The Black Funeral of Michael Jackson
Yes, we here at TWiB have been quiet concerning the death of Michael Jackson(besides our…ahem…very vocal take of BET’s coverage) but an interesting article was written by Princeton Professor, Ware Lecturer and Friend of the show Dr. Melissa Harris-Lacewell over at The Nation.
The death and remembrance of Michael Jackson has been an interesting window into American culture, its relentless cable news cycle, and the overwhelming but false sense of intimacy our celebrity culture engenders. But for me it was the peek into African American culture that was most intriguing.
Within a week of Jackson’s death I watched the avatars on my twitter feed turn from Iran-solidarity green to iconic photographs of Michael Jackson. But the photos were exclusively of “black” Michael Jackson: some from his childhood, some from the Off The Wall era, and many from the Thriller era. Few of my African American tweeps were visually remembering the Michael Jackson of the past decade with diminished features and whitened skin.
i think that could well be an age group thing…
and also that mj became the iconic superstar pre ‘diminished features’…
i was 16 when thriller came out..(what a year…) i was 17 in 1983 when billie jean moonwalk happened..
my mj music ‘memories’ stop @ ‘remember the time’ after that… i think i was about 20..
there were very few tracks that hooked me after that…
i think that could well be an age group thing…
and also that mj became the iconic superstar pre ‘diminished features’…
i was 16 when thriller came out..(what a year…) i was 17 in 1983 when billie jean moonwalk happened..
my mj music ‘memories’ stop @ ‘remember the time’ after that… i think i was about 20..
there were very few tracks that hooked me after that…