Michael Jackson's "final curtain call"

Michael Jackson is dead. However, like Princess Diana and John Lennon to name two whose lives live on, he will be immortalised as Jacko the King of Pop. Troubled people tend to make the best artists. That may sound weird but it does have a pattern. All the best comics and comedians were troubled. It is as if the human workings cannot do everything. In Michael Jackson's case that was an impossibility. His death will spawn a whole new raft of books, films, TV shows, and newspaper articles. The internet will be alive and well with Jackson stuff.

His music was certainly in the highest realms. You may or may not have liked it but it was greatly appreciated by many. And it will live on. I always liked his first solo song, "Ben" which is still played on radio stations. I didn't take to everything he did but what he did I always knew was good. He was also a magic man with the dance moves. Many a child has tried to emulate Michael Jackson.

Much has been said about his life. Cut short in the biblical sense. He was only fifty. Two things occur to me. He was always criticised about being with children on his own. So was Lewis Carroll. Adults have a propensity to fear what they perceive as being unhealthy in this regard. I doubt if Jackson had an unhealthy thought in that sense. He appears to have remained childlike in his emotional state. Whilst being an adult he could also relate to the offhand way adults sometimes treat children. He could not stand children being ignored. He was the exact opposite of allowing children to be "seen and not heard". Adults expect children to go through a set number of hoops in order to reach adulthood. One ridiculous hoop is the "losing your virginity" one. It is like a badge of honour. In fact for most teenagers it represents failure and a general feeling of personal unfulfillment. Jackson's sexuality was discussed ad nauseam.

My take is that he recognised the "grown up" thinking that many children possess. My daughter used to tell me not to be "so silly" and she was only three then! Whilst a child is still a child, it does not imply that the child should be ignored or treated as if opinions do not count. Jackson appeared on their terms and was able to relate to them. His being with children freaked out some adults. However, I see it a bit like the innuendo of Kenneth Horne's radio shows. He said the innuedo was in the minds of the listeners. His Round the Horn and Beyond Our Ken had not a single rude word in them!

The second point is that Michael Jackson was also criticised for his appearance. This did appear bizarre. A black boy turns into white superstar. Whatever the reasons for his desire to experience the pains of plastic surgery for bodily enhancement, it kept the media motivated. Now he needs no more enhancements. Death is the same for us all. It is the greatest leveller in that respect.