The Michael Jackson Story
A salute to the musical genius
Discovery travel & living
The Michael Jackson Story on Discovery travel&living, which was aired on August 2, is a compilation of events, interview and performance of the King of Pop, which were recorded before his death on June 25, 2009.
The 45-minute programme interviews people close to Michael Jackson including his mother Katherine Jackson and siblings, La Toya Jackson and Jermaine Jackson. The show trails his early years from being the youngest performer of the Jackson 5 group to creating a brand identity and the famous Moonwalk, which became his trademark style of dancing to his final tour announcement in London in UK.
Besides his family, there are interviews with Suzzane de Passe, who nurtured his career, Smokey Robinson, who mentored him at Motown Records, choreographer Jeffery Daniels, Jim Morey, who had been MJ’s manager.
Jeffery, who has choreographed MJ, also states that the backslide or the Moonwalk was a dance move performed on the streets, but it was Michael Jackson who brought it in the limelight.
In the seventies, Michael Jackson remained a lead performer in the Jackson 5 group; it was in 1982 through his solo album Thriller, which sold 60 million copies worldwide that he became an icon,. He won eight Grammy Awards and was declared the artiste of the decade. By the nineties, he became a brand; it was also the time marred by controversies surrounding his Neverland Ranch including an alleged child abuse case. The programme also briefly talks about his two wives, Lisa Mary Presley and Debbie Row.
Then in 2003, the pop-star was once again embroiled in child-abuse controversy though he was absolved finally. But his performance tours in the later years—Dangerous, Invincible, Hisstory—turned out to be a dampener in monetary returns.
The narration by Seb Fontaine is swift though at times his voice seems inaudible because of the foreground music tracks. Director Steve Cole does a decent job in collating the various aspects of MJ’s life. The programme ends with a note: The King of Pop’s music continues to live in the songs he brought to life.
Verdict:
It’s a befitting tribute to Michael Jackson on his birthday on August 29.