Michael Jackson - Cultural Pheonmena

There isn't any other famous person that is more signified through cultural phenomena than Michael Jackson. He did not only idealize culture in the 19th century, but became a product of an institutionalized framework "the media." His life was completely structured by the authoritative figure of his father from the time he knew Michael had talent. Even he himself has said what it was like for him as a child, "Because parents have power over children. They feel they have to do what their parents say. But the love of money is the root of all evil. And this is a sweet child. And to see him turn like this, this isn't him. This is not him" (Celebrina.com). The structure that Michael's father brought him up in made Michael become the exact opposite of what his father probably ever wanted him to be.

What is kind of shocking and ironic is that everyone had this concept of Michael, he was the King of Pop, he had this presence about him that society connected to as a whole. There wasn't one human being in the world that didn't know who he was, not even babies. He was this way because of the symbolic systems that his life was made up of, which is something that society generated. "The cultural meaning of any particular act or object is determined by a whole system of constitutive rules: rules which do not regulate behavior so much as create the possibility of particular forms of behavior" (Culler 56). I believe that once there wasn't anyone there to tell him which structural system to go by he actually started to lose a sense of realization.

In comparing concepts and sound-images to famous people, it is apparent that the concept of Michael and the sound-images of him have always been linked. The institutionalized framework that enveloped Michael Jackson caused him to end up losing himself in the signs. He didn't even no what to identify with. He no longer could control his inner life and decided to try to control his appearance. After the molestation allegations he lost everything. Michael Jackson (signified) lost his reputation and therefore lost being "The King of Pop" (Signifier).


Works Cited
Culler, Jonathan. "Course in General Linguistics." Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin, Michael Ryan. Oxford, 2004. 56-58.
Michael Jackson Quotes & Trivia. 2007-2008
<http://www.celebrina.com/michael-jackson/quotes/>