Life is a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel.
- Horace Walpole, son of Britain's first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole.
How many days and weeks more will the media mourn the passing of Michael Jackson? There is an unwritten rule that funerals - even state funerals - take place within a week of the individual's passing. Churchill lay in state for three days, I believe, which is about the maximum that any emminent person (not that Michael Jackson is anything close to an emminent person) would or should be granted. Even Princess Diana's ceremonial funeral - which surely must have followed the most prolonged show of public mourning in modern history - was over in six days.
Michael Jackson's public outporing is now going on pretty near twice that, and the mainstream media continues to dedicate hours and hours, days and days without end. This is clearly ridiculous and undignified and is a clear symptom of how sickly comedic we have become as a civilisation. Yes, comedic, the night show host Jon Stewart should be all over this, but he won't because he would lose his ratings and even his entertainment business if he so much as pointed out the faux tragedy of all this. I freely admit that I may have emulated the moonwalk with my high school chums back in 1982 (I was not always the traditionalist I purport to be, that began to seep in a bit later), but the moonwalkers out there need to dethrill themselves and move on.
That's what happens when you deny society their role models and proper idols. When men are forbidden to honour a king, they honour false kings. Deny them food and they will gobble poison.
"I freely admit that I may have emulated the moonwalk with my high school chums back in 1982 (I was not always the traditionalist I purport to be, that began to seep in a bit later), but the moonwalkers out there need to dethrill themselves and move on."
ReplyDeleteAha! To quote the name of a popular 80s band from Norway. We at last know Beaverbrook's dark secret!!!
That CS Lewis quote has been running through my head for days. What poison too!
wincing ...
ReplyDeleteI quite agree with the sentiments in this article, they are elevating this person's to a God barely, and consider how they treated the real one when He came to earth!
ReplyDeleteThe whole mindset of today is quite sickening, the infatuation with these sorts of people who never actually quite do anything other than make a bunch of noise and call it music, or appear on screen a few times and make a mess of themselves emotionally.
Sure, they may donate large portions of their fortunes to good causes, or try and use their fame to the good of mankind, but that is like encouraging burglary if the burglars all pledge to give half their "profits" to some charitable cause, they shouldn't be receiving that money or fame anyways!
Perhaps I do not "appreciate" this particular persons "talents", after all, I have never taken the time to learn who this fellow actually was, but it is becoming extraordinarily hard to NOT find out who he was with his face plastered over media everywhere now. And I daresay they don't give this sort of honour to the true heroes, our police force, fire fighters, seamen, soldiers and airmen, our heroes from the past, our veterans, people of that sort.
I saw a poll on Yahoo around D-Day: Do we honour our veterans enough?
Compared to how we honour, people, like this, that should be clearly a resounding "No!".
That serves me right for not reading it over before I posted, apologies. I meant to say 'basically' not 'barely' halfway through the first paragraph.
ReplyDeleteBeavers, you Moonwalk? The mind boggles at your talents. I'd pay to see that - mind you, I'd also pay to put you on the Moon, permanently. :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, at least Jackson has earned it by writing his own music and coming up with his own dance moves, unlike the many who are famous today. I can't see anything wrong with it myself - for girls scream and cry, and get emotional, when they see our Princes. I have never understood that either. They don't even write good music.
No doubt next you'll alienate Elvis and Beatles fans. I'm not convinced this is a good strategy. These fans all have votes in future referendums.
Beaverbrook, How dare you question bowing down to a man that penned such stunning lyrical poetry as:
ReplyDeleteBecause I'm Bad, I'm Bad-
Come On
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
You Know I'm Bad, I'm Bad-
You Know It
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
You Know I'm Bad, I'm Bad-
You Know It, You Know
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
Woo! Woo! Woo!
(And The Whole World Has
To Answer Right Now
Just To Tell You Once
Again . . .)
You Know I'm Bad, I'm Bad-
Come On
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
You Know I'm Bad, I'm Bad-
You Know It-You Know It
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
You Know, You Know, You
Know, Come On
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
And The Whole World Has To
Answer Right Now
(And The Whole World Has To
Answer Right Now)
Just To Tell You
(Just To Tell You Once Again)
You Know I'm Smooth, I'm
Bad, You Know It
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
You Know I'm Bad, I'm
Bad Baby
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
You Know, You Know, You
Know It, Come On
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
And The Whole World Has To
Answer Right Now
(And The Whole World Has To
Answer Right Now)
Woo!
(Just To Tell You Once Again)
You Know I'm Bad, I'm Bad-
You Know It
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
You Know I'm Bad-You
Know-Hoo!
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
You Know I'm Bad-I'm Bad-
You Know It, You Know
(Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
And The Whole World Has To
Answer Right Now
(And The Whole World Has To
Answer Right Now)
Just To Tell You Once Again . . .
(Just To Tell You Once
Again . . .)
Who's Bad?
I said music, not songs. :-)
ReplyDeleteMichael Jackson was simply too ubiquitous a figure in pop culture for me to have succesfully ignored at my age. I know Peter Hitchens et al, claim to have not noticed him and maybe if I was 10 years older, or had Michael Jackson arrived 10 years later, I too would have paid no attention. But he was a gifted entertainer, if a somewhat strange transexual deviate with an Egyptian pharaoh complex.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the King of Rock who also was huge during my childhood, was a much more humble and down-to-earth man, and exhibited none of the narcissism in death currently on display in Neverland.
How can you exhibit narcissism when you're dead? Answers on a postcard. At least you acknowledge he was a gifted entertainer. To be honest, this is what puzzles me about this blog. One minute there is a demand for individuals to make their own way in the world, to make as much money as they like, free from the Government. As soon as someone does, he is then knocked. A case of tall poppy syndrome. You can get on in life, just as long as I agree with how far it goes. It creates a false choice. It says "bow to The Queen or bow to what inspires you". Yet you can bow to both. You can be a MJ fan as well as a monarchist. For one in ten people own a Michael Jackson record - that's a rather large constituency to alienate.
ReplyDelete"...a somewhat strange transsexual deviate with an Egyptian pharaoh complex."
Do you know they vote in referendums too? :-)
I read somewhere that Michael Jackson had been proposed to appear on a Postage Stamp to be issued by one of HM's Commonwealth territories but that owing to the child abuse trial and controversy HM vetoed this. Does anyone know if this is true?
ReplyDeleteIt is false.
ReplyDeleteNeil,
ReplyDeletePart of what makes monarchists, monarchists is that they value those things that are objectively good, true, and beautiful. This means that there must needs be an antithesis. Thus, when one sees that which is objectively not good, true and beautiful, regardless of how successful or popular, one points out that this is so. This is the case with Michael Jackson - and it applies to his work, and his life.
Well said, Mr Jeff. While freedom is good there is a level of personal responsibility we all have, to be good citizens, act uprightly and humbly and do worthwhile things.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it is not that Mr Jackson made money, but the way he made the money; Singing, dancing, acting and things like that, to me, do not seem as deserving of large salaries or public adoration as much as more worthwhile pursuits.
Gentlemen,
ReplyDeleteIt is not so much a question of "what we allow," as Mr. Welton seems to think, as a question of "culture" we find disagreeable.
Of course we don't use force against something just because we don't like it, but if we don't like it, we can of course say so.
Also, I did not give in to peer pressure and approve of Mr. Jackson, but I cannot say I did not notice him.
Do you really think I am worried about alienating MJ fans, or the followers of Britney Spears? Are we to tread so lightly against this vacant servitude, in the hopes of winning them over to our cause? I should think that many people are instantaneously offended by this site and what it stands for without the need to ever read one of its syllables. Maybe we should clam up and erase ourselves from the ether before we offend too many more people.
ReplyDeleteAny plans to have a thread on Prince William's 2010 visit to God's Own Country ? Thanks.
ReplyDelete;-)
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25748023-5006301,00.html
"One minute there is a demand for individuals to make their own way in the world, to make as much money as they like, free from the Government. As soon as someone does, he is then knocked. A case of tall poppy syndrome. "
ReplyDeleteNeil there is a distinction between the legal and the tasteful. The market is simply a mechanism. Culture determines what the market produces. Once upon a time the superstar of the age was GF Handel. Better culture than ours. Having bigger government isn't going to get us better culture. Blogs like this will.
I quite agree with Beaverbrook. Hopefully this site offends many people. They're the sort of people who would never consider supporting the Monarchy or high culture. Being offended is often a good thing. It gets people thinking. You don't change things by cravenly surrendering to the worst.
There are comparisons to be made between M. Jackson and Diana, Princess of Wales.
ReplyDeleteBoth Diana & Jackson suffered a pathos of self-destruction. Diana’s numerous problems point to a borderline personality disorder; Mr. Jackson was a pure narcissist.
More disturbing is the mindless, hysterical mass-worship of such pathological pop icons. “Those who believe in nothing are apt to believe anything.” So many are circling around the toilet drain…
There are two theories that I have come up with to explain the possible outpouring of "grief" over MJ:
ReplyDelete(1)We are on the road to hell as a society, mourning some pixie-nosed sociopath on this scale. How are we a cultured society if we have no culture? (2) We are reminiscing over what was, compared to today, simpler times. In the 80s, Michael was still a black man. Before that, he was a black child. We mourn THAT person, and those times, not necessarily this individual that has just passed.
@ Kipling: "Hopefully this site offends many people. They're the sort of people who would never consider supporting the Monarchy or high culture. Being offended is often a good thing. It gets people thinking. You don't change things by cravenly surrendering to the worst."
ReplyDeleteHear hear! If the uncultured of the world dislike you, then you know you must be doing well. Make them sweat a bit.