michael jackson's memorial

[b i o n i c]

his daughter..

god, i hate emotional manipulation on tv and such

but fucking GULP :(

[na§tee]

what happened? i only saw a little. i stopped watching after observing all the fucking CHEWING those kids were doing. the boys looked super aloof.

[b i o n i c]

you couldnt miss it here, its on every single channel

at the end a bunch of family took turns saying something, and it looked like the little girl wanted to say something, so janet j put her hands on her shoulders.

she said something about how since the day she was born she has loved her dad and how he was a great father and she loved him a lot and then started crying in janet j's chest

she just seemed like a genuinely good and sweet girl and it was sad.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2009/07/07/sot.paris.jackson.aeglive

[Whatitis]

enough to make a grown man teary eyed.

[Guy Incognito]

you couldnt miss it here, its on every single channel

at the end a bunch of family took turns saying something, and it looked like the little girl wanted to say something, so janet j put her hands on her shoulders.

she said something about how since the day she was born she has loved her dad and how he was a great father and she loved him a lot and then started crying in janet j's chest

she just seemed like a genuinely good and sweet girl and it was sad.

yeah and it was like she wanted to say something then changed her mind and then, when a family of highly experienced performers FINALLY worked out how to adjust the microphone they let her say something and the poor girl burst out into tears.

i thought shaheen was the best bit, must have been very surreal for that lad, thought he handled it very well. i was a bit sceptical but i was kinda entertained by the whole thing.

[Randetica]

i nearly cried twice at this show, the third time it caught me

damn daughter

[Echewta]

Forrest Lawn is a 1/2 mile away from where I work. I can see it across the freeway.

Is he going to be buried there? Man, its going to be packed for years with people visiting his grave. Or digging for gold.

[paul jones]

the only good thing about Michael fucking Jackson was that when I saw him in London in 1988 the support act Kim Wilde's tit popped out

[jennyb]

Brooke Sheilds got me all choked up... then when Paris took the mic at the end = waterworks :(:o

"There weren't nothing strange about your daddy... It was strange what your daddy had to deal with..." ~Al Sharpton

[Documad]

You can all cry over the kid, but the plain fact is that she shouldn't have been on TV, and she shouldn't have been put in front of a mic at an arena. It's fucked up. I'm so furious at the media for putting that shit on TV, even though I know it got the ratings so of course they milked it.

Can it stop now? Please?

[Bob]

if i ever have kids and die young please don't make my children cry on TV thanks

[YoungRemy]

I enjoyed Jennifer Hudson's performance. I was driving when I heard it and it stuck with me all day. There's a moment in the video where she looks up and looks so determined, she comes out all pregnant and knocked "Will You Be There" out of the park...

So they'll turn Neverland Ranch into something like Graceland and move his body there one day I suppose?

I actually entered that lottery for the memorial...

[Lex Diamonds]

Some of it was alright, I liked Berry Gordy's bit, but most of it was obviously emotional manipulation which I can't stand.

No one should be made to make a speech in front of millions of viewers when their father's just died, ESPECIALLY not in the name of ratings.

Shame on you, America.

[Freebasser]

But by watching it, you're justifying them broadcasting it :confused:

[Lex Diamonds]

I switched off just after Brooke Shields' part, when Jermaine was murdering "Smile".

And the fact that people will watch these things does not justify them. If they brought back public hangings the ratings would be sky high, that doesn't make it right.

[Randetica]

it didnt look like she got pushed to say something or maybe i just didnt see the gun on her back

[Lex Diamonds]

Oh yeah because she decided "HAY MY DAD JUS DIED I NO ILL GO ON TV LOL" all by herself.

[Randetica]

i would be pissed if they left me out on a memorial if he was my dad

and i was speaking of her words not if she is on tv willingly or not

[Funky Pepp]

You can all cry over the kid, but the plain fact is that she shouldn't have been on TV, and she shouldn't have been put in front of a mic at an arena. It's fucked up. I'm so furious at the media for putting that shit on TV, even though I know it got the ratings so of course they milked it.

Can it stop now? Please?

Thanks mate. At least one person in here seems to have some brains!

[hpdrifter]

I agree, the whole thing was too public. You never saw his kids' full faces before, he kept them totally shielded from cameras with the same gloves and surgical masks that he himself wore and all of a sudden there they are on TV being paraded around before the entire nation? Perhaps it's liberating for them, perhaps it was their choice. I guess we'll never know.

The shot of Janet clutching the little girl to her bosom and whispering "it's going to be okay" sort of smacked of histrionics to me.

None of it really sat right.

[b i o n i c]

the whole thing was a little strange, though i expected more of a 'circus' than they gave. the little girl thing was sad from a human point of view, thats all

getting all emotional and mad about it is a little silly, i think

[Belt Parkway]

I switched off just after Brooke Shields' part, when Jermaine was murdering "Smile".

And the fact that people will watch these things does not justify them. If they brought back public hangings the ratings would be sky high, that doesn't make it right.
How would it be about ratings when it was on every channel?

[Whatitis]

Can't really blame the media for putting her up there. Blame the Jackson family for putting the kids on stage. Hell, blame Paris for wanting to say something about her father. Yea, the media ran with it, but it was one of the most poignant parts of the memorial.

[Randetica]

You never saw his kids' full faces before

nah, they been shown before

[Randetica]

i thought john mayer looked kinda hot btw

[Echewta]

I know, it was all very strange that a huge celebrity passed away that was known through out the world and knew so many people that they had it televised and people got up to say nice things about the person, including the family and children. This was certainly not something you would find at a smaller level across the world for any of us regular people.

Whats the acceptable age for a child to be able to speak at a memorial? Yea the media grabbed on to it but wasn't it one of the most innocent and raw emotional moments? Obviously she loved her father.

Lighten up.

[rirv]

Apparently Michael Jackson was a fan of Shaheen after he saw him on Youtube.

I wonder if he made a habit of watching 12-year-old boys on the internet.

[Lex Diamonds]

I know, it was all very strange that a huge celebrity passed away that was known through out the world and knew so many people that they had it televised and people got up to say nice things about the person, including the family and children. This was certainly not something you would find at a smaller level across the world for any of us regular people.

Whats the acceptable age for a child to be able to speak at a memorial? Yea the media grabbed on to it but wasn't it one of the most innocent and raw emotional moments? Obviously she loved her father.

Lighten up.
The people that televised that memorial (something which in itself is highly tasteless) were not thinking about the fact it would be innocent or "raw emotion". They were thinking about ratings. That's just true, you can think whatever you want but the whole thing is really cynical.

Funerals should be a personal, respectful event, not a media circus.

[Echewta]

Funeral - A ceremony or group of ceremonies held in connection with the burial or cremation of a dead person

Memorial - Something, such as a monument or holiday, intended to celebrate or honor the memory of a person or an event.

So I'm confussed because this was labeled as a Memorial, not a funeral. The family had alone time before the Memorial at the cemetary as well as afterwards, without the public.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86MQSbZo28Y
Tastless and horrible, agreed?

http://iconicphotos.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/amex3yearoldjfkjrsalutes.jpg
Just wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvUUGFz9Zw4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meFKIbxsyRQ

Such strong public figures are going to be strong public figures when they pass and even those who don't know them personally, are going to want to say goodbyes. The Jackson family already shared much of Michael with the public already.

[Randetica]

The people that televised that memorial (something which in itself is highly tasteless) were not thinking about the fact it would be innocent or "raw emotion". They were thinking about ratings. That's just true, you can think whatever you want but the whole thing is really cynical.

Funerals should be a personal, respectful event, not a media circus.

it wasnt a funeral and michael jackson himself wanted it to become a big event and seems like his fans couldnt live without a memorial

his family had a private time with his open coffin before (nasty)

to be honest i thought that show was quite tastful, for a mj memorial..
i expected elephants on stage or something like that

[Documad]

I heard they couldn't put his body at Neverland because California won't allow bodies anywhere except cemetaries. For the first time in years, I thought "good for you, California."

It would have been a horrible thing to do to him anyhow. He was giving interviews where he said that the place was ruined for him after the child sexual abuse thing.

[Lex Diamonds]

Funeral - A ceremony or group of ceremonies held in connection with the burial or cremation of a dead person

Memorial - Something, such as a monument or holiday, intended to celebrate or honor the memory of a person or an event.

So I'm confussed because this was labeled as a Memorial, not a funeral. The family had alone time before the Memorial at the cemetary as well as afterwards, without the public.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86MQSbZo28Y
Tastless and horrible, agreed?

http://iconicphotos.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/amex3yearoldjfkjrsalutes.jpg
Just wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvUUGFz9Zw4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meFKIbxsyRQ

Such strong public figures are going to be strong public figures when they pass and even those who don't know them personally, are going to want to say goodbyes. The Jackson family already shared much of Michael with the public already.
You're missing the point which is thus: the people putting this shit on TV don't give a fuck about people's right for closure or the bond they feel with the deceased; it's straight up emotional manipulation, pure and simple.

And I know it's a really British thing to say but televising a tribute to a dead person is just tasteless. Have a little decorum.

[Echewta]

Television or the public? Do you feel differently for the dead that are carried in coffins in the streets? Is that ok or would it be bad only if its televised?

You can look at it as television doesn't care and is looking for ratings or television is giving access to those who do care and wouldn't be able to travel to the memorial.

Families always have the right to keep it private too. The Jackson's could have kept the children away.

[b i o n i c]

And I know it's a really British thing to say but televising a tribute to a dead person is just tasteless. Have a little decorum.

princess diana?

i sort of get what you're saying though

[Lex Diamonds]

Television or the public? Do you feel differently for the dead that are carried in coffins in the streets? Is that ok or would it be bad only if its televised?

You can look at it as television doesn't care and is looking for ratings or television is giving access to those who do care and wouldn't be able to travel to the memorial.

Families always have the right to keep it private too. The Jackson's could have kept the children away.
Having a big gold coffin on a stage in an arena in front of thousands (and millions more TV viewers) then getting as many famous people as possible to perform speeches, music etc in the name of spectacle is so much worse than a funeral march from church-crematorium or whatever. I'm just confused as to how you don't see the wrongness behind the whole idea. Like I said maybe it's an American thing.

And Diana was herself a media whore, she never denied it.

[TurdBerglar]

is it wrong if he wanted that?

[Lex Diamonds]

Well yeah, a lot of the shit he did and wanted was weird and fucked up.

[TurdBerglar]

well if he wanted a something like that than it's his business

[Lex Diamonds]

...and about 200 million other people's.

[TurdBerglar]

no one forced them

[Lex Diamonds]

Correct me if I'm wrong but it was on nearly every public access channel in America, along with the BBC in England and many others worldwide. I doubt most of the people who ended up watching it had any prior interest in seeing that memorial.

[TurdBerglar]

do people in england get forced to watch their tv sets?

[Lex Diamonds]

YEAH DEFINITELY LOL!11

Where are you going with these gay little rhetorical questions? A man's death was turned into a media circus, that's the long and short of it. I don't get why you would even want to defend the notion.

[TurdBerglar]

he probably wanted it...

[Lex Diamonds]

Jackson himself was a certified mental case. He had actual psychological illnesses.

[TurdBerglar]

so what

if he wants it and it can be accomplished and it harms no one, than what's the problem?

[Lex Diamonds]

I guess you'll never understand.

[TurdBerglar]

why not fulfill someone's wishes if you can?

[Lex Diamonds]

Because wish-fulfilment is pretty far down the list of important/humanitarian ideals.

[TurdBerglar]

if wish fulfillment harms no one it's perfectly fine and a good gesture

no?

[Burnout18]

Fuck Brooke Shields and her over acting, she hasn't seen jackson since 1992 or around that time. Sounds like she bailed on him after the first child molestation case. Fuck that phony.

And Fuck Rev. Al too for injecting his racial bullshit where it wasn't neccessary, anytime or any place his agenda comes first.

[Whatitis]

A man's death was turned into a media circus, that's the long and short of it. I don't get why you would even want to defend the notion.

His life was a circus so it's really fitting. I don't think you get it. Reqardless of what people think of MJ he was/is still a powerful public persona. There was demand for the public to be able to memorialize him. And the Jackson family decided to give it to them. Not surprising giving Joe Jackson if had any say. Well, duh, it was televised. Yea the media saw a ratings draw because there was a demand for it. Can you imagine the media AND public circus if it was a private memorial. Wouldn't have been that private so appease the public with a little something.

[Burnout18]

Fuck Joe Jackson too, anything for a buck... i read somewhere he thinks paris and blanket have a future in show business..... I really hope he checks out before he can force kids that clearly aren't his blood to do shit they won't want to do.

[Guy Incognito]

His life was a circus so it's really fitting. I don't think you get it. Reqardless of what people think of MJ he was/is still a powerful public persona. There was demand for the public to be able to memoralize him. And the Jackson family decided to give it to them. Not surprising giving Joe Jackson if had any say. Well, duh, it was televised. Yea the media saw a ratings draw because there was a demand for it. Can you imagine the media AND public circus if it was a private memorial. Wouldn't have been that private so appease the public a little something.

i was just writing something similar but couldnt get it right. well put(y)

[Randetica]

turd is right

also joe jackson is one satanic bulldog

[funk63]

Some family friends of mine went to the memorial in Gary. Apparently it was pretty nuts there too.