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Michael (2026)
Director: Antoine Fuqua.
This is not a biography proper. It shows how Michael's father regularly whacked him for no obvious reason, under the pretext of disciplining him. None of the other brothers seems to have received much spanking. The whacking and the management of Michael's musical direction and finances seem a good reason for Michael to move out and be his own boss.
The film spans the period from Michael's time with the Jackson Five in the late 60s to the 'Bad' world tour in 1998. It shows how a child star evolves into a runaway success and releases the biggest album of all time, 'Thriller'. It tells of the small, make-believe 'Peter Pan' world he built, his exotic pets (a snake, a llama and a chimpanzee), and his fatherly relationship with his driver and bodyguard, Bill Bray.
People do not want to know all of this. They want the juicy stuff, including what happened in Neverland, the alleged scandals, his plastic surgeries, and details about his kids, their mothers, and his propofol days. Sadly, fans have to wait for the second part of 'Michael', if there is one. It is unlikely to contain anything controversial, as the Jackson estate is the film's producer.
To delve deeper into the inner workings of Neverland, the sleepovers, and Michael's children, one should watch Martin Bashir's eight-month, one-on-one interview with Michael Jackson, titled 'Living with Michael Jackson' (2003). Bashir was taken on a tour of Neverland Ranch, met his children, and discussed his family, childhood, plastic surgery, and his relationship with other children. The interview proved highly damaging, harming Michael's public image and subsequently leading to a criminal investigation.
One jarring thing in the movie is the absence of Janet Jackson from the cast as a member of the Jackson household. La Toya and the other boys are there, but not Janet. That reminds me of a tabloid rumour in the 90s that Janet did not exist. It was Michael who dolled up as his sister. It went on for years until they were photographed together. It seems Janet had creative differences with the rest of the family over how Michael should be portrayed. Hence, her mysterious absence.
In 1984, one of the societies at the varsity decided to raise money for charity. They had this fantastic idea to project MTV music videos onto the lecture hall's white screens to raise funds. It was the first time many of us saw the full-length 'Thriller' with MJ in his original face. We were blown away. Of course, what the society did was illegal, but nobody snitched. So it was all good. The funds must be kosher, then.
There are far too many documentaries, podcasts and even feature films that tell a different story about MJ's life. To be frank, in our day-to-day lives, we frequently come across people with unusual views of the world. They may talk funny, think funny and behave in an unconventional, quirky manner. This is how MJ was, I think. A prodigy and a musical genius who viewed the world through a different lens. That is what sets him apart from the average musician. These high achievers have a different way of doing things. Hence, their behaviours are deemed bizarre by the rest of us. These eccentricities do indeed make the world go round.
Farouk Gulsara (asokansham@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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