Decline of Michael Jackson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Decline of Michael Jackson - Essay Example he nature of media exploitation and public opinion, the reputation of a talented musician was devastated, contributing to his ill health and leading to his death. In the following dissertation, the topic of the facts of the controversies in comparison to the public perception will be discussed in order to find context for the events that occurred and the truths that they represent. Michael Jackson, named by the music industry as ‘the king of pop’ was a talented, but tormented man who had started his lustrous career in his prepubescent years out of Gary, Indiana in the United States. His career spanned his lifetime and his meticulous attention to detail and his innovative styles supported a talent that was broad and powerful. However, the public image that was created for him and the subsequent events of his life led to public humiliation and suspicions of both madness and deviant behaviour. The nature of celebrity gossip, however, creates stories out of unsupportable concepts and a life that is not led traditionally is open to accusations that are unsupportable and, therefore, suspect. This paper will endeavour to examine the ways in which the rumours and suspicions measure against facts and truths that were not as sensational, but could have clarified and refined the public image that led to Jackson’s downward spiral. The nature of the life of Michael Jackson was a long history of having his life framed by a public ‘brand’ which worked against him both personally and professionally in the end. In the 1980s he had a signature look which included one white glove and white socks. It was said of him that he slept in a hyperbaric chamber and the image that was created around him translated into a feeling of magic and mystery. He was an enigma, strange and mystical with talents that matched the message of his position as someone beyond the average human. What did not help his image was the evolving state of his face as he had multiple plastic surgeries and