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Regional - Please, no more about ‘Wacko Jacko’
Mac Olsen
for Smoky River Express
The hype and feeding frenzy about the death of ‘Wacko Jacko’ Michael Jackson has been absolutely appalling.
Night after night since June 25, the airwaves, websites and print media have been plastered with nothing but the circumstances of his death and his supposed legacy.
But enough, already! I didn’t buy a satellite receiver to watch only the blah, blah, blah about him. Moreover, I’m not one of the groupies who’s going to collapse in shock about what has happened.
His death isn’t the end of the world, although some of his most devout fans will probably believe that he is alive and has been abducted by aliens and taken away in their ship. This is what some of Elvis’s devout fans believe about him.
The fame Jackson acquired about his music and dance style are entrenched in pop culture, that is a given. His death is unfortunate, sure, but it’s not like he deserves the incessant accolades he’s been getting.
What cannot be overlooked are his enigmatic personality and all the wacky things he did over the years, such as changing his skin colour, dangling his youngest child out a window and sleeping with children.
Jackson made a media spectacle of himself for these and other things. The trash tabloids like the National Enquirer have committed savagery against him, too, for which they should be ashamed and condemned. Nonetheless, his fall from grace was of his own making and there is no need to shed crocodile tears for him.
As long as we’re on the subject of media coverage, let’s talk about Farrah Fawcett, who died the same day as Jackson. The media covered her death and she made her battle with cancer into a documentary. However, her death didn’t result in a feeding frenzy and media circus like Jackson’s. Moreover, Fawcett wasn’t full of herself like he was, nor was she a megalomaniac like him.
Fawcett had her moments in the spotlight, as well as the charm and looks of the 1970’s pin-up girl she was known for. But she was well regarded and her private life wasn’t invaded by the paparazzi or the trash tabloids. In effect, the level of media coverage about her wasn’t blown out of proportion as it was for Jackson.
Another person who was always in the media spotlight, for good and bad, was Princess Diana. She and Prince Charles had their fairytale wedding in the summer of 1981 and the public interest and fascination with the couple was legitimate at first. However, following their divorce in 1994, the paparazzi and the trash tabloids reared their ugly heads, generating outlandish and sometimes horrific rumours, photos and stories about her.
They invaded her relationship with Dodi Fayed, which they had no business doing. And while her intoxicated chauffer can be held largely responsible for her death in Paris in August 1997, I place some of the blame on the paparazzi that pursued her vehicle at high speed. If they hadn’t been so obsessed in getting photos, she might still be alive today.
Regardless, her death was very tragic and she deserved a place of high standing in the world. She was one of those public figures who took on causes like AIDS and highlighted the importance of being charitable to those in need.
It is she who deserves the greatest public attention and respect, rather than Jackson. Let’s hope the media circus about his death doesn’t perpetuate as it did while he was alive.
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