Quote:
Originally Posted by Tin Monkey
It's all relative really. How many people actually know people who've died in the armed forces? I don't mean some distant relation or ancestor, I mean actually know. Whilst I feel saddened by every death in a combat situation, the truth is that within minutes I've forgotten about it, and I suspect that goes for the majority of people if they're being honest. I remember and respect their sacrifices each year in November, but the rest of the year I'm too busy with my own life to mourn people I don't have any personal connection with.
I'm no fan of Michael Jackson, but for many people, his music is deeply ingrained into their lives and their memories. Music has the power to create very deep and emotional attachments. People often refer to 'a soundtrack to their lives' and how it can provoke very strong emotions within them. I was just thinking the same thing as I rewatched the Springsteen performance at Glastonbury from last night.
To come back to my original comment, I still see no need to make a comparison between the lives of Michael Jackson and those of the armed forces. If you only value life by the levels of serious sacrifices made, then many of us are stealing air on a daily basis. It seems quite shallow to make such judgments.
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To be honest, many people remember famous people who have died, it's not like they die and are then erased from our memories. Michael Jackson is no different than any of them. He brought great talent to the world and now he is dead. People do that all the time.
Michael Jackson isn't some sort of supreme being. He's not actually done very much for quite some time now other than make people question his mental health time and time again.
The true test will be if in 10, 15 years time the younger generations will still grant him the super stardom that we do. Elvis is remembered for being successful and dying young. But he's still only really popular musically with the generations who lived close to his time... just like the rock fans of my generation think of Kurt Cobain with people who died young in music...
Will the younger generations that are toddlers now associate MJ with his music or his madness in ten years time? We'll have to wait and see won't we.