The missing piece from Michael Jackson’s biopic
I just don’t understand musical biopics. Not all biopics relate but when we are capturing a history of a musical legend such as Michael Jackson, a key detail SHOULD’VE been further discovered.
MJ is worldly known for his heartfelt music and stunning performances and the biopic was announced at the right time. Nostalgia flashed over generations in a time where we all need a distraction from reality. Most fans of MJ and his music knows the story of his upbringing and it was equally tough to watch. MJ’s nephew, Jaafar embodied Michael so seamlessly that at a glance, you’d think the real Michael was present. Jaafar’s performance was so excellent that fans and critics described the movie as a ‘Michael Jackson concert’ but why did the filmmakers skip over a very important detail?
Maybe I feel this way because I am a musician myself but I was intrigued to see the movie dive into Michael’s mind when creating these hits. Biopics are supposed to let the audience familiarise themselves with the PERSON behind the FAME. The mastermind behind the hits. The film starts describing Michael’s childhood growing up in The Jackson 5, enduring abuse from his father. Growing up within that environment, Michael escaped reality through bonding with animals, whether real or stuffed, cartoons and music. The movie briefly highlights Michael building himself up mentally and exploring manifestation and affirmations which is a direct result from the abuse. The movie could’ve dissected his mentality of maintaining positivity as a defence mechanism, revealing how this mindset led to healing and empowering music.
The music
Michael Jackson’s music is far from monotone. He has a diverse range of topics that he discusses such as love, war, empowerment, world peace..you name it, he wrote it. Everyone gives credit to his father for curating this pop legend but actually, all and complete credit goes to Michael himself. The movie clearly shows how Joe Jackson was poison to Michael and his career and because of him, the Pepsi incident happened. Suffering usually affects a person’s mind so much that they would self-destruct, but in Michael’s case, it pushed him to be better. He was controlled for the most of his life personally and musically which in result made Michael very intricate and intentional with how he wants his music to be produced. Some may comment on the fact that he is a Virgo (a perfectionist) as to why he was so detailed and somewhat strict with his creative art. But it is clear that he needed to control every added piece right down to drum patterns and vocal productions. His imagination stretched soo deep, that he created his own world and his higher self that all he had to do was step into it. He got so confident within himself that he turned negative phrases used against him into powerful taunts in his music. Short films were made by him for the audience to immerse into, almost the same way he would immerse himself into the worlds of tales and cartoons to escape reality.
The world loved Michael Jackson because we all felt understood and seen in one way or another. His childhood made him transition into the icon he is known for today. I just wish that the movie would dive in more because we were all witnesses to his rise to fame but we didn’t see how he got there. The true hardships, the true battles with his mind and self-image reimagined into music. How driven and dedicated he was to express himself to be seen. Not that he had to prove himself to his father, but to himself that he isn’t who his father described him to be. I wish that we had more personal insight to Michael Jackson’s creativity. The audience already feels connected to him through his music but the biopic would’ve made everyone more connected to his mind.
Nevertheless, it was a well-produced film and it was a nostalgic couple of hours where we were in the world of Michael Jackson. Do you think they should have driven deeper into the personal creative moments that produced the hits we all love today ?
