Starting with some baby-dangling and running through the Fox network's "footage you were never meant to see," Michael Jackson is back in the public eye.
I finally got to see the infamous Michael Jackson interview on a VH1 rerun and all I can say is this: What a wasted opportunity.
As pop-culture popcorn, or a real-life "reality" show, "Living with Michael Jackson" did it's job. However, I can't help but feel that Martin Bashir blew his chance to make a real contribution.
"Living with Michael Jackson" wasn't an interview or a documentary, it was an intervention. Bashir's voice-overs constantly speak of "confronting" Jackson about plastic surgery, sleepovers, etc. Was he hoping to show that Michael Jackson was creepy and weird? I could have told you that in 1984.
Anymore, the man is professionally weird (Can you name a Michael Jackson song since "Black or White?"). Ten years after his last big hit, sheer eccentricity is the only thing keeping him in the limelight. Along with Richard Simmons, Jackson is a full-time punchline.
Consider this: Putting aside the chimp, the glove and the plastic surgery; watch a musical performance before Michael Jackson, then watch a Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake video. Crazy or not, Jackson re-invented the way we think about music.
Without the King of Pop, we wouldn't have Darren's Dance Groove and nobody would know why Paula Abdul is on "American Idol." In an expose on the creepy famous guy, Bashir basically ignored why Jackson was famous in the first place and that's where he failed.
What does Jackson think about Britney Spears or Christina Aguillera? What does the teenage star of the '80s think about the teenage stars of today? In the last decade, we've spent countless hours of TV hearing about Jackson, The Icon; but Bashir had a chance to cover an ignored angle: that of Jackson, The Artist.
Even if Jackson was completely ignorant of modern music, there were other aspects of his story that were washed out. I would have gladly cut some Blanket-feeding to know about Jackson's feelings on the record labels, MP3s, and/or racism in the industry. Admit it, he's got to have some pretty interesting views on race.
Let me get one thing straight: I don't feel sorry for Peter Pan and I think he's got some issues, but I don't think exploring those issues was the best use of time. It's been done before.
I'm not mad at Bashir for betraying Michael Jackson, I'm mad at him for wasting my time.
hello there & you too