It was an eery afternoon for many on Thursday, July 25th. At about 4:00pm, I had a conversation with my friend on the way to work, discussing the death of Farrah Fawcett. I then proceeded to start this topic.
"I wonder how many entertainment figures would get a huge global response when they pass away," I said.
I thought Elton John or Paul McCartney, perhaps Meryl Streep or Barbra Streisand. What I didn't think of was Michael Jackson, but no later than 2 hours after that discussion did the whole world shutter in disbelief when the King of Pop passed away.
People die all the time (yes, it's scary, but our time will come too), but our responses vary greatly. Ed McMahan and Farrah Fawcett passed away last week too, but it was only Michael Jackson who gave us all a "WAIT WHAT?! No, I refuse to believe it" response.But when I look back at Michael Jackson, I can't really say it's a human who passed away. After all, his appearance matches that of, well, no one. The guy was truly one of a kind. What's sad, is that my first instinct was to make jokes with my co-workers when Jackson passed away.
"It doesnt matter if you're black or white--you're dead!"
"Do you think Michael Jackson sang 'You Are Not Alone' to Farrah Fawcett on their way to heaven?"
"Oh, Michael Jackson was sent to the hospital? Wonder if it was a Children's hospital."
What's sad is that I'm actually upset that we didn't get a chance to see Jackson's progression into old age. You know, like what that face would have looked like, or if his nose would just fall off completely.
But what I find eery about this whole death is the aftermath. This was just one man (again, hard to tell by looking), who had the power to make an impact on the entire world. With facebook statuses updating at a rapid rate, crowds flocking in memoriam, and Jackson's music blasting from cars on the road, we recognize that this man, Michael Jackson, is probably one of the small handful of people who can create such an impact when they die.
No comments:
Post a Comment