Ask Lemmy

To be clear, I am, and have always been a punk rocker/metal head, do I couldn't give a rats ass about the king of pop.

But he always struck me as very much on the spectrum, of course not when I was growing up, since it wasn't a thing back then, but I find it very unlikely he did the things he was accused of.

I could be wrong, but it felt like a cash grab by the parents.

I've never been a fan of Michael Jackson and have no intentions of seeing the movie but I do know a die-hard Michael Jackson fan who went to see the movie and he said the movie was pretty awful.

Personally I find all celebrity biopics disgusting.

I mean, it would be different if these things tended to actually be honest deeply researched analyses done by hard-nosed experts (which would probably mean they would be spectacularly boring as movies and better as articles or books) and if celebrity status was highly correlated to the greatness of one's achievements for society rather than to being well known because of practicing a very public profession (so, featuring more of, for example, Great Scientists and fewer Star Musicians and Movie Stars), but in the current society, celebrity biopics are fantasy spectacles about people whose fame is due to nothing else than being a competent professional in showbiz.

That in itself doesn't make the biopics "disgusting" but the recent abundance of them does add up to too much to of an overly sweet low-nutrition thing the point of being stomach turning, IMHO.

Yes.

I did wonder if it was going to talk about his abusive father or the molesting thing. But not enough for me to watch it and find out.

My son is a big cinephile, and we watch a LOT of movies, but I am also a history guy, so my son knows that I really don't like biopics, or films that portray some historical event. Invariably, Hollywood decisions outweigh historical accuracy, and the result is usually impossible for me to tolerate. I would rather see a boring portrayal of the actual events, than an exciting rewrite.

MJ and I are the exact same age, and I grew up LOVING his music. The allegations were shocking, and I studied every interview and watched every documentary and news coverage of it that I could. Today, I can't really say I trust either side. I see problems with the accusers, I see problems with the accused. Lawyers advise their clients to settle all the time - "It's not personal, it's just business." I've been on the receiving end of that "advice," and it's hard to hear, because you know people will always see it as an admission of guilt, and not "just business."

So while I abandoned Bill Cosby (another heartbreaker I grew up with) I've decided to keep listening to MJ. We will never know the entire story, but I know enough that the accusations have a LOT of problems, and I'm not willing to throw MJ aside for that.

So while I am still a big (but conflicted) fan, I probably won't watch the film, and if I do, I won't be taking it seriously.

This is the one sex allegation I just don't believe.

And its a biopic so... It wouldn't matter who it was about. Shit... I'd watch a biopic about Epstein. I'd still hate the fucker at the end.

We will never have the truth in our entire lives. But! I kind of see how MJ could actually not be a pedo, but just a special flavor of weirdo.

Imagine that you are born into a family of 8 (2 came shortly after) that live in 2 bedroom home. Paretns are working class and an oppressed minority, so are you. At age 5 parents put you in a family band where they forced you to play and punished for mistakes made during rehearsals and performances. Time goes by. Your band becomes a sensation. You are the front man. You grow out of it and go solo. You are consistently the most famous artist. All eyes on you. Everyone knows each and every step you make, in tiny details.

All that while your childhood was spent never having own corner, never having time to play with other children. You are constantly performing everywhere. Your life is not like "the other kids".

Now you are famous as hell with a millions to your name. You can do pretty much anything. And you, of course, might get that feeling of wasted time that you probably can catch up with. You attempt to create a real Neverland, spend tons of time with children, try to make their lives magical and wonderful. You do things for childer that you've dreamed you'd like to have when you were a child yourself. BUT you are at the age of 30 and every one assumes that you diddle children. Which, again, might be true. We cant possibly deny false accusations in favor of getting rich by settlements. And that baby over the balcony didnt help either.

I, honestly, feel bad for him. Great musician, vocals are top notch and unmatched. Dancing moves out of this world. Great showmanship. Terrible personal life full of abuse, discrimination, specualtions, accusations, failed childhood. Poor guy. He was fucked up in head. Maybe not in pedofilic way. But he was certainly not fine. All that life experience plus super likely drug abuse since we are talking about show biz.