Michael Jackson and Conformity

In terms of overall cultural impact, it’s easy to see the similarities between Michael Jackson and Elvis. Few artists at the time matched their crossover appeal and their longevity at the top. Both artists reflected the American culture in positive and negative ways. Both artists are products of a culture that didn’t want to embrace black culture in a meaningful way. Elvis’ cultural appropriation tactics led to him being scorned initially by older white people as his sexually suggestive antics were too edgy at the time and resembled that of the black artists who they had no love for. However his whiteness eventually made these antics palatable, and allowed him to rise to popularity. 

Michael Jackson’s rise had sort of the opposite effect. Elvis’ rise was initially viewed as an act of rebellion against cultural norms using culturally appropriated antics and music. Elvis changed the culture, Michael Jackson on the other hand conformed to the American culture which wasn’t too receptive of black people. In a way Michael Jackson ended up appropriating this black hating culture. Changing most of his black features in favor of more culturally accepted features. He changed his hair, his nose, his jawline, even going as far as bleaching his skin (although this was also due to a skin condition). 

While I’m a big fan of old Motown music, and associate it with blackness, Berry Gordy was against his artists expressing themselves and being outspoken politically. I believe this impacted Michael Jackson even after he left the Motown label. Michael Jackson was a talented artist, but he wasn’t willing to fully embrace his blackness in his music. Much like Elvis, and other stars of that time, Michael Jackson made music that was light, catchy, and easy for White America to digest. This contributed to his rise, but much like what happened with Elvis, it led to resentment from the black community. This era marked the continual rise of hip hop and black culture embracing its blackness in the periphery of the broader American pop culture scene that Michael Jackson resided. This along with Michael physically altering his appearance contributed to the rift between him and the black community. 

Michael Jackson’s fall can be greatly attributed to questionable decision making which can’t really be debated. However there have been a number of hip hop artists that continue to be lauded and praised even after they commit fairly serious offenses. An example of this is Tupac who went to jail for a rape allegation. The black community never turned its back on Tupac because of the way Tupac always embraced his blackness and the black community as a whole. Michael Jackson never really embraced black culture, and when the allegations about him came out, he didn’t have the same support that artists like Tupac had, or would have had if they were in that position. While Michael’s rise was boosted due to his unwillingness to fully accept his blackness, his fall was accentuated by that same act.