Saturday, February 08, 2003
MICHAEL JACKSON: JACKO OR WACKO?
After watching the 20/20 Michael Jackson interview on Thursday night, I can't help but feel sad and weirded out (is that a word?) about the whole thing. I mean, this is a kid who I grew up idolizing. I loved the Jackson 5, everything from their music, their image, to their cartoon. And then, everybody cameto idolize MJ ater his "Thriller" album. That was the best album I've ever heard. In fact, yesterday, they were playing all Michael Jackson songs on the Beat Friday afternoon and I couldn't help bob my head to the music.
But after watching the way he treats his kids (they wear masks whenever they are out in public), the way he goes on million dollar shopping sprees, and the way he denies having plastic surgery for his face, I have to feel sad. (And I'm not even going to touch about the fact that he lets young boys sleep in his bed. So gross!)
I think it's all a result of bad parenting. His father was so hard on him that he cracked the whip (sometimes literally) for him to succeed. If you add that, plus the pressures as the lead singer to succeed, plus all that fame and fortune at such a young age, plus the fact that you never had a true childhood, then this is what you get. Now, it seems like he's doing the exact opposite of what he got in life. He buys things like crazy because it's a way of feeling loved. He masks his kids because he was thrown into the spotlight so much that he took things to the other extreme. And he loves hanging out with kids because he's still a kid himself.
Unfortunately, in this case, it seems like success and super-stardom cost this man his life. And the worst part is that the vicious cycle is still going. Pray for his kids.
After watching the 20/20 Michael Jackson interview on Thursday night, I can't help but feel sad and weirded out (is that a word?) about the whole thing. I mean, this is a kid who I grew up idolizing. I loved the Jackson 5, everything from their music, their image, to their cartoon. And then, everybody cameto idolize MJ ater his "Thriller" album. That was the best album I've ever heard. In fact, yesterday, they were playing all Michael Jackson songs on the Beat Friday afternoon and I couldn't help bob my head to the music.
But after watching the way he treats his kids (they wear masks whenever they are out in public), the way he goes on million dollar shopping sprees, and the way he denies having plastic surgery for his face, I have to feel sad. (And I'm not even going to touch about the fact that he lets young boys sleep in his bed. So gross!)
I think it's all a result of bad parenting. His father was so hard on him that he cracked the whip (sometimes literally) for him to succeed. If you add that, plus the pressures as the lead singer to succeed, plus all that fame and fortune at such a young age, plus the fact that you never had a true childhood, then this is what you get. Now, it seems like he's doing the exact opposite of what he got in life. He buys things like crazy because it's a way of feeling loved. He masks his kids because he was thrown into the spotlight so much that he took things to the other extreme. And he loves hanging out with kids because he's still a kid himself.
Unfortunately, in this case, it seems like success and super-stardom cost this man his life. And the worst part is that the vicious cycle is still going. Pray for his kids.
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