Michael Jackson: Freak Like Me

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, is dead of a heart attack at the age of 50. In the next few days we will be treated to endless eulogies mining the rich archive of his music, dance, videos, performances and especially his purported habits, hobbies, misdemeanors and alleged crimes. After all, what writer could resist mentioning the various critters and tchotchkes he collected: the hyperbaric, youth-preserving oxygen chamber, the Elephant Man's bones, his pet chimp Bubbles, the Beatles catalog, Neverland Ranch, Macaulay Caulkin, Elizabeth Taylor, his many noses, skin pigments and hairstyles, his one bright white glove. I certainly can't.

These mutations will inevitably be placed in the tragic narrative of his decline. We will be asked to remember Jackson in his prime--as the smiling, dancing, "P.Y.T." black child star who outshone his less talented siblings in the Jackson Five or as the pop-and-dance virtuoso who transcended Motown by bringing us "Thriller," "Beat It" and "Billy Jean." Forget the eccentricities and footnote the accusations of child abuse and molestation (he was never found guilty). Those are but sad stains on the larger spangled fabric of his life and career.

Well, I am here to say: fuck that shit. Without his extravagant eccentricities and ambiguous, obsessive relationships to race, gender, mortality and childhood (and children)--indeed without the conspicuously tenuous link he had to the category of the human itself--Michael Jackson would have been a B-list has-been. Most likely last seen on the latest episode of Celebrity Apprentice, his obit would have followed Farrah Fawcett's. In short, he'd be John Oates.

Our fascination with Whack-o Jack-o has never been only, or even primarily, with his prodigious skills. It was with the way he personified our culture's most central ambitions to whiteness, immortality, wealth, real estate and fame. Lodged somewhere between the superhuman and the alien, aspiration and disgust, Jackson was a grotesque reflection of our collective desires.

As Margo Jefferson noted in her perceptive book On Michael Jackson, the best reference point for the "Man in the Mirror" is P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth. Like the Chinamen and Arabs who peopled Barnum's circus, Jackson came to embody the space between "Black or White." Like Barnum's pygmies, giants, bearded ladies and albinos, Jackson mesmerized us with his recombinant body, the weird scale and mix of his anatomy. His animal menagerie helped too.

Like those with too many or too few body parts, Jackson was a human freak, to be pitied, sure, but also to be mimicked, always to be looked at and, in some way, to be wanted. He was a freak like me, a freak like you.

Comments (63)

1. i bet if he had the chance to do it all over again, he would have done it differently. of all those who live in that rarified air they call fame, i think he was most in need of oxygen.

   Posted by SHUNK at 06/25/2009 @ 9:29pm

2. I'm a long-time reader of The Nation and frequently share its articles with friends and family. But this commentary is disrespectful of a fine musical talent who made unfortunate decisions in his personal life.

   I'm embarrassed for the Nation that it would publish an article like this one. I'm hopeful it will appear only online (temporarily?) and not make it to the printed page.

   Posted by Garbltoo at 06/25/2009 @ 9:39pm

3. Disgusting. This is the first time i have had to question whether or not i spent my money wisely on a subscription. I knew there would be "haters" out there dancing all over Michael's grave, did not for a second think TheNation.com would hade a bullhorn over to a "hater". Richard Kim has joined the ranks of other "haters" like TMZ and Perez Hilton. Good job dude.

   Posted by poetlost at 06/25/2009 @ 9:49pm

4. I don't mean any disrespect for the man's family and loved ones, a death is always sad (comma) but....people are pouring forth sympathy and remembrances of a man who's best days are behind and hasn't been artistically relevant for twenty-five years or so. I have a feeling of what the JFK assassination would have been like had the internet been around. He was no John, he's not even a Bobby. At best we should feel the pain and premature nostalgia that we feel when the freak show folds up its tent and leaves town.

   Posted by jedgar.mihelic at 06/25/2009 @ 9:55pm

5. He definitely wasn't a freak like you! And by the way you would be lucky to be B- List. Alas one like you can only hope. Stick to commentating on something you know something about. The Nation is better than this.

   Posted by cricketstomper at 06/25/2009 @ 10:01pm

6. I don't think Richard Kim's obituary is disrespectful at all. Isn't he saying that one of the things that made him a superstar and not just a talented singer is the fact that he was just plain weird? And it's not that he got weird (queer?) after his career declined, but at the height of his superstardom? And what's most interesting is that a massive fan base remained fascinated with him even as he pushed the boundaries of mainstream definitions of race, gender, and even what counts as human? So Kim is (if I'm reading him correctly) asking what it means that someone so evidently not normal could be the "King of Pop." Maybe "we" don't fit into our nation's definition of normal after all, or we are at least uncomfortable with it, and enjoy not just watching, but loving and identifying with, someone who is quite far from it. And maybe that's a good thing.

   Posted by glenntwo at 06/25/2009 @ 10:14pm

7. Thank God someone fearless of being a little polemic and honest.

   Am I the only one who liked this post?

   Maybe because I was born in 89...? But since I can remember I always found this guy disturbing and his music uninteresting.

   Ok, Jackson Pollock was disturbing, Manson was, too. It's not uncommon for artists to be, but Michael Jackson was in a bizarre manner. BESIDES, he didn't add much to the world in a LONG time. His creative side was dead long before he died.

   I don't think I'm being disrespectful when I say "I couldn't care less", specially when I've just read about how many Iranians died today...

   Posted by Beamoreira at 06/25/2009 @ 10:23pm

8. I basically agree with your point, but it's obviously only one point in the weird reflecting mirror that was michael jackson. we don't need to canonize him; he did that for himself.

   but as his contemporary (we were born a few days apart), it would have been good if you'd been a bit more compassionate and gone into the complex factors that made michael jackson perhaps one of the more significant emblems of the transition between the civil rights movement and the ...well, whatever it is we are now. I was a Latino, the same age. My parents didn't want me to learn spanish because they were afraid I wouldn't be accepted by the mainstream. Strange, but they had experienced multiple discriminations. So too, I'm guessing, had the Jacksons. My parents didn't abuse me to 'assimilate' me, but deep and dark down, the pressures were there. What we all saw was a lab experiment in getting people of color to be accepted by the white mainstream, conscious or not. First his parents and managers did it to him, then he absorbed it and did it to himself. What's truly remarkable, is that somewhere in the midst of all that torture, he would cry out in these bursts of both joy and pain, and assert his talent, invent dances no one has ever seen before, yelp, move...frankly, even his most famous dance is essentially a retreat, a reversal. Maybe from the people who exploited his childhood, from the people who couldn't accept that sometimes he didn't want to be white or black, he just wanted to hang at studio 54, maybe from his father, maybe from people who don't know what fame really looks like from the inside. And I believe, in the midst of that, he did revisit his abuse. I'd say Americans who mourn should think about his lyric: 'take a look at yourself.'

   Posted by couchtamale at 06/25/2009 @ 10:41pm

9. I don't see the point of the term "has been." F. Scott Fitzgerald was a has-been when he died, but his writing remained, and his not being recognized in his last years indicted America, not him. Shakespeare had retired and no doubt was forgotten by many when he died, in spite of recently co-writing portions of two bad plays by Fletcher. It used to be that performers who were no longer popular had nothing to be remembered by, but surely it's long enough since Edison invented the phonograph for us to recall that Michael Jackson probably left some great work behind.

   Posted by chessw at 06/25/2009 @ 10:42pm

10. Posted by Garbltoo at 06/25/2009 @ 9:39pm

    What he said....

    And where the heck does John Oates come into it?

    Ooh, rough trade, Mr. Kim

    Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 06/25/2009 @ 11:47pm

11. I agree with you in many ways. Jackson was a part of our collective desire for the freakish, the in-between, the too much. But you seem to have never listened to his music. If you had (and I hope you will) you will see that it is no b-list or even a-list work: it is truly singular.

    Yours was an immature piece of writing - below the standards of The Nation. And surely too easy.

    I hope this article will be removed. I understand your points. But this is trashy and disrespectful to all of us readers and music lovers.

    Posted by avivnis at 06/26/2009 @ 12:49am

12. Hmmm... B-list has been... Celebrity Apprentice... John Oates(?). So sure of yourself. You have no idea what this man went through, why he did what he did, if he regretted any of it. I know that I judged him harshly over the last few years, like many, regarded him as a freak. I found myself emotionally boycotting his work, unable to connect with him or his music (from any period). Yet, when I heard of his death I remembered how, as children, my brother and I idolized him and his brothers. That despite being white and relatively privileged, we wanted to be like Michael. And I found myself needing to find a J5 CD and hear that music again and wonder how he had gone so wrong. His story is an American tragedy. For you to recognize it as less than that is to absolve yourself of your own participation - and we all did to some degree. That you would write something so hideous on the day of his death is disgusting. I'm quite glad that I no longer give money to your publication.

    Posted by tdavis at 06/26/2009 @ 12:50am

13. Michaell Jackson was a soundtrack to my child hood and he will forever go down in history as a great pop artist. One of the kings of vynil as we are in the age of digital crap. It does not matter how many little boys he didled,he had enough money and other advantages to keep him out of jail.For if he didnt he would have been someones bitch in a prison cell. We as cultures and societys need artist and we will always have them ALWAYS. He did a perfect job for us.Thank you Mr Jackson and say hi to Elvis for me.

    Posted by troyhenriksen at 06/26/2009 @ 01:31am

14. Immense pop talent, profoundly & fatally warped. RIP.

    Seems to have been something of a role model for GOP pols, alas not in talent, but in self-wounding behavior.

    Posted by sloper at 06/26/2009 @ 01:35am

15. GREAT post - thanks - Kim is actually THINKING - how unusual!

    Posted by hysperia at 06/26/2009 @ 01:46am

16. Your article is bullshit. Despite the ridiculousness of Michael Jackson his genius was amazing. Where's your genius?

    Posted by sedonabruce at 06/26/2009 @ 01:58am

17. Michael Jackson dying is not comparable to a circus folding up it's tents. MJ had so much talent. I think the sad part is that he was forced in to stardom at a young age, and over the years his popularity has driven him nuts. It's articles like this and others that have put way too many people in their graves. Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, etc. Let the people rest in peace. Honestly. That is all he wanted his entire life, and even in death you can't give that to him? Then F*** you. He has brought meaning to music. He brought a beat when there was no beat. He danced better than anyone out there. And I won't even mention his 51 million records he sold with Thriller. A B-List has been? I don't think so. His music is and always will be relevant.

    And yes, thousands of Iranians died today, Beamoreira, but you should care about those lives and his. No one is telling you to grieve, but at least have some respect.

    Posted by meghan.c at 06/26/2009 @ 02:16am

18. Listen, Kim. I'm not a Michael Jackson fan. I don't think the man was necessarily a "genius." But the fact is that you're wrong. Michael Jackson was a well-respected and popular performer before he did anything "freakish." Thriller came out in 1982 and it's the best-selling album in the world, not because the voice on the record is that of a "freak" but because the music is catchy and funky! Whether it's because of Quincy Jones, Michael, or his promoters is beyond this discussion.

    We all get that you're trying to be edgy and provocative, but if you want to do it this way, The Nation really isn't the right publication for you to be writing for. Go be one of Howard Stern's sidekicks if you just want to be an asshole. Better yet, don't do creative work at all. The world would be a friendlier place.

    Leave us alone.

    Posted by CamstaQuinn at 06/26/2009 @ 03:58am

19. I always thought Jackson too weird to be a pervert. Just a naif with too much money.

    Posted by godistwaddle at 06/26/2009 @ 07:18am

20. I always thought Jackson too weird to be a pervert. Just a naif with too much money.

    Posted by godistwaddle at 06/26/2009 @ 07:18am

21. Well, say this about Mr Kim's article...

    it sure drew the NEWBIES out of the woodwork!

    Wonder if any of them will stick around?

    Regardless, Jackson had his spot in pop music. More sales and longevity than Elvis and the Beatles, but will likely be less "long-lasting". No "Michael" impersonators....or Broadway shows based on his music. Not a "Hall & Oates", more like a "Creedance Clearwater Revival."

    Posted by Mask at 06/26/2009 @ 07:42am

22. Very poor taste Mr Kim.

    Michael Jackson was a true artist. He drew equally across race and economic strata.

    He could make a conservative white hippy like myself look forward to hearing him, because he was FUN.

    Yes his life was mixed up, tragic, confused, and a whole stream of negative adverbs and adjectives you can attach.

    But no objective person can deny that this was a man with an enormous gift to entertain the world; or that he genuinely cared about people, of every race, ethnicity, and background.

    RIP Michael

    Posted by antisocialist at 06/26/2009 @ 08:44am

23. Darkness Falls Across the Land The Midnight Hour is Close at Hand

    Are you kidding me Kim?

    Ever been to Disney World - a bastion of wholesomeness. Well, spectatcular MJ video was big part of that family venue.

    Maybe you should be pointing the finger of blame at crass commercial media that turns folks into "monsters." How many child stars have been lost as adults. I don't think vanity is the root cause. Vanity is inculcated so that products may be sold.

    RIP Michael.

    Posted by OneVote at 06/26/2009 @ 08:50am

24. Posted by IlyaKuryakin at 06/26/2009 @ 08:19am

    BTW, I have a growing believe that ...

    PLUNGER...has returned.

    Posted by Mask at 06/26/2009 @ 09:11am

25. Posted by IlyaKuryakin at 06/26/2009 @ 08:19am

    BTW, I have a growing believe that ...

    PLUNGER...has returned.

    Posted by Mask at 06/26/2009 @ 09:11am

    You may be right.

    Posted by antisocialist at 06/26/2009 @ 09:18am

26. Posted by Mask at 06/26/2009 @ 09:11am

    Well, that makes it easy then.

    Off to ignore with him.

    Posted by Benchrest at 06/26/2009 @ 09:20am

27. Off to ignore with him.

    Posted by Benchrest at 06/26/2009 @ 09:20am | ignore this person | warn this person

    'Man from Uncle' right?

    The dude is obviously old enough to know better.

    Posted by OneVote at 06/26/2009 @ 09:29am

28. KIM: "Our fascination with Whack-o Jack-o....was with the way he personified our culture's most central ambitions to whiteness, immortality, wealth, real estate and fame."

    What you mean, is superficiality, in the pursuit of what others perceive of you....hence his obvious hate towards being born black, cute as he was. Looking at a progression of photos of him, he took a knife to his Afro nose and never stopped.

    His early music had some highlights but the advent of music video, with imagery so dominating & which covered up the mediocrity & shitiness of his later music, was a key part of his accelerated self-loathing.....

    This man-child does not belong to this world anymore....his negatives have outweighed his positives for quite some years.

    May he rest in peace and AT PEACE with his tortured soul!

    Posted by Happy at 06/26/2009 @ 09:41am

29. Rumor has it that he would have made $500 million on his up coming tour...

    think of all the tax money that Kims ilk could have taken from him....perhaps he should have died after his tour...

    I never understood Jackson and never will...however,

    I will miss the Farrah poster girl from the 70s...

    Posted by YourJomamma at 06/26/2009 @ 09:43am

30. I will miss the Farrah poster girl from the 70s...

    Posted by YourJomamma at 06/26/2009 @ 09:43am

    Her poster, THE poster, was rather prominent in college dorms, apts. and fraternities!

    The best FEMALE smile ever!

    Posted by Happy at 06/26/2009 @ 09:54am

31. I agree and disagree. His weirdness made him interesting after his pop fame faded but his pop fame was so massive 25 years ago that to compare him to Oates is ludcrous. Like Muhammed Ali his fame is worldwide and lasted 40 years; BBC news hour made it the lead story if they mentioned Farrah Fawcett at all I missed it.

    Posted by djw at 06/26/2009 @ 09:54am

32. It is the child we worshipped..the innocence. We wanted to keep him there, Jackson wanted to keep himself there and the world wants our celebrities to be weird to comfort us all because we let ourselves down daily in life. We already know we are not perfect...so we worship the blend of both the great and the let down part.

    You know I cried when he died because it was his striving for purity that we will no longer see.

    BTW: I hate your neanderthal curse words "F*** that S***" Why not use words that are more inventive and colorful instead? We are supposed to think the author's a tough guy...or "street smart", I guess.

    Posted by hrayovac at 06/26/2009 @ 09:57am

33. Posted by Happy at 06/26/2009 @ 09:54am

    Yup...

    and most had that poster ubove their dorm bed, so no matter who they brought home, they making it with Farrah...eeven if they went to bed alone...;-)

    MJ alone , destroyed any notion of slumber parties...

    Posted by YourJomamma at 06/26/2009 @ 09:58am

34. 'He's not dead, he just went home!' -- Agent K. (Tommy Lee Jones) -- 'Men In Black'

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 06/26/2009 @ 10:20am

35. Posted by HonestLiberal at 06/26/2009 @ 10:20am

    Oddly, in this case, HL's quote mining is appropos...

    since Jackson appeared "as himself" in MIB-2.

    Posted by Mask at 06/26/2009 @ 11:17am

36. What's the matter, Kim? Repost my original post.

    Posted by RichardKimSucks at 06/26/2009 @ 2:06pm

37. I went to The Nation this morning expecting it to be the one place I would find a reasoned response to the tragic passing of a great artist. Instead, I was surprised to find the small-minded diatribe of Richard Kim. Michael Jackson was one of the top practitioners of his art, which, for all its synthetic elements and crossover appeal, is ultimately an African-American form. He comes from the same mold as Louis Armstrong, Jellyroll Morton, King Oliver, and Bessie Smith. Read more at http://vanitasmagazine.blogspot.com/

    Posted by vincentkatz at 06/26/2009 @ 2:41pm

38. Paul McCartney: "Can I have my songs back now?"

    Governor Sanford: "Thank God it takes me off the front page."

    Ayatollah Khamenei: "Praise be to Allah it takes me off the front page."

    Kim Jong Il: "Stupid Michael, how dare he take me off the front page!"

    Farrah: "I didn't want to be on the front page anyway."

    Obama: "Can we talk about healthcare?"

    Sarah Palin: "Michael and I were friends. Can we talk about me?"

    Michael's creditors: "How much is his stuff worth?"

    Michael was a child molester who got away with it. That said, it takes nothing away from his enormous talent, except for the fact he should have been in prison, where I hear child molesters don't live long. His was a sad and freakish life and I have no doubt his death will prove just as freakish. But he was NOT a "freak like me" (and I was a huge fan back in the day).

    I just wish that instead of worshiping rock stars and sports heroes, we could worship teachers, space explorers and scientists, and those people who work hard every day to make our world a "better place for you and me." So, while I will miss what Michael might have made of the rest of a longer life, let's not deify him, please. I feel bad for his family and most importantly, his kids. It's never a good thing to lose a parent as a child, even a parent as weird as MJ.

    Posted by Stephen_Carver1 at 06/26/2009 @ 2:41pm

39. I agree with most of the posters here. This article was unnecessarily nasty and small-minded. And, hrayovac, for some reason I felt the same way about the vulgar language (and I'm actually a person who uses vulgar language with some frequency). It seemed out of place and gratuitous in this context.

    I've never been much for respecting people just because they have died. When I was growing up, we had a neighbor who was unfailingly mean to the kids who played ball in the alley or accidentally got too close to his house. He kept items that fell in his yard, and he called the police when someone's basketball hit his garage door. When he got old, he had to have his legs amputated, and my mother started in with, "Oh, poor Mike." My brother said, "I don't want to hear it. He used to be a mean old man, and now he's a mean old man with no legs."

    It's sort of the same with death. Michael Jackson was a very strange guy, and now he's a very strange guy who died. But this viscious little piece (and yeah, by the way, why bring up John Oates??) seems more like some kind of personalized venting than a commentary on a bizarre celebrity.

    I thought Michael Jackson was very talented and that his odd behavior detracted from that talent. I didn't think he remained famous because of his eccentricities. It was much more that he was unable to exercise his real talent because the other baggage got in the way.

    And, by the way, he really never was convicted of child molestation, so it's rather narrow-minded for people to declare that he was a child abuser who got away with this. Unless you were one of his victims, you are only speculating.

    Posted by LeeAnnG at 06/26/2009 @ 3:01pm

40. I like the article, but really hope that the Nation does not write anything more. I do not think that Michael Jackson is worth the time and energy. I would rather pay attention to more important issues that truly have an affect on humanity!

    Posted by leelbrig at 06/26/2009 @ 3:11pm

41. Mr. Kim, I think that this article would rightly label you as a cynic and when I look up both that word and it's derived word "cynicism", BOY does it describe you to a tee!

    From Answers.com: Definition of "cynicism" - "An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others."

    Or...

    From English-Test.net: "cynicism" - Contempt for the opinions of others and of what others value."

    Again, from Answers.com: Definition of a "cynic"- A person who believes all people are motivated by selfishness; a person whose outlook is scornfully and often habitually negative."

    WOW...those defintions pretty much describe you to a tee, don't they, Mr. Kim! The dictionary should put your picture next to those words as a tribute to them. That's ONE way that you can try to achieve just one tiny level of the genius that Michael Jackson achieved in life....Robert Ham...the genius cynic!

    Oh, and by the way...what other b rated or reality show ready performers in the world today's death would cause the internet to almost buckle under from the amount of interest, Mr. Ham? Please post your thoughts on that one.

    Michael Jackson was a man who instead of like the rest of society lived life to achieve fame, lived fame and searched for a life. This was his existence since he was 5 years old. Can you think of anyone else who has ever lived that existence? Those people who label Jackson a child abuser, charges which he was fully acquitted of...shame on you and who are you to judge, particularly after the man has died? I am glad my heart is not so dark as yours.

    Michael Jackson had heart and it connected to many all over the world. I guess you don't get it Mr. Kim...since you obviously don't have a heart! Peace!

    Posted by truthzone at 06/26/2009 @ 3:39pm

42. Oh, and by the way "Ham" instead of Kim for your last name was a mistake...or was it?

    I mean, when you think about it..isn't it just so amazingly "dead on" when describing you Mr. Kim?

    I'd seriously think about a name change if I were you!

    Peace!

    Posted by truthzone at 06/26/2009 @ 3:46pm

43. Michael Jackson's being hailed as an icon by the young people around the world is discouraging. What kind of moral standard have we handed down? It's true that he was seriously abused by his father as a child, but, like most abused children he grew up to be a serious abuser himself. The fact that he was repeatedly declared not guilty of sexual child molestation by the courts is an indication, not of justice, but of celebrity worship. O.J. Simpson got the same break. Michael Jackson is a testament to the horrors of child abuse, both as a receiver and a perpetrator. That's the lesson we should be learning from his life. The way he's being canonized is madness.

    Posted by lilagarrett at 06/26/2009 @ 4:03pm

44. Why did you delete my original post, Kim? Did it hit too close to home?

    Even though you deleted it, you are still a pathetic, D-list, prepubescent, still-wets-in-his-pants, talentless, wannabe writer, and that will never change whether you delete an opposing post or not.

    Posted by RichardKimSucks at 06/26/2009 @ 4:04pm

45. Sneaking in more.....on the pop icon that was the subject of far more (male) daydreaming:

    The Farrah Fawcett - Ayn Rand Connection

    Posted by Lexington Green on June 26th, 2009 (All posts by Lexington Green)

    No, really.

    Ayn Rand reached out to Farrah, and wanted her to play Dagny Taggart in a TV miniseries version of Atlas Shrugged, sounds like circa 1980.

    I can see it. Done in retro-40s costume, maybe? Or hypermoderne science fiction style?

    Either way would have been cool. A big budget, big-name miniseries would have been the best way to film the (very long) novel.

    Farrah would have been a very interesting casting choice, though not looking anything like the Dagny in the book.

    (I don't think Angelina Jolie, does either, but she is going to play Dagny in the upcoming movie, apparently, if that ever actually happens. Now is the time for the movie, though. At the beginning of the Reagan Era, we did not need it as badly as we need it now.)

    Who would have played Hank Reardon, Francisco D'Anconia, John Galt, Midas Morgan and Ragnar Danneskjöld, circa 1980? Who should play them now?

    Those are just the names I remember without looking them up. And I last opened the book in High School. The book does have a way of sticking with you. ..

    Posted by Happy at 06/26/2009 @ 4:53pm

46. 'If somebody is a nobody, they don't bother to boo him, they just ignore him.' -- attributed to Muhammad Ali

    Posted by HonestLiberal at 06/26/2009 @ 5:26pm

47. Many, many, people have written to say how "bad" Richard Kim's web article about the late, great Michael Jackson is.

    How strange that they cannot back up their opinions with any facts -- only with vague (and I suspect homophobic) emotions.

    I believe Kim respects both Michael Jackson and the facts of his biography, and I believe he has succeeded in balancing the two, which is no mean feat.

    Let the Kim haters write a better obituary themselves.

    Posted by JakobFabian at 06/26/2009 @ 5:49pm

48. Can't wait for the 100 unreleased songs Michael has promised us when he dies!

    These songs will obviously go platinum just because of who he was and his untimely death.

    Grew up with the Jackson 5, so it is indeed a sad occasion. It makes you realize once again just how short life is in this body, and how little time we have left to make a difference.

    Posted by Metteyya at 06/26/2009 @ 6:01pm

49. I am both so surprised and offended by this piece. Excuse me, did this writer get lost on his way to the Boston Herald. Not cute, not provocative and certainly not The Nation.

    How could the Editor make such a poor call in inviting this writer ? Just disappointed.

    Posted by zammi at 06/26/2009 @ 6:16pm

50. Oooooh, provocative, ooooh!

    This is just terrible writing, lazy really. Who is responsible for hiring you at the Nation???

    Do yourself a favor, Richard Kim, and read Gary Younge's piece in The Guardian. THIS is the kind of complexity one would have hoped a Nation journalist might muster. And, in case you're too lazy to do research to find the link, it's here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jun /26/michael-jackson-black-superstar-icon

    Posted by schwestersabrina at 06/26/2009 @ 8:39pm

51. Excuse me lila garret...but how do you know that Michael Jackson molested children...were you in the room when he did it? Do you think you know more than a jury who sat for days hearing evidence in a court of law and who found him to be innocent...while the entire media was stating (like you), that he was guilty? And why bring up OJ...unless you believe ALL african american men are guilty? Your racism is showing dear!

    Posted by truthzone at 06/26/2009 @ 10:29pm

52. A toast!

    ...to all the posters who commented here, because it is about some inane celebrity, who will never post here again!

    MJ was a freak. If I had little girls over for tea parties & sleepovers, regularly, I would have the same problem. Only, even if I was innocent, I would have the common sense to stop. MJ had no such sense.

    He deserves his reputation. He created it. Plus he's dead now, so I doubt he could care what anyone thinks now.

    How about some real, relevant news, Nation.

    Posted by Malcontent at 06/27/2009 @ 08:06am

53. "Well, I am here to say: fuck that shit.."

    This is such impressive boring stuff. May as well be reading Ramparts.

    Posted by Grace6 at 06/27/2009 @ 12:58pm

54. yeah, oooh, go back to your 'real' news. Because, you know, politics isn't at all about creating illusions, staging a show, grandstanding, incredible compromise, tormented souls, hypocrisy, repressed sexuality, narcissism, the creation and destruction of idols, idealism/despair, conflicting behavior within one individual, race, or even, commentators on the sidelines with all the same issues. People who think pop culture shouldn't be examined vigorously and intellectually are just guilty of a lazy illusion that the world divides up easily. People in Iran send videos of moonwaling; politicians are singing 'don't cry for me, argentina'; racial divides fissure again in the 'comments' sections; recession-stricken americans were blasting 'off the wall' all night last night. Stop with the sanctimoniousness and look at all aspects of this complicated world.

    Posted by couchtamale at 06/27/2009 @ 1:56pm

55. truthzone: Michael Jackson had heart and it connected to many all over the world.

    Agreed. This is the reason for the enduring, phenomenal interest in MJ, not his "freakishness." People the world over, of all ages and colors, love his music, and that had little or nothing to do with his strange lifestyle and appearance. Look at the amazing amount of charity work the man did. Heart, indeed.

    Posted by pzoslov at 06/28/2009 @ 07:19am

56. Micheal Jackson might have had talent, but he doesn't warrant being dubbed the "King of Pop". He was a slab of meat dancing on producer's strings.

    I've never bought that he was this wellspring of creativity, no more than Brittany Spears is , or Miley Cyrus, nor any of the other contemporary "entertainers".

    Hell, even Elvis, as talented as he was, didn't claim to be the Source of All Talent for his art. But that doesn't stop legions of Brittany fans from thinking she's just the greatest.

    Just because millions of people desire to live vicariously through some other person, doesn't mean that other person is flawless. He was a freak, plain and simple. At some point in your life you take responsibility for your actions, no matter how abused you might be. People's fascination with freak doesn't make it any less freak.

    Posted by Bugboy at 06/28/2009 @ 2:16pm

57. The idea that a pre-freak, post-Thriller Michael Jackson would be scraping the barrell-bottom of reality TV is ridiculous on its face.

    If anything, his freakiness hastened his pop demise. He was still a tabloid favorite, but sales of "Bad" were way off "Thriller" while "Dangerous" and "HIStory" (while containing some memorable hits) were viewed through a post-molestation settlement lens.

    If he had stopped at "Thriller" he could be comfortably living out his days in Vegas as a headliner (witness Donny and Marie at the Flamingo WELL after their cultural relevancy).

    Bottom line, you don't sell 50 dates worth 87 million dollars in a day because people want a freak show. You do it because you have an unparalleled repertoire of culturally defining hits.

    His sad decline was fascinating, but his incredible talent made him a superstar. PERIOD.

    P.S. An NPR commentator noted that Madonna and Prince were both born the same Summer as Michael Jackson. Can you imagine the business THAT tour would have brought in?

    Posted by AltonDarwin at 06/28/2009 @ 3:14pm

58. Richard Kim: "Jackson was a human freak"

    A freak show is always about the one doing the looking, not the one who is being looked at.

    P.S. It's "Billie Jean," not "Billy Jean."

    Posted by rachel_lee at 06/28/2009 @ 5:55pm

59. Hmmm.....I never was a huge fan of MJ's music; but to dismiss his talent as average and that he wouldn't be as well-known save his eccentricity is probably not correct. There are plenty of popular artists who are eccentric; but have not had the kind of popularity Jackson attained.

    Let's look where he started and how long he was popular. As a child before the age of 10, he had garnered tons of appeal. He did revolutionize the music video industry. And even if you didn't care for his music, you can't deny he was talented.

    Then there was the "bizarre factor", which may have even been promoted by his press machine. But consider the many artists who tout their eccentricity which may call attention to them aside from their art, eg, Boy George, Prince, Marilyn Manson, Ozzie Osbourn and clan, etc.

    The stuff with the children was weird, to be sure as well as the plastic surgery and all the rest...but to dismiss his art is to ignore the generation that grew up listening and relating to his words and music, as much as some of us would not like to admit. Someone had to buy all those albums and cause all those music industrymilestones.m Mr Kim...even if it was not you or I.

    Posted by jv333 at 06/28/2009 @ 6:45pm

60. Your article precisely expressed what I've been internalizing for the past few days while listening to sniffles and RIPs from co-workers planted in front of the break-room TV.

    As far as having to respect "the generation that grew up listening to his music" - ah, no, that's OK. I'm old enough to qualify and am doing just fine, thanks. MJ lost me when he cut off his nose and slept with boys (oh, sorry, paid off the families of young boys). His music became a pleasant nostalgia only for as long as I could ignore his contemporary state of affairs, i.e. ~2 songs or 6 minutes. But, then Woody Allen bugs the * out of me, too.

    Posted by lula at 06/29/2009 @ 12:29am

61. I just finished learning about how weird Nikola Tesla and Isaac Newton were in the personal lives....yet both very accomplished in their respective fields. The exercise of separating the "art" from the "artist" is always a challenging exercise. Of course if you don't care for the art; you'll have little empathy for the artist who created it. There have been many pop icons and artists of the past who were probably horrible human beings...it goes with the turf, in some cases.

    Posted by jv333 at 06/29/2009 @ 02:35am

62. Self-admitted newbie, but...

    Linkbait.

    Hatebait.

    Reactionary.

    Watch Jackson's Motown25 performance of "Billy Jean" and try to say half of what you said with a straight face.

    Not the world's biggest Michael Jackson fan, and agree he was a freak.

    But come on, the man had skills.

    Posted by jehosephat at 06/29/2009 @ 09:00am

63. This blog post is sloppy and makes "The Nation" look like a bad tabloid magazine or some offshoot of Perez Hilton.

    1) There is no reason to believe that Michael Jackson died of a heart attack at this point in time. Wait until you see the toxicology report and other pertinent information before you make such a statement about the cause of his death.

    2) Insinuating that he would be a B-list has-been had it not been for his eccentricities (regarding race, sexuality, etc.) is simply a ridiculous statment. The man was one of the most talented entertainers in recorded history. He would have been a legend if he was just a brilliant singer...but the man also revolutionized popular dance. He broke through barriers of race because of his undeniable talent, not because of his "character flaws". For you to think otherwise leaves me scratching my head and wondering if Richard Kim was old enough to have seen Michael before he made the cover of every tabloid.

    3) Sometimes I think that the Nation rights crap like this just to get their readers to respond emotionally. In that case...congratulations, it worked! It's just not quality journalism and not even a decent editorial blog slant.

    Posted by areyouserious at 06/29/2009 @ 8:10pm