Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Michael Jackson: An Inconclusive End

The quest for answers to explain a tragic death may prove unfulfilling

It took the passing of a close relative for me to begin to realize how little I really know about anyone other than myself. The privilege of studying abroad has severe costs, most noticeably the progressive estrangement of those once close to you. Geography dictates the intensity of human relations. The present intimacy of even familial ties can quickly become history.

At the time of her passing, my relative was in her early 40s, single and working a blue-collar service job. It is difficult to begin to comprehend the pain of the prospect of missing out on motherhood and marriage, especially as a woman within a society that values long-term commitment and often unfairly equates the full status of adulthood with raising children. I can only imagine that the booming resonance of a maternal clock ticking as time slowly passes in an unfulfilling job can become deafening to the ear and deadening to the soul.

When my relative died, we didn’t know the complete details. But for one, I didn’t want to know. An autopsy could tell me the physical reason but it gave me no insight into an emotional one, something that may have motivated this tremendous loss. And in many ways, I don’t think it would have led to anything beneficial. Communing with the pristine memory of a dear relative is difficult. And I feared having the sanctity of these memories muddied by the sadness of too many details about her ending may have been too much.

~

There is a natural inquisitiveness into the reasons behind Michael Jackson’s death. It’s something that I can empathize with, having a relative who died under inconclusive conditions. People want answers. They want finality. And I cannot blame them. However, finding out the physical explanation for Michael Jackson’s death is only one small part of a long and tortuous life narrative with a tragic end.

Michael was a complicated person who lived a surreal life. A child star who was forced to rehearse instead of living a normal childhood, he appeared fixated on recapturing the tender moments of youth he missed out on. Whether it was his tremendous financial debt, the pressure of reclaiming the mantle of the biggest entertainer in the world, poor health, the ravages of prescription drug addiction or a complicated mixture of all of these factors, the final mystery will never be solved. The King of Pop is dead and the certainty of an autopsy will never be able to uncover the depths of despair in his soul and how that may have contributed to his untimely and unwelcome end.

Rest in peace.


WEDNESDAY, JULY 15 @ 7:30 PM
THE MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION: A MUSIC FILM OUTDOOR PARKS SCREENING SERIES FREE!!!
@ Marcus Garvey Park (Lawn B, northwest of the Pelham Fritz Recreation Center, btw. Mt. Morris Park West & 124th St)

Presented by The Maysles Cinema and Reel Harlem

King of Pop, Master of the Music Video: A Tribute to Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

MASS THRILLER DANCE!! JOIN THE CELEBRATION!!
7:30pm King of the Video Jukebox: A Tribute

8:30pm Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller
Dir. John Landis and Jerry Kramer, 1983, 60 min.
The late, great Michael Jackson's Thriller was broadcast on MTV three weeks before Christmas in 1983. It was the most expensive video of its time, costing $500,000, and according to the Guinness World Records remains the most successful music video of all time, selling over 9 million units. This is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this pop masterpiece.

Rain Venue: Inside Pelham Fritz Recreation Center