I have to admit, and let this be said up front, that I loathed Michael with all my might. Not just because it didn’t talk about the burning issue (you know which one I’m referring to) in Michael Jackson’s life, but because it was also one big panegyric that exalted his life, his work, his songs and his attitude to life, without the slightest hint of criticism. Now that they’ve already started preparing the sequel, do you really think things are going to change?
The man in the mirror
Jaafar Jackson, who plays the singer (and who is also his uncle) isn’t going to allow the sequel to leave any room for doubt: instead of giving a voice to the victims (or alleged victims), the film will continue with its panegyric, casting the singer as a victim of his own private ordeal. “It’s someone else’s story. It’s someone else’s idea of what it is, and it’s driven by an agenda. And that’s the problem we’ve had as a family, that Michael’s voice isn’t heard. I think it’s very, very important, especially in his later years”.
Translated: they’re not even going to leave the slightest room for doubt. Michael’s word is law and, after grossing $1 billion at the box office, the last thing they want is to make a mess of it. If people want praise, that’s what they’ll get. “That purity never changed, that feeling of always wanting to find the best in other people. And despite everything he went through, how he was treated, what was said about him, he never stopped treating people with kindness. He never stopped believing and wanting to look for the good in people… even though he was broken, his heart remained the same”, says his nephew.
However much the film wants to act as though nothing happened, the Michael Jackson scandal is one of the darkest chapters in pop culture history, and it takes a gigantic leap of faith to believe that, indeed, nothing happened at Neverland and it’s all just gossip. Anyway, another $1 billion guaranteed and a cleanup campaign even Fairy would love to have.
