The Reveal
Are you one of the millions following the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray? If you are, you have company. I too am following this case involving the death of the self-proclaimed “King of Pop”. Although in the end, Michael Jackson proved the title warranted, as we watch this saga pan out, all was not well in the kingdom. Day by day, the trial was bringing out bits and pieces of the mega-star’s private life. The tragedy of his personal life and the stark reality of his death through the showing of his autopsy photos, bring to us the truth. Michael Jackson is dead. Dead as the fantasy of what his life was and how out of that death we learn about the man instead of the super star. We will learn the problems he endured, but with all things, time will spotlight the great accomplishments of what he did, and only faint residue of his transgressions will remain. His problems may be no more than many of us suffer in life, but his took center stage because of whom he was.
Because this trial is focusing on how he died, we want to know why; why did this have to happen just as Michael Jackson was making his comeback? What did he do to deserve his demise? Is it fair to say that he caused this end himself or was this how he had to go? We all wonder what led to this. The key to this may be drugs. Yes. This has been the tragedy of many Hollywood personalities both music and acting stars. Michael Jackson paid a price for stardom that proved to be too much. However, were drugs the primary source or more hidden beneath the surface something more despairing?
Admiration Most Unholy
For over 30 years, we followed the career of Michael Jackson and reveled in his talent. However, as his career grew, so did his fan base, some in which might be leaning toward pure worship. This idol worship might have contributed to his delusion of life particularly how he saw himself. Not withholding the unfortunate devastating disease vitiligo, but the sense that he did not think himself good enough physically. That somehow he had to be someone else altogether to reach the audience he wanted. This perhaps arrested his mental state pushing him to thrive for that unattainable dream. This adoration may have caused his death indirectly. Could it be possible that the doctor, whom he entrusted with his health, worshiped him as the star instead of caring about the human being? Michael Jackson throughout his life surrounded himself with these kinds of people. They could not say no to him, because they saw him as omnipotent that could admonish them from his presence. They wanted to bask in his glorious kingdom of stardom. He was rich and this was what they wanted. His fans became his royal subjects that he believed he owed everything to, because he, Michael Jackson needed them. He needed them to love him, because he could not love himself enough to find true happiness. He came alive on the stage; all of his inhibitions melted away and he could release the pain and emptiness he felt in an audience of adoring and exalting followers. Does this seem unnatural?
To those of us who are fortunate to live an average life with real friends and loved ones surrounding us daily, it is. With so much wealth and demand for excellence, this kind of naturalness was not easily attainable for Michael. You see he was not average by any sense of the word. His life was never normal. People stop seeing him as a person. They saw only the super star, the greatest entertainer in the world. A man who seemed with all the good fortune in life had no life. A man who created a “Neverland” to find solace and peace, to be a child again, could not be normal. Michael Jackson was not whole. He was broken and on June 25, 2009, he was beyond repair, Michael Jackson, the man, the super star died. However, the real man was dying for years long before Dr. Conrad Murray injected the Propofol, the drug that killed him.
His comeback tour “This is It” meant his resurrection. He still needed that love, that sense of belonging, that sense that he was relevant. Would this resurrection also reveal who the man was as his career catapult to the top again? We will never know. We can learn from his life. We can learn that no one is greater because of his or her wealth and fame alone. We all have talents to admire for the betterment of humanity. That is why it is senseless to relish too much in others accomplishment over your own. It is also unhealthy to desire solely in the admiration of others for your talent. Michael Jackson confused the love of fans for real love of family and friends who loved him, the man, for himself. Fans become fanatics, insecure people who are empty seeking identity through the stars they admire. Their identity becomes the star. In this, case Michael Jackson. Reaction to his death was painful to the fans that followed him, because a part of them was gone. Therefore, it was with Michael, his fans were his reason for living. Without them, he was alone with his thoughts and private demons.
Dreams Unfulfilled
To learn more about other famous people with troubled and infamous lives, these links will direct you. You may be surprised at whom you admired was not the happy souls you remembered.
- The tragic and tempestuous life of Palm Beach’s forgotten star, Lili Damita
- 7 Most Tragic Rock Overdoses
- 10 Bizarre and Tragic Celebrity Suicides
- Tragic and Untimely End: Remembering Those Silent Stars Who Died Before Their Time
- Tragic Star: The Life of Montgomery Clift
- 16 Celebrity Drug Overdoses We Should Have Seen Coming
