Me and Michael
I watched the film Michael. “Michael” refers to the entertainer Michael Jackson, who burst through the late 1970s and ran all the way into the 1990s.
In this film, there were several scenes where I felt as if Michael Jackson had returned—and I found myself in tears. I felt this wasn’t simply a biographical movie, but rather a kind of “translation” of a message from Michael Jackson.
I wouldn’t call myself a passionate fan of Michael Jackson. And yet, before I knew it, he was there at the turning points of my life: the voice of the theme song from the movie Ben; the lead vocals of the Jackson 5 that sounded like a child and an adult at the same time; and “Billie Jean” on MTV—the moment I gasped, That kid is him?
Watching the film brought back the fact that I, too, lived through the same era. If Michael Jackson were alive today, he would be 67. Instead, he died far too young at 50, in the midst of scandal.
His beautiful, vital skin tone—African American beauty and vitality—was, according to reports, altered as pigment drained away because of systemic lupus erythematosus and vitiligo. I couldn’t help but feel the pain and suffering that accompanied his global success.
“I’ll Be There,” “Ben,” “Beat It,” “Thriller,” “We Are the World,” “Bad”… In the busy rush of a dual-income life, his music unquestionably gave me moments to breathe and reset.
My daughter, in her teens, grew up watching MTV. She watched Michael Jackson and Diana Ross in The Wiz, and played Dorothy at a school arts festival.
And apart from those personal connections…
“Michael” as a Family Story
The film unfolds around the conflict between a father who wants nothing but success for his family and Michael, who wants to unleash the expression of his overflowing talent.
There were moments that truly landed for me—how Michael begins to see himself as an ally of children, as Peter Pan who cannot become an adult, and as Peter Pan who defeats the pirate captain he recognizes in his own father. Thanks to the actors’ extraordinary performances, this metaphorical thread came through with real force.
A live-performance scene that suggested a parting from his father was so immersive that I found myself holding my breath.
Filming in a room modeled after Michael Jackson’s music room; a bedroom overflowing with stuffed animals and toys; Michael holding Bubbles, the chimpanzee said to have been his friend; the gentle way he interacts with children and sick children—these scenes made his kindness feel unmistakably real.
Legendary stages and costumes were recreated in full, and I could sense the crew’s devotion.
The lead actor, Jaafar Jackson, is Michael Jackson’s nephew. Even though he grew up with his uncle’s presence close by, Jaafar reportedly spent more than two years preparing for the role.
As Michael turns his face in profile while walking toward the stage—there were moments when that face overlapped with the Michael I remember. I doubt I was the only one.
After the End Credits
“The story of Michael continues.”
When those words appeared in the end credits, I found myself thinking:
That’s right—my story continues, too.
Seventeen years after his death, I never imagined we would be able to see him again in this form.
The director is the African American filmmaker Antoine Fuqua, and Michael’s family and children cooperated in the production (though I did not see Janet Jackson’s name).
The message—to connect the world through music, beyond race—may reach even those who think of Michael Jackson mainly through scandal or as a success story.
The Imagination We Need to Live — Fantasy
The “power to dream” that Michael kept showing on stage may not have been mere entertainment. It may have been imagination itself—the very thing people need in order to live.
In a world exhausted by war, inequality, division, and daily hardship, this film offers an opportunity to think again about what we so easily lose: the power to dream—fantasy.
In later years, scandal and drugs cast Michael as a kind of dark hero. And yet, on stage, he continued to express fantasy as an entertainer.
According to what I found in searches, the audience number for Michael reached 4.17 million by day 41 of its release. That’s not a figure driven by nostalgia alone.
I left the theater thinking that this film—showing Michael pressing forward with undeniable force—may be striking a chord with younger generations as well.
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