Dancin' at the Zombie Zoo
Boys who spent their weekends
making banana nut muffins did not,
as a rule, excel in the art of hand-to-hand combat
— Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim,
David Sedaris
_______________
making banana nut muffins did not,
as a rule, excel in the art of hand-to-hand combat
— Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim,
David Sedaris
_______________
[Lisa will be an occasional contributor at other blogs, and will note her contributions at Ranger. The piece below can be read in its entirety today at Big Brass Blog.]
I am sorry to hear of Michael Jackson's too-young death. He was a great pop icon, whose music and early power and attitude left an indelible mark on the music industry (Police Focus on Medical Treatment in Jackson Death.)
But more than that, Mr. Jackson elicits a pathetic response when one thinks of the odd reclusive man he became, befriending chimps and children, ensconcing himself in his Neverland Ranch -- replete with amusement park rides and a petting zoo -- as he embarked on a quest of self-abnegation: to become a white woman, or at least, Diana Ross. But aside from the issue of wanting to eradicate his negroid features is the issue of his arrested psyche.
To me, Michael Jackson embodies the puer aeternus archetype, the perpetual child. Examples of this type of boy-man abound, yet there is little discussion of the phenomenon. While Jackson is an extreme and cartoonish example, let's discuss it in general.
But more than that, Mr. Jackson elicits a pathetic response when one thinks of the odd reclusive man he became, befriending chimps and children, ensconcing himself in his Neverland Ranch -- replete with amusement park rides and a petting zoo -- as he embarked on a quest of self-abnegation: to become a white woman, or at least, Diana Ross. But aside from the issue of wanting to eradicate his negroid features is the issue of his arrested psyche.
To me, Michael Jackson embodies the puer aeternus archetype, the perpetual child. Examples of this type of boy-man abound, yet there is little discussion of the phenomenon. While Jackson is an extreme and cartoonish example, let's discuss it in general.
Read more here . . .
Labels: carl jung, michael jackson, neverland, peter pan syndrome, puer aeternus, puer eternus, wacko jacko
posted by Lisa at 6:15 AM
3 Comments:
Lisa,
Over 4500 Americans have died in our elective wars and they are faceless numbers to the country. A gender confused, sexually fraught individual dies and everybody is concerned.
This is so strange.
jim
Well I never baked banana nut muffins but did learn to cook and bake and play the panio(a little) and crochet as a kid. But I'm one of those who suscibe to the thinking of Miyamoto Musashi on the subject of arts.
"I have not followed the paths of other men. I have lived without the benefit of a teacher and by my own devices I became the master of myself, and thereby master of the sword and the brush, never differentiating between any of these 'arts'."
Of course he does go on to say that this path may lead to insanity for some. I think that's where Jacksons life lead. That and I can't picture Michael wielding a sword.
Terrible,
It sounds as though I like the path you've taken.
"You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life" -- J. Krishnamurti
Per Jackson, the image would be as bad as Sacha Baron Cohen's Brüno weilding an M-16.
Post a Comment
<< Home