Although we're usually on the hard news side of the news-sport-celebrity spectrum of media coverage, we could hardly mention Elvis and not comment on the passing of Michael Jackson.Much as Elvis was a bridging figure in the 50s, Jackson bridged barriers of age, gender, race and geography, with musical and dance talent in the era not of radio and movies but 80s music-television (MTV), the ghetto blaster and walkmen. In the present era, no one figure has emerged leveraging the capabilities of iTunes, Youtube, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook to similar world-wide effect.
Perhaps becoming such a figure is harder with fragmented, interactive media which lack the one-way concentration of old-style radio, network television, movies, records, DVDs and relics like record and Blockbuster stores in an age of wifi downloads and 24x7x365 communication.
Much as every great strength is its own flaw, Jackson's asexual, a-racial persona seemed to have moved from universal to some odd pariah status after many surgeries, surrogate parenthood and lawsuits, mirroring Elvis' personal struggles behind public success.
With great success, to paraphrase spiderman, comes great responsibility to remain consistent privately with a public image. As any analysis of sports-politician-religious celebrity figures attests, their downfall is often that aspect that they must publicly protest their distance from.
It is interesting that Jackson died in LA, a town known for the ease with which worldwide fame can be built and then hidden in a high security mansion or modern day castle, emerging only occasionally to receive the acclaim of paying crowds or collaborating with flattering film crews.
Unity behind apparent diversity, a literal world brotherhood, is such a Dwapara theme that Kali Yuga forces, Satan or Maya if you will, inevitably attempt to tear it down thru public character assassination (false), or temptation to private failing (true).
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