Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
It's weird to think about a world with out Michael Jackson. Being a product of the 80s, for some reason I always felt that despite whatever weird hijinks the eccentric pop star was getting into, he'd always be there as a reminder of where I came from, of days gone by. But now that the legend has shuffled off this mortal coil, I find myself surprisingly pensive at the death of a man who was simultaneously celebrity, mystery, oddity, and legend in my eyes.
Despite being raised a very conservative Christian family, some of my earliest memories of music and movie are off none other than Michael Jackson. For some reason or another, I have the most vivid memories of watching both the Jackson film Moonwalker and the Epcot 3D film Captain Eo on multiple occasions with my parents, especially the former in VHS form. Why or how these films ended up being favored by my parents, I admit, is still mystery, but so vividly are watching these films etched into my memory, that they are some of the fondest and earliest memories I can recall. And though I admit that as I grew up I only became a casual fan of his work as the renowned singer became stranger and stranger, I now feel a deep sense of loss that something so integrally tied to the development of my consciousness is gone.
Even though I was also greatly moved by the passing of author Michael Crichton last year, a man who arguably has had more impact on my development as an adult, this for some reason resonates more deeply than perhaps I will ever fully understand. Without being too metaphysical, I think the best way I can describe this moment is like the embodiment of Debussy's Clair de Lune from Suite Bergamasque. Sad, yet sweetly so, like the last and final reminder that my childhood now firmly belongs to a time long since past.
And despite whatever he may have become, I prefer in this somber time to remember him as he was: a genius talent and an unalienable figure in history of my mind.
Rest well Michael, and may God grant you peace.