Many people look at the icons in the entertainment industry and assume that because these persons are affluent, then their lives are easy and comfortable. But, Michael Jackson, like many other entertainment icons has faced numerous challenges throughout his life that has caused a number of controversial stories that have had a negative impact on the singer’s life. The emotional stress has led to the singer’s ultimate loss of self – confidence as he battled with the tabloids and their negative criticisms and the physical deformities that came from his years of plastic surgeries. The greatest challenge for the singer came from his legal proceedings that marred his life as he was labeled as a pedophile. But, despite the negative image of the artiste, Jackson remains a legend in the hearts of millions of people in the world as his music continues to inspire the world.
According to Hampton Stevens, “Michael Jackson was the most influential artist of the 20th century” (Stevens: 2010: 1). The revelation may be shocking to a number of persons but the truth is that despite the damages to his reputation over the years, Michael is one of the musicians of the 20th century who had more cultural impact on the society than any other artist throughout history (Stevens, 2010: 3). Jackson’s musical career spans decades as the artiste first entered the entertainment industry at the age of five. Michael joined his brothers as a part of the Jackson’s family performers and became the lead singer. His talents amazed the world from the onset of his musical career because of the depth and range of his voice. According to the Editors at Biography.com, the Jackson 5 had an illustrious career as they sang as the opening act for the famous, R&B artistes: Glady’s Knights and the Pips, Diana Ross, Sam and Dave, and James Brown among others. But, Michael launched out on his own when he turned 13 and career soared. He continued to work along with his brothers under the Motown label until the group spilt with the company for unresolved reasons.
But these early challenges could not be compared to the later challenges that the singer faced as a solo artiste. The challenges did not come from his musical performances as he was always impressive with his performance. The greatest challenges for Jackson came because of the allegations that he was a child molester. Michael’s source of income came from his singing career and the famous Pepsi Co contract early in his life. In the 1980, he suffered an accident on the set of PepsiCo caused serious physical damages to his face and scalp (Blake 2009:1). The release of many platinum records helped to boost the artiste’s finances significantly. But, in 1991, the “Dangerous” album marked the first signs of the troubles that would come in Michael’s career. His controversial sexual gestures and the violence in his action in the music video "Black or White" started many negative criticisms of the singer and his Peter Pan – like actions.
Nonetheless, Michael’s career continued to soar and his popularity increased immensely. He also performed at the half-time of the Super Bowl in 1993. Sadly, the public gaze and criticism of the singer began to take a personal and emotional toll on the singer. Not being one for interviews, Jackson allowed himself to be interviewed on the Oprah show. One could argue that the high expectations of the society and the pressures of maintaining his musical prowess led Jackson to answer the mounting questions on the significant changes in his skin color and his questionable behavior. During the interview, Michael also spoke about the way in which the abuse in his early life led to the type of person he became. One could easily sympathize with the trauma of Michael’s early years, but the harsh and overcritical mass in the society would not allow the artiste to enjoy the sympathy of many people. His career and his personal life suffered immensely and the singer never quite dealt with the problems in his life.
Historically, Michael has been one of the leading role models in the society, as his voice, stage presence and lyrical content was above the average expectations of the society. But each time the artiste released an album the world expected it to be much better than the last. The love for Michael’s music did not shield him from the harsh criticisms of the society as he was ridiculed for the alleged child molestation charges. The social norms do not allow for homosexual act and practices and Michael became synonymous with such acts. These early accusations by the young boys brought chaos to Michael’s life. In addition, the singer had to deal with the decline in his career and the intense criticism of the anti-Semitic term in the single "They Don't Care about Us."
The birth of his children also brought criticism from the public as there were questions about his relationship with women. He also faced the criticism from the public with the 2003 release of the documentary, Living with Michael Jackson. The documentary showed Michael in a vulnerable way and this helped to fuel the decline of the singer’s life. His legal challenges continued into 2003 and after answering to ten counts of molestation, the artiste was finally broken. The society that had once been his platform of glory had now become his executor. He was in financial ruin and his reputation was destroyed. But, despite the challenges he faced from the public, Michael did what he was known for: he attempted to rekindle his career with the help of the prince of Bahrain. But, the Prince also showed that he was merely a part of those who would want the singer to fail as he sued Michael for seven million dollars for reneging on his promise of a new album for the Prince’s record label.
Michael was responsible for creating a new genre of entertainment as his music videos could be likened to high art which combined every aspect of the 20th century mass media (Stevens, 2010: 3). His music and his videos revolutionized the music industry as the industry embraced the musical talents of the artiste. Stevens reiterates the belief that Michael’s aesthetic musical style helped to challenge the stereotypes and barriers in the society (Stevens, 2010, 3). Conversely, the society creates a tragic figure in the singer and his early childhood trauma did nothing to help the singer to fight the immense criticism from the society and the social norms that existed. But, despite the numerous accusations against the artiste, his greatest and most tragic flaw came through his Byronic Romantic visions that allowed him to commit to a lifetime of creative ideal that defied the social order and the natural laws in the society (Stevens, 2009: 5).
In concluding, the social norms of the society helped in the decline of the artiste as a person and as a singer. People expected the singer to be perfect in every way and when he did not meet these expectations these persons turned against him in the media. But despite the harsh criticisms and the grave mistakes that the artiste made in his life, there is no doubt that Michael was a performer who exceeded the expectations of the society and who also exceeded some of the greatest singers before his time because of the raw talent that he possessed. He was able to electrify any audience and the source of his gift to the society stemmed from his musical canvas. On this canvas, Michael successfully made his mark on the society. He grew out of child stardom and his talent became his curse and his blessing. Additionally, his obsession with showbiz plastic surgery led to his darker challenges. His attempt to change his skin color was a cry for acceptance in the white world. Instead he became a mixture of different human types. He was torn between being black and white, a man and a child, and a male and a female. The years of trying to meet the norms of the society eventually destroyed the singer and even in death he was unable to change the world. Instead the world changes Michael Jackson. But, his legend continues to grow.
References
Blake, Heidi “Michael Jackson's history of health problems” (2009) Web
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/michael-jackson/5650170/Michael-Jacksons-history-of-health-problems.html
Stevens, Hampton “Michael Jackson's Unparalleled Influence” (2010)
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/06/michael-jacksons-unparalleled-influence/58616/
