"Thriller" Revisited: A Key To Michael Jackson's Trial
By Robert Klein Engler (03/14/05)
Michael Jackson's trial in California for alleged sexual abuse should make us look back to the beginning of his career in popular music. We should read once more the lyrics to his 1982 hit song, "Thriller." From the perspective of a courtroom in California, the lyrics to "Thriller" are almost prophetic.
"Thriller" begins with "It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark." Could these lyrics describe an hour at Michael's Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara? Could something lurk in the shadows of Michael's bedroom? Then, the song continues, "You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes. You're paralyzed." After so many surgeries on his face, you can only imagine what it would be like to be alone in the half-dark with Michael Jackson while he stared at you.
But there is more. "You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to run. You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun." If I were a 12 year old boy half-drunk on wine, and a hand came at me while in bed one night, that might be what I, too, would say. What Michael Jackson was singing in 1982, is now what has been alleged to have happened at his California ranch.
According to allmichaeljackson.com, Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29th, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was the 7th of nine children. At the age of 5, Michael was the lead singer of the group Jackson 5. Michael Jackson was early on in the limelight, and has tried to remain their ever since. This means that from boyhood to young adulthood and beyond, Michael Jackson was more a commodity than he was a person.
The Jackson 5 stayed with Motown until 1976. The group then changed its name to simply The Jackson's and had a number of hit records between 1976 and 1984. In 1982 Quincy Jones produced for Michael Jackson the album "Thriller." This album became the biggest hit in record history, selling 53 million copies. Michael Jackson was now a recording star recognized worldwide.
Jackson's fame continued to grow in the decade of the 80s, and with this fame I suppose his sense that he could do no wrong also grew. In 1984 Michael won 8 Grammy awards in one night. But by the time the decade of the 80s were over, the label "Waco Jacko," applied to him by the British press, stuck to his reputation in both Britain and the U. S.
Psychological explanations for behavior have a certain appeal to Americans. The behavior of Michael Jackson at his Neverland Ranch begs such a psychological explanation. Even Michael's most dedicated fans now wonder and ask what are the motives for his seemingly bizarre behavior. "Why has the thrill of rock videos given way to the chill of possibly serving hard time behind bars?"
I suppose Michael Jackson had few opportunities as his career advanced to develop an identity different from the one that made him out to be "The King of Pop." If Michael did have a realization that his sexual orientation might be different from the norm, then there was no way he could work out those identity issues in the fishbowl that is the record industry. Jackson simply had too much money and fame for anyone to tell him the truth, let alone save him from predatory families. Now, as a limousine takes Jackson to court does he remember he once sang, "You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination."
It is evident that in spite of money and fame, something was missing in Michael's life. When Jackson allegedly reached into the pajamas of a 12 year old boy while they were in bed together, he was also reaching for something he lost years ago. Did he know this when he sang in "Thriller?" "Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together?"
No amount of music, money or wine could bring Michael Jackson's lost childhood back. Like the surgeons that took away pieces of Michael's face, each fan who brought an album also took away with them a piece of Michael's identity. Now, there is very little of the real Michael Jackson remaining. That's the way it is when you worship false gods or worse, become a false god yourself. Jackson's own lyrics say it: "...the dead start to walk in their masquerade."
The California trial is a hard stone to swallow for many of Jackson's dedicated followers. Nevertheless, the testimony of Jackson's young accusers about alleged sexual abuse seems to be a germ in Jackson's rock video produced more than 20 years ago. That germ infects Michael's life today. Let's hope that all parties to this alleged sexual abuse may not suffer the full meaning of the lyrics Michael sang in "Thriller," "...no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike."
(Printer friendly version) Email: Robert Klein Engler
