Off The Record
By CoUn White
Arts Editor
Michael Jackson here, Mi
chael Jackson there, Michael
Jackson everywhere!
For the past few months,
thanks to ultra-extensive me
dia coverage, we (in our role
as the American mass media
audience) have witnessed
hundreds of examples of
,Michael Jackson overkill.
Why?
Also, thanks to good ol'
American commercialism, we (in
another of our many roles,
this time as typical American
consumers w^l, some of us
are typical, anyway) have been
force-fed so much Michael
Jackson paraphernalia that
many of us are unable to
swallow it anymore.
Again I ask: »Vhy?
The obvious answer is, of
course, popular demand.
Yes, popular demand; that
nasty little term which in
cites corporations to create
silly little products that
normally would never even see
the light of an assembly line
if it weren't for the extraor
dinary gullibility of the typ
ical American consumer.
"What products?" you ask?
(Sorry, no other options are
available.)
Well, not only am I refer
ring to things like the famous
(or is that "infamous?") se
quin ed "glitter" gloves, but
also to ridiculous items (of
Jackson's own creation) like
the brand new 3-D Talking
View-Master version of Jack
son's (chiller of a) Thriller
video.
What's next? A Michael doll,
maybe? (Pyrotechnics not in
cluded; however, each doll
comes equipped with its very
own bic lighter...)
Popular demand: a term whicti
inspires journalists and
broadcasters around the world
to compete neck-in-neck for
the highest ratings.
One of the favorite subjects
of media competition this sum
mer was the Jackson brothers'
Victory Tour, the rock'n'roll
traveling circus that caused
more controversy and media
attention than Vanessa Wil
liams and Geraldine Ferraro
put together (and, naturEilly,
Michael Jackson was the center
of all the attention).
but none of that really
matters anymore, not even the
outlandish four-ticket/$120
mail order scheme (although I
admit that $3U a ticket is a
mighty hefty sum to pay for a
concert lasting no longer than
an hour-and-a-half). It's all.
dirt under the collar now.
What actually does matter is
Wednesday. Sept. 12. 1984/TH£ BLUE BANNER/7
the everlasting effect that
all this media exposure will
have on the pop superstar him
self.
"What do you mean?" you ask?
Let me explain. Remember
disco, hula hoops, and fuzzy
dice hanging from the rear
view mirror?
Those were all fads, (along i
with hundreds of thousands ctf ,|
other favorite pastimes and
celebrities of the past), and
are now all but buried, but at
o ne time, every one of them
was commercialized and over
advertised, (by way of the
mass media) , in its own re
spect.
They will soon be joined by
such things as break dancing,
plastic shoes, and, yep, you
guessed it, Michael Jackson
(accompanied by all his cutesy
little idiosyncrasies, includ
ing moonwaiking, black loafers
with "glitter" socks and
matching gloves, dark
sunglasses, and band uniform
reminiscent of SGT • PEPPERS
lomely hearts club band).
Jackson is a product of his
own imagination (a successful
product, I might add), as well
as a prisoner of fame and
fortune. (I bet he can't even
shop for his own groceries
anymore—oops, never mind. He
probably owns his own grocery
store, anyway.)
but no matter how much the
American public adores Michad
Jackson now, his popularity is
doomed unless the newshounds
of the world (and especially
this country) allow him a
little privacy every once in a
while. So Beat It, guys!
Ricochet Productions
Presents
Asheville^ivic Center
Saturday, Sept. 22
8:00 p.m.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT THESE LOCATIONS:
Asheville Civic Center Box Office
Boomer^ Rhythm Center—^Manon and Morganton
Commanchee Records—Hendersonvill6
li^allas Discount Corner—Candler
Franklin Chamber of Commerce—Franklin
L fi M Records—^Brevard
Carol's Records—Greenville. S.C.
Horizon Records—Greenville
$11 Advance Tickets
$13 At the door
iflssasi