The News Surrounding Michael Jackson’s Death: Where does it Stop?

July 15, 2009

I have been pondering how to start this article all day, and I still don’t have a really good sentence for you. But I would like to say that I am as upset as the next person that Michael Jackson died. I have heard that his passing is going to turn into one of those things where you can always remember where you were and what you were doing when he died, something like 9/11, Elvis’s passing, or the assassination of JFK. And though it has only been a month, the day of June 25, 2009 sticks clear in my mind as to what I was doing when I found out.

First of all, it was mine and my boyfriends 4 year anniversary. And while he was working, I was spending the day with my mom. We were just getting home, and like usually, I hopped online to check the latest news on CNN. That is where I read the headline: “Michael Jackson dead at 50 after cardiac arrest.” I remember yelling it to my mom, who thought I was kidding. She had the same reaction to this like I had when Heath Ledger died. But it was true, and in order to make sure that everyone was on the same page, I checked more sites, including pressconnects.com, people.com, etonline.com and many more. But they all had the same news. When we finally decided this had to be right, we raced to the TV.

Ever since he died, I find myself constantly listening to his music, watching his videos, watching documentaries about him and I was even upset that I had to be home watching the memorial for him after not winning a ticket to L.A. to be at his memorial.

What is about a celebrity’s death that makes us tune in to the same news for months on end? Why do we get satisfaction out of seeing their body transported in a black or white bag to the morgue? A lot of us do it. I did. I watched CNN for a week after the news broke. I am still waiting on toxicology reports and as long as the custody battle goes on, I will be wondering what is going on with his kids. But that is how we Americans are. We want to know every detail of a celebrity’s life, but we don’t care about or we care very little about the lives of our Hero’s overseas.

Nevertheless what is going too far? CNN had a recent headline: “Michael Jackson Not Biological Father to His Kids.” Do we really care? The eldest kids are 12 and 11 years old. He raised them alone the whole time without the biological mother. But suddenly, they want to know if they are even his? He is all those children know. To them, he was there father. Do we really care about the state of his paternity now?

How come we have to know how all the stars are reacting to another celebs death? ETonline has one of their top headlines as "Donny & Marie Osmond on Michael Jackson's Passing" And of course right after he died, they had to talk to anyone and everyone about it and let us know what everyone said. Like at a red carpet premier, they have to bring up, "So what do you have to say about the passing of Michael Jackson?"

FOXNews: “Jackson Family Feud: Where Will Michael Be Buried?” Is this of importance to me? Do I care that they cannot decide where to bury him? Not particularly.

Wired News: “10 Reasons Michael Jackson Was a Geek.” Is this really even appropriate? He is dead- when I am dead I do not want people giving 10 reasons to why I was anything.

Telegraph.co.uk: “Michael Jackson 'had nose rebuilt after plastic surgery left him unable to breathe’.” Now that Michael Jackson has died, it seems the world is more obsessed with his feature than when he was alive. What does it matter now if he had anything done? It was his body to do with what he wanted. This isn’t any of our business. We only care because he is a celebrity.

So where do we draw the line? When can we say that we are really satisfied with what we know about this person? When will be the time I go to CNN and NOT see a headline about Michael Jackson? Maybe never, because the he was the ‘King of Pop,’ and now he is dead.