How Michael Jackson changed the world for the better
It is next to impossible to accurately describe how much of an impact Michael Joseph Jackson had and still has on this planet. His influence is still reverberating to this day. I personally have been greatly inspired by his talent and overall kind demeanor. I hope to implement some of his characteristics into my own life. This is how I feel Michael Jackson changed the world for the better:
- Artistry
Michael Jackson was the ultimate artist. It would be an understatement to say that every aspect of his performance, appearance and public persona was thought out very carefully. We are lucky to have a collection of his live concerts on YouTube for those of us who have never got the chance to see him perform live. Every step and ad-lib seemed to be purposely executed. Features of his performance; vocals, choreography, costume and music, combined together to achieve the level of perfection that Jackson strived for, and Michael Jackson was the ultimate perfectionist. “Billie Jean" had 91 mixes and they ended up using mix number two.
“I do deeply believe in perfection. I’m never satisfied. I’ll cut a track or something, I’ll come home and I say, ‘No, that’s not right, we got to do it over, it’s not right.’ And then go back and back and back. Then, when it’s finally out, you say, ‘Darn it, I should have done this.’ It’s Number One on the charts, you’re still screaming about what you should have done.”
- Philanthropy
Growing up in Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson and his family pretty much came from nothing. They had a small 2 bedroom house with 11 occupants. So he was empathetic for people living in poverty-stricken areas. He performed many benefit concerts when with the Jackson 5 but this would only be the start of his charitable work. For most of his concerts he would visit childrens' hospitals and orphanages in whatever country he was performing, to bring smiles to their faces. He payed for funerals of school shooting victims in Stockton and tried to stay anonymous. He saved the life of a young orphan boy in Romania who needed a new liver and paid for his treatment for 10 years. He founded a burn center in Los Angeles after he himself suffered burns from a pyrotechnics accident. There are many stories like this that show how much Michael Jackson gave back to people in need. He even held a Guinness world record for the most donations given to charity by a single musician. - Raising awareness and consciousness
Being such a public figure as Jackson was, comes with responsibility and a civic duty to be a role model for younger people. Throughout his life he lead by example on how to lead a moral life. Jackson’s songs often raise awareness of global issues such as poverty, injustice, environmental protection and above all else, love. Earth Song is a clear example of a song that raises awareness of the neglect of our environment in favour of profit. Jackson had been carrying the banner for environmental issues long before it was trendy to do so. - Modesty and humility
In interviews, Jackson was rarely seen boasting, bringing other artists down or resting on his laurels. He always was modest of his immense talent. He never thought of what he did as good enough. In 1983, at the Motown 25 special, Michael unveiled his iconic moonwalk to the public for the first time but he revealed later that he was unhappy about how he didn’t stay on his toes for longer during another iconic MJ move. In home video footage, Jackson says that one regret he had was that he wished he could have practiced more. He wanted to be even better than he achieved. He never bragged about his wealth, talents or achievements . When meeting distinguished people from all over the world, Jackson was courteous and respectful. He never spoke out of place during these visits and was very polite. - Passion for life and learning
Michael Jackson was a student of the greats that came before him. From dancers such as Bill Robinson, Bob Fosse, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire to vocalists such as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Nat King Cole and Marvin Gaye to overall entertainers like James Brown, Sammy Davis Jr, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and many more. Jackson studied them all in an almost obsessive way.
“Study the greats and become greater” - Michael Jackson.
It is this characteristic that has inspired many after him to be great. He had a passion for learning and life in general. He took inspiration from nature, animals and children, the three purest forms of life untainted by an ungodly world.
- Struggle with adversity and racism
There have unfortunately been many moments in Jacksons life where he has had to overcome racism, innuendos and allegations. When the Jacksons first arrived in Los Angeles, they were met with a lot of hate. A lot of people in the neighbourhood didn’t take kindly to seeing black people in Mercedes cars.
“The Jacksons were the first family in line to truly benefit from the post-civil-rights era with America’s new open-arms policy toward black entertainment,” says Questlove.
The media seemed to be fixated on Jackson’s personal life and they really were determined to expose secrets that would help them to sell papers. The media love a fallen star and the public love a good tragedy. Through all this, however, Jackson stayed composed. He denied all rumours, listened to advisors, did interviews, went to trial and was acquitted. He did not hide from these accusations, although it would be very understandable to ignore and not comment on these rumours.
- Selflessness
“My bliss is giving and sharing and having simple innocent fun"- Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s generosity was rarely mentioned in the media. He lived for giving his all to the fans in his performance even if he didn’t like to tour. He wanted the audience to come away with something to think about after leaving his concerts. His generosity didn’t stop at his performance. He opened up his home to young people from the Los Angeles community and beyond and shared his fantastic creation that was Neverland with astounding fun fair rides, a zoo, arcade games, movie theatre and a fully operational train. He always had a mentality of giving away materialistic things. In Jermaine Jackson’s book, he describes his brother Michael using the allowance he earned from performing for Motown to buy sweets to share with the neighbourhood kids, in hope of making friends his own age. Although not a completely selfless act, above all, he wanted to share. Reading stories like this has inspired many including myself to think more about others.
We can safely say that Michael Jackson changed the world for the better. My hope is that more people will get introduced to Michael Jackson and learn his message. He was a one of a kind never to be replicated again.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/michael-jackson-talks-perfection-god-in-odd-blank-on-blank-interview-60956/amp/
https://apnews.com/article/07fd5f477d6551db862e18a0e27eed37
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/michael-jackson-black-superhero-71199/amp/
