‘Michael’ left me craving. What happened to Jackson’s brokenness? | Opinion

Jessica A. Johnson writes for Creators Syndicate and is a senior lecturer in the English department at Ohio State Lima. [email protected]; @JjSmojc

I vividly remember when Michael Jackson’s signature “Thriller” album exploded in 1983 with the release of Billboard No. 1 hits “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” as well as Top 10 singles like “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” and “Human Nature.”

These songs were the soundtrack of my eighth- and ninth-grade years, and almost every talent show I attended featured a boy moonwalking or donning a red leather jacket, sporting black slacks and penny loafers highlighted with white socks. Everyone was trying to emulate the King of Pop.

I was still a bit too young to understand some of the mature themes Michael was singing about, such as paternity denial in “Billie Jean” or his longing to explore the world and connect with others in “Human Nature.”

But Michael was becoming the ultimate entertainer, with cinematic creativity in his videos and impeccable dance moves, so we all just sang along, not realizing that his lyrics often symbolized the isolation he endured as his global fame skyrocketed.

Many in my generation who grew up on Michael’s music flocked to the theaters to see the long-anticipated biopic bearing his name.

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I think for some, just going down memory lane from the late ’60s to the ’80s was enough, even though the film did not reveal any new details about Michael’s life. Critics have hammered director Antoine Fuqua for what they contend is a rushed story, sprinkled with details about Michael’s childhood and early adulthood but not delving further into his significant family and business relationships.

“Michael” has an abysmal 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, but fans gave it an almost perfect 97%.

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I believe fans were mostly going for nostalgia and were perfectly content to eat popcorn while Michael’s classic songs played in the background, although it was a little awkward not seeing Janet Jackson as the film progressed.

What about Janet?

Janet began performing with her brothers when she was 7, and the other Jackson siblings missing from the film were Rebbie, the oldest Jackson child, and Randy, the youngest son. We know that Janet declined to be included in the movie; however, the superb acting from Juliano Valdi, who played young Michael, and Jaafar Jackson, who brilliantly captured the essence of his uncle, was enough to cover these gaps.

Valdi’s performance particularly tugged at viewers’ heartstrings, as he powerfully evoked Michael’s wounded emotions as a child, suffering from his father Joseph’s (Colman Domingo) verbal and physical cruelty while clinging to the love of his mother, Katherine (Nia Long).

The opening scene of the film, with an 8-year-old Michael staring out a window at snow falling in Gary, Indiana, is a perfect precursor to his longing to be a normal child, a longing he never got to fulfill under his father’s iron fist. When the family moved to the Hayvenhurst estate in Encino, California, in the early ’70s after the Jackson 5’s smashing success, Michael was portrayed as growing more socially distant from his brothers.

‘Vanity and vexation of spirit’

I wanted to see Michael because, as I got older, I came to think of his life as tragic, even though he was one of the most famous people on the planet.

I recall him being the target of hurtful jokes in comedians’ monologues because of his eccentricity and changing appearance. Black comedians especially made fun of Michael’s lighter skin and nose surgeries. In many ways, he became a caricature, and his later legal troubles with accusations of child sexual abuse had tarnished his legacy before he passed away in 2009.

The movie concludes in 1988 with the tour of his album “Bad” and his performance in London’s Wembley Stadium. Michael was on top of the world at this time, but I always wondered if he felt that once he had everything, it was, as King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:14, “vanity and vexation of spirit.”

The world places celebrities like Michael Jackson under excessive pressure to conform to and evolve toward its hypercritical standards, which only provide short-lived pleasures.

Michael never completely conformed, and I think he may have reached a point where he, as Solomon once did, looked at everything he had worked so hard to accomplish and reckoned it was like “chasing the wind.”

It was widely reported that Michael was seeking to be closer to God before he died and that he accepted Christ. There is a sequel to the biopic in the works, and I hope this part of Michael’s life is explored: whether he actually found faith to heal from his brokenness.

Jessica A. Johnson writes for Creators Syndicate and is a senior lecturer in the English department at Ohio State Lima. [email protected]; @JjSmojc

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: “Michael” is missing closure fans long to find | Opinion