...for SAYING/WRITING what MANY of us have been thinking and feeling and hurting like Hell over during the past few weeks.
_ _ _ _ _
Through his prolific body of work, advocacy initiatives and multi-million dollar charity efforts, Michael Jackson raised international awareness and support for some of the most complex and timeless issues confronting the human condition. AIDS, cancer, famine, homelessness, gang violence, racism, totalitarianism, environmental degradation, child abuse, violations of animal rights, restrictions on freedom of speech and other infringements upon basic civil liberties are just some of the difficult subjects Jackson tackled by leveraging the power of his celebrity. Michael Jackson’s intuitive understanding of the problems besetting the human ecological system was uncanny and uncharacteristic for any entertainer close to his magnitude.
Many have been so dazzled by Jackson’s masterful showmanship and the consistent controversy surrounding his life and death that it would be easy not to recognize the overarching social and political themes embodied in his music, videos and public interviews. The intense emotional pull, messages and raw feelings that reverberate through the lyrics and sometimes disturbing video imagery of songs such as “They Don’t Care About Us,” “Heal the World,” “Earth Song,” and “Man in the Mirror” are gut-wrenching. A deeper analysis of Michael Jackson’s work reveals an individual with a burning concern for improving the lives of the disadvantaged and persecuted around the world. The passion and verve with which Jackson digs his hands into the soil and grasps the trees in his video for “Earth Song,” an operatic piece where he addresses environment and animal welfare, is a reflection of a leader of humanity who cares deeply about the issues he is challenging.
Global events in the weeks surrounding Jackson’s death alone directly mirror the complex problems for which he attempted to raise international awareness. In Iran and before the world’s eyes, civilian demonstrations were squashed and innocent victims like the young Neda Agha-Soltan brutally murdered by instruments of a totalitarian state. In Washington, D.C., a white supremacist motivated by pure hate attempted a killing spree at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, murdering an African American security guard in his rampage. In North Korea, U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were unjustly sentenced to twelve years of hard labor to merely serve as international bargaining chips for an evil dictator. Michael Jackson spoke out loudly against these forms of racism and repression and attempted to ignite our passion to prevent the continuance of such abuse, neglect and discrimination. How are we now missing this message when it is even more crucial for it to be absorbed into the public mind? Not only do Michael Jackson’s cries of awakening continue to be ignored but his reputation continues to be smeared.MUCH more...
http://elitestv.com/pub/2009/07/celebrity-scales-michael-jackson-the-wounded-messenger-star-studded-legal-commentary-for-the-celebrity-obsessed?dsq=13404188#comment-13404188
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
