June 25 is approaching quickly now... We all want to honor Michael and his legacy on this day that changed so much for us. We have seen things unfolding during the past 11 months - soon it will be a year which has shown us the extent of issues Michael was forced to deal with. A few days ago I posted two videos on Insanity X Lives Light - featuring Michael, the song was "I am a big boy now". This is the first hit record of the Jackson 5. I listened to his voice, and I was looking at the pictures and video clips. He was there, performing at a very young age. You could see how Michael enjoyed it - yet on the other hand, we remember what he told us regarding how he felt about his childhood... Throughout his life, as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist, he was in the spotlight, and not just on the stage. People wanted to know more about him, and the media covered his private life as well. And I wonder if you can talk about a private life in his case at all... I am not going to detail all this here. It is in front of our eyes. He was enormously successful, his Thriller album is the most sold album of all times, Michael revolutionized the music industry - he staged breathtaking tours... We can recall the crazy stories - the hyperbaric chamber, the elephant man, and I am sure I am not aware of all them... Anything Michael sold and still does. Paparazzi followed each and every step he made.
Michael was in search of his childhood. He bought Neverland and turned it into a fairy land, with everything a child's heart would enjoy - no obligations here, no duties, no appointments, just away from it all... He invited children of all backgrounds, children in need, socially disadvantaged children to enjoy this fairly land; he had finally found a place where he was not in the spotlight. Looking at the pictures from Neverland you can see the peace and tranquility that this landscape breathes.
Yet Neverland was to become the place where the greatest intrusion into his privacy transpired. The means were all of the accusations made by children who where cohersed into this by their parents. Michael so lovingly allowed all children into his home to be close to him. After the first set of accusations, and intrusion, he married, and divorced, married again and had children - Michael still chose to live in Neverland. Then here came Martin Bashir’s dreadfully biased film, the second set of accusations, followed by the search of Neverland - watch the footage of it! Then the ensuing trial came. Neverland, the place which Michael had created for himself, where he felt at home, where he was surrounded by things he loved, where he was himself, was desecrated and made to become the center stage of the greatest intrusion into his private life ever! The trial was broadcasted worldwide and made to be a media spectacle. It was complete with everything (with the exception of a horse and a pony) - although no cameras were allowed inside, the trial got recreated for televising purposes utilizing actors in a horrid recreation which chronicled the events.
An excessive amount of media outlets were there to cover of the trial of the century. What they portrayed to their viewers was far from the truth! The majority of them were aware; some of them just followed the trail of others. There was nothing you could do wrong here as there were no journalism ethics applied - this was very clear, was it not? Very few of them acknowledged what was going on and went public, like William Wagener; some of them had doubts, and some of them changed their mind after the verdict -like Aphrodite Jones. However, the fact remains - Michael was once again catapulted into the spotlight and dragged through the media which exposed him to a massive onslaught. And all this in the very place he had created for himself to have some privacy, to be able to be himself... Michael was not allowed to have this dream fulfilled. Michael left Neverland after the trial because of the desecration of his of his home - first for Bahrain (could you imagine any place farther away, and I am not just talking about the geographical distance?), then for Ireland. When he returned to his home country, he came to Las Vegas and then to Los Angeles.
Michael never returned to Neverland - and he expressed his strong feelings of disdain regarding how he felt about the desecration of his home. The beauty of Neverland fell in disrepair. The zoo and the amusement park were all emptied and dismantled. Neverland became the focus of financial dealings, being in danger of foreclosure. While under Tohme Tohme's auspices, the remainder of Michael’s personal belongings were taken out of Neverland . This was done because the ranch now had new owners, which was a joint ownership including Michael and Colony Capital. In less than clear circumstances Michael’s belongings were supposed to be auctioned off by Julien's. These were his personal belongings! This happened as recently as in March, 2009. Michael had had to watch the closure of his home the Neverland Ranch and the dismantling of the zoo, the railway and the amusement rides. These were all of the things Michael cherished and had brought in to make his childhood dreams come true. And now his private belongings were being paraded around for public viewing, nicely presented in an auction catalog, and up for sales. This was yet another massive intrusion into his privacy. During the return to his home country the United States, concert promoters were trying to close deals with him, be it for Las Vegas shows or concert tours. AEG had a proposal on the table as early as first half of 2008 - more or less the same details as in 2009. Again, Michael would have been in the spotlight, performing. This was to be a major event headliner once again. First it was 10, and then 30, and then 50 concerts! Michael Jackson would again be heading to set yet another world record - while pushing it to the limits and beyond.
The footage from the rehearsals was made it into a movie; therefore we do not have the concerts, we got the movie, and the DVD, and the Blue-Ray. We can even acquire this movie the footage of which was filmed in the days just prior to June 25 - as an added bonus we now have technical gadgets like memory sticks! The techical gadgets are complete with his silhouette performing Billie Jean which is clearly depicted! This was the public Michael - the performing Michael, the Michael out there on the stage, in front of the cameras and the bright lights. The Michael that was there for the public since a very young age - again, listen to "I am a big boy now"... There was no place that Michael owned for himself, no place to retreat to - a place with no name... All Michael had were his children and he was attempting to protect their privacy by all means. By all means! Privacy was a big concern for him. Listen to "Privacy", and "Leave me alone". Think about what is stated when he is called a "reclusive" - he wanted times where he could be away from all of that. "Reclusive" to my ears has a negative connotation - he had a right to privacy! He had a right to be away from all this.
On June 25 again, even his death - the circumstances were broadcasted to the public. There was not ever any privacy - yet he was alone on that day. We have seen numerous statements, videos, opinions, interviews, search affidavits... We have even seen a photo of Michael in the ambulance, and be it a fluke or not, it does not take away from the fact that this photo is there because the public will purchase it! Regardless be it a fake or not, this is another intrusion into his privacy again! It is as if Michael is public domain - the property of and he owned by all of the masses, readily available – and packaged for retail sales on demand!
The autopsy reports were published, all three of them (I know of three versions), and details made the headlines. There is now even a fear that the photos taken during the autopsy might be leaked. Every day I look at the web and I am very afraid when seeing headlines related to these photos... It seems that the events of June 25 will be the subject of a lawsuit and a criminal trial. Both the civil and the criminal legal ramifications which involve Conrad Murray (Involuntary Manslaughter/Wrongful Death) incidentally place him in the epicenter. The civil wrongful death action is being brought on behalf of Mr. Joe Jackson - Michael’s father. Again there will be much more publicity surrounding the day he died - yet again!
We remember the memorial at the Staples Center (owned by AEG) and the funeral in Forest Lawn, Glendale - broadcasted live, and footage recorded. Once again on these days he was in the spotlight – the huge media coverage, the motorcar cavalcade - some say there were even thoughts of having a funeral parade for him in Los Angeles like the one Lady Diana had - helicopters circling in the air, and more. In the days just after June 25, there were rumors about a burial in Neverland - you recall, right? Can you see what this would have implicated? The place he had created for himself to get away from all of that and which became the focus of the greatest intrusion into his life ever - the place he left behind in 2005 with a vow to never return - this place would have become the final, and the ultimate place for him to perform in public again forever! A burial in Neverland would have created a second Graceland! Have you ever looked at the revenues Graceland yields? According to what I have read it is the most visited private home in the United States second only to the White House.
Neverland would have easily rivaled that hands down! There would be shops with plenty of merchandising along with thousands of people. His grave would have been in the center of it. A shrine possibly, decorated with all sorts of things. Michael, or rather the image the public has of him, would be performing again for his audience. Over and over again Michael is on that stage, in the spotlight with no privacy. NO, not even now, and all of this would have been in Neverland!
Mrs. Jackson, Michael’s mother had him buried in Forest Lawn Glendale, in a place secluded from the public. The gates were firmly closed and Michael had his privacy - finally! No more performances. No more spotlight - Lights out with Peace and serenity. You think so?
The first breach of privacy occurred last year already when photos were taken and published on TMZ. As a result, security was tightened, and all non members of the family who were on the visitors' list got removed from it. Moreover, this incident caused a lot of tension among fans and created a lot of rifts, if not to say hatred all with his grave being the center of it. Then, Debbie Rowe visited Forest Lawn, and afterward Conrad Murray, both events were filmed. This sparked discussions, controversies, media coverage and outrage. A few days ago, Lisa Marie Presley told the world on her Myspace profile what his grave looks like, behind those gates. During this public address she requested that the fans send sunflowers to Forest Lawn - for them to be placed inside the mausoleum since she felt the place looked lonesome. Here we go again, with this putting his grave into the spotlight. Some say that Lisa Marie Presley got it wrong and some looking for sources for sunflowers to send there, and TMZ picking up on it was this at all a coincidence?
Jason Levin was able to deliver anything between 1,500 and 3,000 sunflowers (the figures vary depending on the source) to his grave, practically overnight; there was mass delivery of sunflowers? Was this yet another Michael Jackson record to be reported about? TMZ even published a story regarding Lisa Marie Presley sending a thank you flower bouquet to the sunflower guy (sending a thank you flower bouquet to a flower seller?). Now how many stories did we get out of the sunflower appeal already? Is this no intrusion into his privacy? Is this not exploitation? Meanwhile yesterday, TMZ again had photos from inside the mausoleum on their website - showing the sunflowers surrounding his grave! Still, no privacy for Michael - more or less at the same time, we are seeing tweets about making his grave, the place his mother Mrs. Jackson chose for him to get his privacy after all those years publicly available-via the media? As a family they also have the right to privacy while they deal with personal affairs. Michael would be in the spotlight then again, performing for the public! On a day which had Michael exposed to the public like hardly any other day in his life - the day he died, a year ago! Once again, this sparks controversy and puts him in the spotlight. I have seen the first article now pondering if his grave may be moved to a more public site. Will it never end for him?
Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale is Michael's resting place. Here, he should find peace and rest and finally be out of the spotlight. Look at the videos of "I am a big boy now" that I mentioned at the beginning of my blog... No more performing, no more entertaining, just Michael! No more intrusions into his privacy! No more camping outside the gates of wherever he is, and no more peeping through the gates! He has been there for his audience for most, if not all of his life. Michael has performed for his audience many times over - he entertained us. Michael tried to open our eyes to the reality of this world. He tried to make this world a better place. What more could he give.
*Michael J. Jackson owes us nothing. Leave him alone let him rest in Forest Lawn now. After all of it is said and done, it is simple - let our hearts be with him, for all time.
Blanaid X Lives.
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-The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
-The nature of the copyrighted work
-The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
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