Michael Jackson: King of Pop

Michael Jackson: King of Pop

I can’t imagine not addressing the subject of the image(s) of Michael Jackson. It is a great example of how we use one image to cover up another image that we may not like as much. It is also an example of how in death, the image of a person can change, be glorified or catapulted to a new level.

Michael has said in interviews that he felt most comfortable on stage. His stage image may be the image he most identified with or felt comfortable with. On stage, he was confident, powerful, exuberant, completely in charge, and the King of Pop. I remember a Michael Jackson concert that I attended in the mid-eighties and was amazed at the high caliber of his show. I had never before or never would again attend anything like it.

I believe that his personal image as an individual was one that he was not comfortable with. He appeared to be shy, quiet, insecure, and almost uncomfortable in his own skin. The reports of child abuse and an auto-immune disease such as Lupus which may have caused Vitiligo and Fibromyalgia may have contributed to his insecurities.

Lastly, the image of Michael as a father was never as clear as when his daughter, Paris, address the crowd at his memorial service. He had been criticized for his parenting skills in the news and we never really go to see the loving, doting father that he appears to have been with his children.

How can all of these images exist within the same person? I have always said that there is an internal and external image within all of us. The external image is what we project for work, or to succeed in our endeavors. The internal image is who we really are--like it or not. Sometimes we don’t always like this image and wish to change it. It is indeed possible to use the external image to help change the internal image to gain confidence and success.

Michael Jackson had many images to many people and many people had their own views of him. However, I think that there are three images that can summarize him:

Image: King of Pop

Image: Loving, Doting, Father

Image: Insecure, Shy, Out of Place

Perhaps we should think of how many images we want to project and how many we really have. How can we use, change, or enhance our external image to help boost our internal image?