Friday, June 26, 2009

The King is Dead, Long Live the King!

It has almost been 24 hours since Michael died and it still feels surreal. Growing up as an 80's baby myself, my four other siblings and I were nothing short of obsessed with Michael Jackson. We had all the videos for Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad recorded on scratchy copies of VHS tapes and we'd watch them every single day after school and copy the dance moves.
Michael was a truly transgressive figure who transcended tropes of sexuality and gender, focusing on his sheer talent and creative guts to come up with ways of moving that have changed the terrain of the music video forever. As the unrivaled creator of trademark dance moves like the moonwalk, robot, and the patented anti-gravity lean, the 'Smooth Criminal', Michael has proved he is a genius, unconventionally coupling fluidity and precision in each of his moves like no other before. As James Brown put it to Michael, "God bless a child who's got his own." Michael re-educated the world on the possibilities of how to move your body on the dancefloor and as a performer onstage. There will only ever be one man to justifiably name a dance move - the moonwalk - after something you could only achieve beyond the limits of earth. RIP Michael.

1 comment:

prettyneons said...

so sad :(
PeAce & Bows...
prettyneons X