Dee said:
Uhm... didn't he try to make him self white-like? try to deny his blackness? Hardly a recipe for becoming a Gawd in the black community.
Dee, though Michael started his incessant plastic surgeries between his 2 albums OFF THE WALL and THRILLER (circa 1979 and 1984, IIRC) with his infamous nosejob (I think he did something to his eyes as well), the bulk of his metamorphosis occured between the end of his Thriller tour and before the launching of his next album, 'BAD'.
To answer your question, no I don't think he ever intended himself to become the standardbearer for the black community, and yes I think he suffered from a massive dose of self-loathing and self-image problems (resulting with endless plastic surgeries and workaholic patterns in search of love and acceptance from general public).
Yet despite all this, one cannot deny the fundamental change in America brought upon by this man, and two others from that same time period as far as mainstream white america's acceptance, and in some cases the embracing of black contribution to popular culture.
Apart from Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy is likely the first black actor to have successfully carried a mainstream Hollywood motion picture to blockbuster status (i.e.: mega-profitable) and to repeat that feat at least a half-dozen times. Before him, a few blacks made the attempt, such as Sydney Poitier, Richard Pryor, Pam Grier and Richard Roundtree, but none of them achieved Eddie's level of crossover appeal at that point. In the early 80's having a black person headline a major Hollywood film was almost unheard of, but today we have countless rap artists giving it their try (Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Ice Cube and Queen Latifah), Wrestlers like The Rock, comedians like Chris Tucker, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, to legitimate actors like Angela Bassett and Don Cheadle. The most succesful black actor today is likely a toss between Samuel Jackson and Denzel Washington.
Switching to the medium of television, the 70's was the turning point for the black community after decades of being nearly invisible on the boob tube. Finally eschewing the little sambo roles, some daring producers finally found their balls and broadcast a few shows that actually reflected black america. There were the Jeffersons, Sanford and Son with Redd Foxx, and Good Times with Jimmy Walker. The mini-series ROOTS was another eye-opening experience for whitebread america, but it would take another decade before a TV veteran would grab everyone's attention, black white or yellow, to became a household name: Bill Cosby stayed on the air for more years than anyone ever expected, retained White america's attention with family situations that they could relate to, yet the show still kept its integrity by openly displaying the concerns and everyday lives of an often-ignored minority. Cosby paved the way for more sitcoms with a similar vein (heck, the WB and UPN networks during their infant years seemed like all they had were black-themed sitcoms).
Which brings us back to Michael...
Despite all the many changes in North America's cultural landscape during the 70's for the blacks (finally getting a voice in cinema with BLAXPLOITATION films, tv shows with black actors and characters as the focal point rather than as insulting stereotypical background characters, the flourishing of Motown and its stable of amazing musicians and singers), they never seemed to break out of its niche audience and fans (blacks, minorities and urban whites).
In fact, many of the spectacular gains by blacks in the 70's seemed to peter out by the last few years of that decade: Motown's soul and funk was superceded by the white-dominated Disco movement (ironically since Disco was a funk offshoot that began in Black clubs, and gay clubs as well). You'd be very hard-pressed to see ANY hollywood movies at that time with a black lead character that wasn't just a co-star (as in Richard Pryor with Gene Wilder or Superman
). And television after a few strong years of social questioning with All in the Family, was deep in its GROOVY years with fluff shows like Charley's Angels, Love Boat, and Three's Company (I am racking my brain to try to remember any black actors on tv between 1978 and 1983, but I just can't).
Enter Michael Jackson...
Unlike the rest of his Motown brethren Diana Ross, Donna Summer and Lionel Ritchie who retired following the death of disco or who sunk into syrupy pop drivel, Michael shook off the doldrums that had strangled the music industry in the early 80's (Come on, I dare ya to name me a memorable musical act from 1980 to 1983. Christopher Cross? LOL) and kicked america in the ass with his album Thriller. Not content to just offer a bunch of really catchy tunes, he attacked the fledgling music video phenomenom and revolutionized it. To give the audience something to look at, he came up with a whole passel of dance moves that are still imitated today (even by Nathan J
).
Some of his stage costumes caught the public's fancy as well, and soon MJ'S red leather outfit from THRILLER was on the back of poseurs everywhere
.
Even more surprising that he became a success, but all of a sudden, everyone in white america soon knew who he was and bought and listened to his music. Even better yet, many people from almost every country in the world soon did the same. How often does that happen? He became the new Beatlemania, but spread out beyond the white community.
His success wetted the public's thirst for the next big thing, paving the way for other black artists who otherwise might have stayed in obscurity, such as Prince and the Revolution (and his army of tag-alongs, like Vanity, Morris Day and the Tyme, etc), Lenny Kravitz, Janet Jackson, Seal, which then opened the door for the Rap\Hip Hop domination of the last 2 decades.
If you ask most current black hip hop musicians, I would betcha most would credit Michael Jackson for busting down the colour barrier (even Justin Timberlake and his 'N Sync buddies publically thanked Michael once)...
Am I any more than a casual fan? No, but I am not blind to the changes in society brought about by this man's music.
