Talent and Turmoil: A Life In The Spotlight

As a child growing up, I remember, like most children, how badly I wanted to be a superstar. There were days I spent hours writing songs, singing, rehearsing lines from movies I had written and a whole host of other things to prepare me for fame. Although I ultimately took another path in life, I have thought a lot lately about my desire for fame as a youth particularly in light of the death of Michael Jackson. I truly believe that sometimes God’s rejection is his protection of you but I wonder who really ever protected this man.

The truth is it took me a moment to write this post because I had so many mixed emotions. Honestly, I’ve never been a huge Michael Jackson fan, or for that fact, music fan but even Michael Jackson's death struck a chord with me not because he was an iconic genius but because of the human frailty of his life and the recognition of him as a triumphant tragic figure.

Let's be honest. all of us have been touched by Michael Jackson in one way or another. He truly is the greatest celebrity of all times but he also highlights for me the tragedy of fame and fortune as well and the necessity of surrounding yourself with people vested in your life in a world or culture of vultures. Now, don't get me wrong, Michael did benefit from the celebrity life. After all, he made lots of money probably more than any of us could ever imagine. But he also experienced more pain than any of us could ever imagine. I bet if you could ask him whether the money was worth it, you may hear a resounding no because my sense is that underneath all of the sequenced gloves, jackets, and behind the moonwalk and the plastic surgeries lay a guy who only wanted what he never had: a childhood.

Many of us underestimate the blessings of a normal childhood. But, many of us as children, no matter how challenged our childhood, were able to do things most kids do: play freely with other kids, go to movies, etc. Michael Jackson, and many child stars, are never really able to do that. They live in a bubble and no one can imagine living that life forever.

What I feel most sad about with Michael Jackson’s death is that his life was one of talent and turmoil. Here's a man who devoted his life to entertain us and share his talent around the world. He brought us great music, interesting dances, bridged the black and white divide in the music industry, solidified the music video as a novel form of art and created fashion trends. Come on, admit it. How many of us had the Michael Jackson red jacket or the sequenced glove. Ok, I know most of us won’t admit it now but we did. It was cool. It was hot. It was the style. But for all this talent, there was turmoil. He lived in a bubble and has his personal life and demons displayed publicly for the entire world to see. When most of us leave our jobs, we can go home. He couldn’t and he spent his life around a group of yes men, people who used his fame and talent to obtain wealth and a litany of lawsuits because people saw him as a deep pocket: a way to amass quick riches.

In the end, Jackson was a triumphant tragic figure. I hope in death he finds what he never did in life: true peace and serenity.

Posted below is the video to Michael Jackson’s song Childhood. In an interview, he says it was the most honest song he ever wrote and it’s his attempt to get others to understand his intricacies and what many of us termed weird behavior. I encourage you to listen to it and if you ever think fame and fortune is worth the tradeoff this video may teach you differently.