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Michael Jackson Essay

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Michael Jackson: Man In The Mirror      Michael Jackson is arguably the most well know celebrity figure in the world today. Michael Joseph Jackson was born in August 1958, in Gary, Indiana. Jackson has spent almost his entire life as a public performer. He was a member of the Jackson Five at the age of four, soon becoming the group's lead vocalist and front man. Onstage, he modeled his dance moves and vocal styling on James Brown, and portrayed an absolute self-confidence on stage that belied his shy, private personality. Throughout his life the media has dissected his personality and projected his image on a worldwide screen. The progression of his image has been a fascinating phenomenon, and his current taboo …show more content…

He was about to enter the long duration of his “Wacko Jacko” phase in which he would spend most of his time in the company of children at his multi-million dollar Neverland mansion. Michael would lose himself in his own created fantasy world. When he did reappear in the public eye it was to promote one of his records or to film a television commercial for Pepsi Cola. His image would slowly change from the young heartthrob Jackson we came to know and love to the mysterious secluded world- renowned superstar that we often questioned. Not only did his public perception and image change but with all of that his appearance took a drastic change again. His nose was thinner than before, his eyelids were tattooed and the most dramatic change was his skin color (Johnson, 45). Michael has always insisted that the changes in his skin color are the result of a rare dermatological disease and not that of a cosmetic surgery. That could be true, but what cannot be denied is that long ago, his face became his own canvas on which to create an idealized self-image. He was creating an image of self-perfection (Saunders, 4). In time he began to look like no one else in the world. African American’s argued that as his fame grew he became more detached from his African American roots and adopted the image and appearance of the white male. This could be blamed on the media and the perception that an African American male could not achieve the level of

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