6 Questions about MJ and the Media.

[MJ STUDENT RESEARCHER]

Hello, I am a student currently undertaking dissertation project about the media portrayal of Michael Jackson. I have 6 questions and would appreciate if you could take the time to answer as honestly as you can.
The questions are not intended to offend anyone and are purely for research. All answers will be treated with confidentiality.
You can reply on the thread or email me directly on sss23@le.ac.uk.

Thank you.

QUESTIONS:
1. What was it about MJ's life and music that made you a strong fan?

2. How have your feelings about Michael Jackson changed since his death?

3. What are your thoughts on the media representation of MJ?

4. What were your reactions and feelings towards MJ following Bashir's MJ documentary?

5. Do you feel that any of the negative portrayal of MJ in the press coverage before his death influenced your judgement of the man?
If yes, in what ways?
If no, why do you feel this is?

6. How do you think MJ will be seen by the upcoming generation 20 years on from now?

 

[bowen9999]

1. I initially became a fan of Michael’s music back in 1983 when I first saw the Billie Jean video. I fell in love right there & then… within in weeks, my bedroom walls were plastered with posters of Michael! I believe Michael was a musical genius… his music was so different to anything else out there at the time. He was an innovator and a huge inspiration to others (including myself). Since then, I’ve bought every album he ever released and many books. Michael was the most loving person I’ve ever come across… his humanitarian and charitable efforts are second to none. How anyone cannot love this man is beyond me!
2. No. Why would they?

3. I despise the media (TV and printed). They sensationalise everything about Michael Jackson and paint a picture that is far from the truth. They sought to ruin him during the child molestation charges and (to my knowledge) have never set the record straight and now they’re out to discredit his legacy by portraying him as a drug addict. They should be reporting on his music and humanitarian work – his true legacy - rather than sensationalist rumours.

4. My feelings towards MJ never changed. My feelings towards Bashir on the other hand did.

5. No. I know what I know about Michael and that’s all I need to know. I don’t believe anything I read in the press anymore – I do my own research and make my own conclusions.

6. I hope & pray he will be remembered for the wonderful man he truly was. I hope he will be remembered for his music and humanitarian work.


Now, can I ask you the same questions?

 

[jsimpson9]

QUESTIONS:
1. What was it about MJ's life and music that made you a strong fan?

His incredible talent, the fun entertainment and the majic of it all and what made me so dedicated to him was his loving nature and humanitarian message which inspired me as a 14 yr old and still does today.

2. How have your feelings about Michael Jackson changed since his death?

They havent

3. What are your thoughts on the media representation of MJ?

disgusting; modern day lynch mob and completely typical of what we do in human society.

My theory has been that because MJ trancends all human boundaries of race, age, sex and other stupid catagories we impose upon ourselves, that the media didnt know how to present him; never before has someone been so famous in our globalised world and transended sociological boundaries. So the only way the media could portray him was as an oddity.

4. What were your reactions and feelings towards MJ following Bashir's MJ documentary?

see above - Bashir's documentary is a very good example of the above merged with that dispicable man's own greed for career advancment.


5. Do you feel that any of the negative portrayal of MJ in the press coverage before his death influenced your judgement of the man?
If yes, in what ways?

Never; I always saw it for what it was and spent my teenage years defending MJ at school against all the sheep zombies who read the news of the world; this included my parents friends and other adults.

If no, why do you feel this is?

Because I was blessed enough to not be duped by media as so many are and were. Michael's humanity and love and joy for life and innocence shone through and still do.

6. How do you think MJ will be seen by the upcoming generation 20 years on from now?

As a genius; in history you see it all the time- in life they are persecuted and shunned by their contempories and publics because the public are not advanced enough to understand the genius. (Michaelangelo was banned from Rome at one point of his life as they thought him a devil worshipper because he was researching the human body using corpses!!) Darwin was portrayed as evil because of the truth he forced the world to see.
There are many many innovators that were shunned by their communities for their forward thinking and creative work; Michael is our one. In the future his sotry will be romanticised and his work and message will be understood and appreciated and people will debate his significance on 20/21st century popular culture, racial relations, globalisation and universalism. I will be 84 in 2065 and I hope to see this day.

 

[MusaedJackson]

1. What was it about MJ's life and music that made you a strong fan?

1. His music touched me, his music is different, the vocals, rhythm .. it goes directly to your heart, and i loved that, because his songs always remind us or teach us of something important, he want us to feel him, to feel stuff thro his music!, his humanitarian music, one of the most amazing thing i like about him is, i never saw something negative about him at all, he's always right! hes perfect, he's a legend!




2. How have your feelings about Michael Jackson changed since his death?

2. Am still sad, very sad, i get pain in my heart whenever i look or listen to his music, really, it hurts me, i can't take the idea he's gone we all growed up listening to this angel, he's part of all of us, just like we lost one of our family members .



3. What are your thoughts on the media representation of MJ?

3. Very ugly ugly ugly media! Michael has always told us about the media, when you say to me media, the picture goes throw my mind now is, "people are setting in their offices, creating stories about successful people out there, trying to get them down for any reason, and getting money at the same time! and this is what happened with Michael!



4. What were your reactions and feelings towards MJ following Bashir's MJ documentary?

4. The same is media! this is very sad and ill never let this man live, because hes a part of the main problem that caused the death of our angel michael jackson, hes ugly, Michael trusted him to reveal the truth, but he cheated, he lied, he did this to catch attention, to get famous, and money at the same time, I hope he burn in hell now!




5. Do you feel that any of the negative portrayal of MJ in the press coverage before his death influenced your judgement of the man?
If yes, in what ways?
If no, why do you feel this is?


5. No, no hell media can change the image of michael in us, true fans, even people who are really smart, michael always warned us of this bad media, i don't listen to media, if you listen to mj's music, you will know what i mean exactly.




6. How do you think MJ will be seen by the upcoming generation 20 years on from now?

6. A very unique, creative, amazing man, people will understand him more, people will love his amazing music, his new ideas, projects, haters will start to understand him! and i believe in that, i love him so much and i'll never forget him no matter what, RIP MICHAEL, I MISS HIM SO MUCH .


Thanks

 

[bowen9999]

Guys, please read question 4 carefully....

What were your reactions and feelings towards MJ following Bashir's MJ documentary?

He is not asking for our opinion on Bashir.

 

[johnmj]

Hello, I am a student currently undertaking dissertation project about the media portrayal of Michael Jackson. I have 6 questions and would appreciate if you could take the time to answer as honestly as you can.
The questions are not intended to offend anyone and are purely for research. All answers will be treated with confidentiality.
You can reply on the thread or email me directly on sss23@le.ac.uk.

Thank you.

QUESTIONS:
1. What was it about MJ's life and music that made you a strong fan?

2. How have your feelings about Michael Jackson changed since his death?

3. What are your thoughts on the media representation of MJ?

4. What were your reactions and feelings towards MJ following Bashir's MJ documentary?

5. Do you feel that any of the negative portrayal of MJ in the press coverage before his death influenced your judgement of the man?
If yes, in what ways?
If no, why do you feel this is?

6. How do you think MJ will be seen by the upcoming generation 20 years on from now?

1 ied always listened to his music but never seen him dance,watching billie jean really started it for me now iam a proud fan.

2 my feelings are more intense since he died,i find myself watching more vids and listening too more of mjs music.

3 all media make money from the suffering of mj wether its true or not,they disgust me.

4 i felt sad for michael,he was misled by bashir from the moment he agreed to do that documentary and caused me to hate bashir.i wanted to be there to protect michael from him.

5 no us mj fans make our own judgments,we know michael more than the press and we know the press use words too sell there crap.

6 i hope his legacy will stay for ever, if we involve our children and there children in mjs music and dance and charities and share everything we know about michael with future generations i see his legacy living on for eternity.

 

[johnlucas]

1. What was it about MJ's life and music that made you a strong fan?

I've been a fan probably since birth (1976). My mother was a fan of the Jackson 5 & probably unknowingly passed this on to me.
One of my first clear memories was me listening to Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (on radio or record) in the house as a 3 year old in 1979.

As a 6/7 year old in 1983 I tried to emulate the Thriller cover posing just like he did on the cover hand pose & all. I was very interested in bowties for some reason after seeing him wear one on of those photo books or Off The Wall album cover or something...maybe the Billie Jean video.

I liked his style, demeanor, aura. Just the razzle dazzle of it all. I am so thankful to have lived in that era of Michaelmania in person. He was IT.

As I grew up, gained knowledge & reflected I just got in tune with the kind of human being he was. He was a really quality human being. I didn't understand his image changes at the time but I knew this was a good man & there must have been an explanation of it.

As an adult, I appreciated the intricacies of the way he created/performed music & dance. I enjoyed his humanitarian nature & his drive to make this world a better place. I felt in tune with his idealism & incorporated it into my life. It has made me a much better person following such an example.

2. How have your feelings about Michael Jackson changed since his death?

They've only amplified. All the stories (true ones anyway) only underline & reinforce what I knew about the guy already. I'm only surprised at how much further this goodness went. My feelings have gotten more positive after his death. I'm quietly furious at those who took him away from us.

3. What are your thoughts on the media representation of MJ?

I believe the media is trash & have felt this way since the 1993 allegations. That time taught me a lot about media & how it shapes minds. I have never trusted them since. I am thankful I got to learn this lesson & not become one of the suckers who take every printed word as gospel. Michael's life taught me about the evils of media.

4. What were your reactions and feelings towards MJ following Bashir's MJ documentary?

I enjoyed that even through the manipulated narration that his spirit shone through. Many people became fans BECAUSE of that documentary despite Bashir's trash. I hate Bashir for manipulating the footage & making his stupid insinuations. Only deepened my distrust for media more. Michael rarely got anyone properly qualified to interview him intelligently & the world lost so much valuable information because of it.

5. Do you feel that any of the negative portrayal of MJ in the press coverage before his death influenced your judgement of the man?

It influenced my judgment positively. It only reinforced what I believed about the man. The media has to go so far to smear his name because people come to love this man after only knowing a little bit about him. They have to distort the picture & misrepresent him to keep people away. Once people understand what makes Michael so "weird" they'd find that he's not really weird at all. But for sure he's anything but ordinary.

•If yes, in what ways?

See above.

•If no, why do you feel this is?

Media had no effect in making me dislike Michael. Made me like him only more.

6. How do you think MJ will be seen by the upcoming generation 20 years on from now?

The way he always should have been seen. As the greatest entertainer in history & simply a quality human being. Many will emulate his ways in the times to come.

John Lucas

 

[ddmff]

Hello,
Are you just a general student or are you taling a class where theme is Michael Jackson?
Are you writing a book about MJ? Are you a reporter?Is this for a poll?

Just wonderin', we have alot of trolls.

 

[johnmj]

i thought mjjc were changing the the membership joining process

 

[MJ STUDENT RESEARCHER]

I am a student at the Uni of Leicester, England. I have chosen the topic of Michael Jackson for my dissertation due to my personal interest and for no other ulterior motive (I.e journalism). These projects can become very long and tiring and was advised to choose a topic that will keep me interested in the project. Thank you.

 

[ThunderPower]

1. What was it about MJ's life and music that made you a strong fan?

MJ had been around for my entire life leading up to that one sad day in June. I saw the media portray him as a freak, a pedophile... as an impressionable child, this can have an effect on you. However, I saw through it when I started listening to his music after I learned of his involvement in composing the music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

2. How have your feelings about Michael Jackson changed since his death?

They haven't. I still see him as a kind, generous, amazing musician and man. He is what every human should strive to be, so pure.

3. What are your thoughts on the media representation of MJ?

I've been known to get very angry and riled up when somebody starts badmouthing MJ, whether it is in person, on the internet, or on the television. In jest, it's fine. If you're serious about calling him a pedophile and a pervert, such as Peter King did, I will get angry. I can't imagine how stressful it must have been to have a good portion of the world against you for years. For those years, many kids have only been taught the post-'93 Michael, the one who had his life changed by horrible accusations and his appearance changed through surgery. It saddens me when little kids looked at the old videos of MJ, such as Motown 25, and get surprised at the fact that he is a black man.

4. What were your reactions and feelings towards MJ following Bashir's MJ documentary?

He told the whole truth and nothing but the truth in that documentary. He never did anything to children except love them and help them. Michael couldn't harm a fly, let alone a human being or an animal.

5. Do you feel that any of the negative portrayal of MJ in the press coverage before his death influenced your judgement of the man?
If yes, in what ways?
If no, why do you feel this is?

It absolutely influenced my judgement. I had initally seen him drugged and out-of-it, but then when the media started portraying him in these disgusting ways, I realized that he was just trying to cope... An amazing life, but tragic altogether.

6. How do you think MJ will be seen by the upcoming generation 20 years on from now?

It always happens with the geniuses who die. They are worshipped when they hit it big, then slowly it seems that everybody seems to turn against him... now everybody's done a 180 and loves him again. I think that in 20 years, Michael Jackson will be seen as the genius he really was.

 

[StarSecret]

i thought mjjc were changing the the membership joining process

I thought this too...

I'm sure your intentions are good, I just wasnt aware ppl could still register.
Good luck with your studies.

 

[MJ STUDENT RESEARCHER]

thank you to those who have taken the time to answer these questions. Please feel free to invite others to answer too. Thanks.

 

[prismsagainst5live]

I am a student at the Uni of Leicester, England. I have chosen the topic of Michael Jackson for my dissertation due to my personal interest and for no other ulterior motive (I.e journalism). These projects can become very long and tiring and was advised to choose a topic that will keep me interested in the project. Thank you.

Hi five dude, I'm also at uni of leciester, medical genetics. I'm right now on year in industry though.

How long is your dissertation, I had to do one for 2nd year of 5000 words, not much but it was tough, definately good to be on a topic you love. I could write till my hand bleeds about michael. What's your degree, something english prob lol