're not racist, they're just don't employ a zero tolerance framework when it comes to their icons, their stars. Especially when their stardom is based on music. But this is the country we now live in. Oldsters still trying to hang on to their power, believing they still have power, they try to get the public to see the landscape through their lens, when in truth, the public isn't even paying attention to what they say. Cable TV news? The audience is so small and aged as to be laughable. Comey and 86-47. It's today's Melania/Kimmel... A headline that is supposed to fan the flames of outrage, when we've seen this movie every day for years, and today's story might not even be remembered tomorrow. But "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is not stopping. We still haven't gotten enough, and it came out 47 years ago! Even the music business itself doesn't know what the public wants anymore. Most people don't know and don't care about the Spotify Top 50, which is everything to the major labels. And live performance has eclipsed recordings anyway. And Michael Jackson is considered one of the best, if not the best performer of the modern era. And no one has challenged, even come close to Michael Jackson's ionic music. We never got a new Beatles and we haven't gotten a new Michael Jackson either. But we've got bozos opining on a world they do not know. Forgetting when done right, music hits you intellectually last. It's emotional, unlike so much dry reporting. That was the appeal of Trump to begin with, he was outrageous, he did not play by the rules. The press kept waiting for him to falter, but the public overlooked or overcame his faux pas, just like they're now doing with Michael Jackson's. Jackson paid for his sins with his life. What are you doing by trying to continue to punish him. Tarnish his legacy? The public knows he's weird, many people believe he abused young boys, and to them it makes no difference. Or, I could say that the public is once again wiser than the gatekeepers, who have less power than ever. Sometimes the public knows it's simple. In this case, a guy with a bizarre life who created legendary music. It's perfectly clear. -- Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/ -- Listen to the podcast: -iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj -Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp -- http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz -- If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter, http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25 To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25