It was inevitable. The King of Pop dies of cardiac arrest at 50 on the eve of a comeback tour, and pattern-loving cultural commentators resurrect the memory of another King who died of cardiac arrest at 42 the day before his own tour was to begin. But similarities between the deaths of pop giants Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley don't extend far beyond the obvious ones, and potentially more discussion-worthy is a stark difference: our reactions to the mega-superstars' deaths.
True, our memory of Elvis encompasses not only the image of a slender, hip-swiveling sex symbol, but also a snapshot of his later years, containing an all-too-predictable shell emptied by fame and fortune and saddled with drug addiction and social isolation. But the tragic representation of Elvis doesn't overshadow his longer-lasting role as a monumental and relatively uncomplicated pop icon. As we begin to remember Michael Jackson, our nostalgia is far more complex.
While Elvis was accepted and valued, in part, because of his oozing sexuality, the sexuality that Michael Jackson projected was more nonstandard, and at times, even disturbing. A male performer wearing makeup and speaking in a high, effeminate voice can be received by some as bizarre - take Prince, for example - but this presentation does not necessarily cross into disturbing territory. But when Jackson's sexuality appeared to go beyond makeup and effeminacy into the realm of alleged assaults on children, everything changed. Though he was never convicted of any sexual abuse charges, questions of his guilt permanently marred his image.
Fans who remained mesmerized by Jackson's outsized talent faced confusion about how to reconcile the prospect of his guilt with their continued admiration of his art. The acquittal didn't eradicate all doubt, but it did allow some room for the possibility that Jackson was blameless, and by extension, his fans were too. In other words, we didn't have to feel as conflicted about liking him once he was let off the hook.
Today I heard a woman report how sad she was about Jackson's death, but I suspect that many other mourners feel more torn. Yes, it is of course tragic when anyone dies so suddenly and so prematurely, but at the same time, having his face plastered all over the media harkens back to the more disturbing images and events of the various sexual allegations and the trials that covered them, which are unfortunately fresher in our collective memory than the release of his genre-transforming music videos or news of his record-smashing album sales. Even MJ's biggest fans couldn't be blamed for feeling something a little murkier than pure golden nostalgia as they look back on their idol's career.
On a psychological level, the only comparison we can make about the lives and deaths of Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley relates to the twisted and depersonalizing impact enormous fame can have on a person. Yet once we begin to switch our focus from their lives to our reactions to their deaths, we see the final difference. In the end, our conflicted feelings remind us of the difference between pure and contaminated nostalgia.
