Open Conversation
Michael Jackson mural. Photograph: Joao Pedro Freitas, Unsplash/CC.
one of the things that almost made me feel schizophrenic like I was going crazy was how many different perspectives there were on this man
Woman in Audience, NYPL ‘After the Dance’ Panel, 2010
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Mark Anthony Neal, NYPL ‘After the dance’ Panel, 2010
And you don’t sell 100 million records without selling 100 million records to every possible person in the room. Which means you learn how to market and promote yourself in a way that’s complex and multifaceted that speaks very different things to very different audiences.
Source: Audio Recording/Transcript
MJ Jacksons star (ca. 1980)
MJ Thriller Era (1984)
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Esther Armah, NYPL ‘after the dance’ Panel, 2010
It wasn’t the swagger that’s the visual representation on the media, where the black man is either hypersexualized or he is the threat. He’s either gonna steal your wallet or rape your wife. Those are the visuals that we know.
And Michael Jackson was this gentle soft soul in terms of the way he spoke. But he was badass in terms of his performance. So there was enough distance globally for them to say now that’s a black man I can embrace.
Source: Audio Recording/Transcript
abuse
Alexis Petridis, 2018
It seems almost insulting to the level of talent on display to suggest that it required physical and psychological abuse to bring it out.
Source: Guardian
James Baldwin (1983)
MJ photoshoot Bad era, late 1980s
research
facts
I can’t comprehend what an utter idiot one must be in the era of the Internet to still think MJ was guilty. Go investigate.
Editor’s Note: Offending people isn’t our usual jam, but we keep stumbling upon this sentiment. It even prompted us to rethink our own views. What really strikes us is the passion and certainty behind it.
Source: Youtube
allegations
Helena from VindicateMJ, asked about Leaving Neverland by NYT, 2019
The first viewers of the film who did no research and know only the media innuendoes about MJ say that the film is ‘powerful’ and its characters look ‘credible’. But the Star Wars is also powerful.
