Who
"Who's Bad?," a line of a popular Michael Jackson classic, has conjured up a new meaning of "bad" since the pop star was accused of child molestation in December of 1993. With the influence of the media, the American people answered Jackson's question, but some of the responses were not what Michael Jackson had in mind when he released the song "Bad" in 1987. Sure, all the answers were "You Michael, you're bad," but the explanations were not centered around his unique style but more focused on the shocking allegations of child sexual abuse. Since the first day Jackson's charges were announced publicly, the media consistently covered every angle of this flaming hot story. Because people are skeptical about Michael Jackson's image as an overly sensitive and intimate performer who still embraces his childhood amusements, many writers are forced to form certain biases about Michael Jackson's child molestation case that will draw the attention of readers and help readers to eliminate any uncertainties concerning their personal conviction of the artist. For decades, Michael Jackson has touched the hearts of many people through his innovative style of music. Because Jackson's image reflects a perform
Colliere's article also displays pictures of Michael Jackson with his longtime friend, Elizabeth Taylor and a photo of Michael Jackson's family speaking to the press in support of Michael. Colliere chooses to display only the photos in which Michael Jackson is represented positively. There is another photo of Michael Jackson greeting the children of Bangkok during his world tour kickoff. This photo is especially important because Michael Jackson is seen socializing with the kids. The kids look excited and overwhelmed by his presence. The photo sends a subliminal message to the reader that reveals the innocent love and respect that Michael has for the youth. His friendly interaction with the kids captures his child-like image, thus indicating a sense of purity, and a harmless, eccentric image of his eternal lock in boyhood. The photo provokes a question of thought to the reader: "How can someone who loves kids as much as Michael want to sexually abuse a child?" By the end of the article, the reader is forced to form an accepting opinion about Michael's innocence. Although Michael Jackson received an abundance of support from some writers, others contest his innocence. Diane Brady, a writer for Maclean magazine, focuses her coverage of the case on the negative aspects of the story. The title of her article, "Pop Goes the King," suggests the downfall of the performer. Brady begins her article with a story of a 7-year-old Michael Jackson fan, Tyrone Melkioty. Brady discusses how Tyrone played the Dangerous CD everyday and danced around the house; his big dream was to meet the King of Pop. Then Brady incorporates the feelings of Tyrone's mother and Tyrone once they heard about Jackson's charges of child molestation. The mother said, "Before this, I would have loved to see Tyrone meet his idol. Now, I would not leave them alone for a minute." Tyrone, who was confused by the entire situation, says "Michael likes kids so much, why would he do this? But kids don't lie about this stuff, do they?" By incorporating this personal story of a small boy, Brady causes the reader to feel sympathy for the innocent fan of Michael. The story suggests that Michael is to blame for tainting the young boy's image of a role model. The reader goes through the rest of the article with a dubious intuition about Michael. As if the first story did not get Brady's point across, she begins the second paragraph of the article with another story that suggests that Michael Jackson is guilty. The story mentions that a former maid told the Los Angeles Times that she quit her job in disgust at Jackson's behavior: she claimed to have seen him bathing with young boys and rubbing their bodies against his "private parts. (p 62)" This particular story paints a vivid picture of Michael with the young boys in the minds of the readers that in turn, leaves the reader feeling just as disgusted as the maid.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 7681
Approximate Pages = 31 (250 words per page double spaced)
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