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Divinity in Devotionby Syl Mortilla
What kind of man inspires a devotion in which, in the absence of any official Mecca for their martyred hero, fans organise pilgrimages to the impenetrable, ‘mere’ gates of his house?; What kind of man generates a loyalty entirely unfazed, infinite and unwavering, despite daily ad hominem attacks on them and his supporters? (They may take the skin off our fingers, but never our fingerprints.); What kind of man invokes rapture at the slightest sight of his twitching a curtain? What kind of man enkindles vigils?
It is the kind of man who, when conspired against and confronted with the most expensive attempted character assassination in history, remained dignified before defending himself by utilising his art: an album featuring music that bore his naked soul for all to see; an album that featured rage at oppression, with a short film using aerial footage of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, with the words, “Michael, eles nao ligam pra gente” (“Michael, they don’t care about people”) spoken over its introduction; an album that contained specific retaliation at one particularly obsessed oppressor, the Santa Barbara District Attorney (or B.S.D.A as he’s referred to in the song); a slice of art that attempted to elicit action for change, through a sincere fear for the welfare of planet Earth (it was a sad day indeed when Michael Jackson, of all people, sang the words, “I used to dream / I used to glance beyond the stars / Now I don’t know where we are / Although I know / We’ve drifted far”); it was an artistic response that was confessional and explanatory; and finally, it was a reaction of catharsis and solace, in the form of a take on his own personal hero, Charlie Chaplin.
It is the kind of man who, when sabotaged by his record company, organised a protest atop a double decker bus: an anti-establishment hero, in any given way; it is the kind of man who transformed the curse of a disease into a totem of equality; who, singlehandedly, using his unparalleled level of fame, attempted to undo centuries of minstrel mockery of his race, yet not with a sense of vengeance, but with a motive of human unity; it is the kind of man who made a concerted effort to be Christ-like; who poured his wealth on the poor and emulated the children; it is the kind of man that taught us that perception is merely a reflection of oneself, that love is truth, and that sacrifice is something to aspire to.
The man, of course, is Michael Jackson.
There is a divinity in devotion. And by devotion, I don’t mean blind loyalty. On the contrary, to fully appreciate and love someone is to do so unconditionally, in spite of their recognised flaws. Michael was human. He was not perfect. But he believed that nothing was beyond hope if it could be bombarded with love; and it was his insistence on these ideal beliefs, and the use of his great power to promote these beliefs, that was surely divinely inspired.
With today’s news of the May 13th release of the new album, Xscape, and as exciting as that may or may not be (let’s hope the album doesn’t feature any imposters this time. You know, just to be polite), it is important to remember that we should not let our devotion be taken advantage of, and capitalised upon. It is a testament to Michael’s invincibility that his posthumous albums are promoted with all the hype as if he were still alive – which other artist gets that treatment? – but it is our devotion to his wishes as a humanitarian and the preservation of the iconic art that he signed off himself, that keeps him alive; not the success of a marketing campaign focussed solely on turning a profit for people mismanaging Michael’s accounts.
Michael’s very soul went into his response to being labelled as a child molester. Yet, the Estate are bewilderingly silent when it comes to defending Michael from more recent accusations. Let us not be distracted by the dollar-generating substandard shiny things the Estate dangle before us. I look forward to hearing Michael’s voice again as much as anyone, but I maintain that we must never forget that it is us who are responsible, through our support of the Estate or lack thereof, for the quality control of Michael’s legacy and his humanitarian reputation.
It is us that will decide if they are are doing our devotion justice.
http://sylmortilla.com/2014/03/31/divinity-in-devotion/
***traduzione a breve***
Edited by ArcoIris - 4/4/2018, 14:32
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