Michael Jackson dies for our sins

With Michael Jackson’s sudden death on June 25th, the media have been gushing that he was an icon. But an icon of what? Of dance? In the world of dance, people like Fred Astaire and Karen Kain come to mind before our beloved MJ. Of pop? If we take Metric as a measure of pop iconography, we think of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones before we think of MJ. Of video? Ridley Scott has that category sewn up. If MJ is indeed a cultural icon, it may be that he is iconic in a way he didn’t intend. I think of Payback, Margaret Atwood’s analysis of the mythic grounding of debt as a cultural phenomenon, and I wonder if, in the long run, MJ’s hold on the popular imagination will come to be understood through his extraordinary indebtedness.

Reports put Michael Jackson’s indebtedness at $400 million. There had been hope that a planned comeback tour would help to reduce that figure. No doubt the sudden run on MJ merchandise which his death has triggered will provide some assurance to his creditors. The timing of MJ’s death is impeccable. As corporate greed has driven the world into a global recession, we evaluate Jackson’s estate, not by the extent of his legacy, but by the extent of his debt. He is iconic for the mythic manner in which he lived in the neverland of a dysfunctional capitalism — he borrowed beyond his means, blew it all to maintain a vacuous lifestyle, then died leaving his children with nothing.

In an odd way, Michael Jackson’s life falls within the imaginative framework of the Christian mythos. For example, in his death, we find a substitutionary atonement. Jackson died for our sins. He assumed for us the burden of unsustainable living and, as the coroner’s report will no doubt imply, that is what killed him. With an almost religious fervour, we practise a ritual which is acceptable in the eyes of our god. Like a sacrament, we re-enact the payment of a ransom by purchasing CD’s and videos, moon walking action figures and jackets. Collectively, we seek to release Jackson from the purgatory of his indebtedness by symbolically parting with some of our cash. We live awash in the debt of our idol. He will rise again, to sit on the right hand of the king, where, together, they will reign over tabloid media for all eternity.