Deconstructing the death of Michael Jackson
RRU sociologist Phillip Vannini says people develop deep emotional bonds to celebrities, especially musicians with longstanding fame such as Michael Jackson.
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Updated: July 09, 2009 6:37 PM
RRU pop culture guru offers insights into the cult of celebrity
The death of singer Michael Jackson spurred a massive, worldwide outpouring of grief unseen since the passing of Princess Diana, a phenomenon deeply rooted in social bonding, says a Royal Roads University pop culture expert.
Phillip Vannini, a professor in RRU’s school of communication and culture, and who recently co-authored Understanding Society Through Popular Music, said for millions of people, losing an icon as famous as Jackson can be as emotionally jarring as losing a close friend.
Jackson’s music is part of the narrative of the lives of three generations of people, even those who didn’t necessarily enjoy his brand of pop, Vannini said. For millions, his music is embedded with important memories and important epochs of their lives, he continued.
“As we grow up we have parents and friends and also ‘media friends.’ They are like companions in our daily lives.” Vannini said. “Like him or not, Michael Jackson was popular for so many years, he became a media friend to so many people, it became impossible to ignore that he’s no longer around.”
Jackson, who the Guinness Book of Records assessed as the “most successful entertainer of all time,” passed away June 25 at age 50 after a career that spanned from the late 1960s well into 1990s.
Vannini pointed out that actress and model Farrah Fawcett died the same day, but disappeared from the media radar when Jackson’s death was announced. As a measure of his celebrity, Facebook traffic for Jackson’s funeral exceeded the Barack Obama presidential inauguration, according to Mashable Social Media Guide. Social networking site Twitter “strained under the weight of tributes to the star,” Mashable also reported.
“With celebrity, it’s not the value of what you do, it’s the exposure. With a larger exposure, you’re part of more people’s personal stories,” Vannini said. “Media relationships are often more powerful than traditional ones, especially because it’s cemented by music.”
Vannini said he found it odd the more unsavory aspects of Jackson’s life were largely downplayed by fans and celebrity media, at times the same bunch that scorned and ridiculed the “King of Pop” virtually up to the moment of his death. Jackson earned notoriety from his constant and deforming plastic surgery, his acquittal on child molestation charges and ongoing eccentric behaviour.
“What surprised me is that with his death he was a good guy again. For the last 10 years he was treated as Jacko the freak,” Vannini said. “With his death, all these things were cleansed.”
Vannini, who has deconstructed the rise and fall as such celebrities as Britney Spears and why American Idol is like a presidential election, said he’s on the fence if celebrity worship is a manifestation of a woefully shallow society or is just the human desire to connect with others.
“People form bonds with people they’ll never even shake hands with. I think it speaks to how deep our quest is to form bonds.”
Ironically, Vannini was unaware of Jackson’s death, the subsequent media circus and outpouring of tributes from fans until yesterday, after returning from three weeks in Japan.
“I’m probably the only person on the planet that didn’t know,” he said laughing.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
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