Living with Michael Jackson Part 2 of 9
(00:00:00 Opening scene – close up of a Peter Pan garden statue adorning the gardens of Neverland)
BASHIR (voiceover): “The inspiration for Neverland, Peter Pan, why is Peter Pan a (00:00:08 camera cuts to Michael listening to the question) figure of such interest and inspiration to you?”
MICHAEL: “Because Peter Pan, to me…uhm…represents something that’s very special in my heart. (00:00:17 Camera cuts to Peter Pan figurine perched high in the rafters)
“You know, he represents youth, childhood, never growing up, magic, flying- (00:00:24 cut to a Captain Hook figurine that is sword fighting with Tinkerbell) Everything I think that children and wonderment and magic - (00:00:28 cut to a figurine of a marching band drummer beside a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree ) what it’s all about. And to me I’ve just never, ever grown out of loving that or (00:00:32 cut to camera doing a sweeping pan of the rafters ending on the quizzical expression of the police officer/security guard mannequin) thinking that is very special.”
(00:00:40 cut back to Michael)
BASHIR (off camera): “You identify with him?”
MICHAEL: “Totally!”
BASHIR (off camera): “You don’t want to grow up?”
MICHAEL: “No. I am Peter Pan”
BASHIR (off camera): “No, you’re not. You’re Michael Jackson.”
MICHAEL: “I’m Peter Pan in my heart.”
(00:00:50 cut to Michael driving the bat-mobile. When he stops Bashir goes up to him)
BASHIR COMMENTARY: “The climate is a problem for Jackson. He says the color changing skin condition, vitiligo, (00:00:55 cut to a shot looking up into the giving tree with sunlight streaming through the leaves) has made him allergic to the sun. (00:01:00 cut back to Michael walking with an umbrella) So, shielded by his umbrella he took me to his most secret place.”
MICHAEL: “I call it my giving tree because it inspires me. Uhh…I love climbing trees in general, but this tree I love the most because I climb up high and I look down on its branches and it gives me…I just love it – so many ideas! I’ve written so many of my songs in this tree. I wrote…uhm…‘Heal the World’ in this tree…‘Will You Be There’, ‘Black or White’…uhm…‘Childhood’…
BASHIR (off camera): “You’re actually saying that you climb that tree…”
MICHAEL: “Yeah”
BASHIR: “Wh-…How far do you climb up it?
MICHAEL: “All the way to that…see…all the way to that…kind of spot up there…kind of like a deck, where it’s like a bed…”
(00:01:40 camera pans from Bashir & MJ to the giving tree, in the background you can hear and see the water fountain in the lake)
BASHIR: “Do you want to climb it now?
MICHAEL: “Yeah”
BASHIR: “Gimme…Let me hold that umbrella…”
MICHAEL: “Yeah”
BASHIR: “You go and climb it…and let me…when you’ve climbed it, let’s see how inspiring it is…
(00:01:47 Michael sprints over to his giving tree and begins to climb it)
♫ Human Nature (from Thriller album, 1982) plays
♪ “Electric eyes are everywhere…See that girl, she knows I’m watching…
MICHAEL: “Aren’t you coming?”
BASHIR: “No way!”
♪ ‘She likes the way I stare…’
MICHAEL: “This is a big secret. (Cut to a smiling Bashir under an umbrella looking up at Michael as he continues to climb) I never show anybody my giving tree.”
BASHIR: “Okay, I’ll try.” (Cut from Michael to Bashir commencing his climb) “I’m slightly worried about my shoes slipping.”
MICHAEL: “C’mon!”
(Michael has now reached the deck, turns around and waves to the camera below. 'Hay Gurls' added by MJ fans on www.fanpop.com!)
BASHIR: “Is it safe?”
MICHAEL: “Of course!”
BASHIR: “I’m frightened!” (laughs)
MICHAEL: “My inspiration…”
BASHIR: “I think I’m going to stop here.”
MICHAEL: “You don’t climb trees?”
BASHIR: “No, I do NOT!”
MICHAEL: “You’re missing out.”
BASHIR: “I’ll leave you to it.”
(00:02:39 Cut to Michael alone is his giving tree, sitting contemplatively whilst the camera does a sweeping pan of the view from Michael’s vantage point)
♪ “That way. Why, oh why? Why, oh why? Looking out, across the morning, the city’s heart begins to beat. Reaching out…”
(00:03:05 Cut to MJ & Bashir both back on the ground)
MICHAEL: “I love climbing trees. I think it’s my favorite thing, having water balloon fights and climbing trees. I think those are two of my favorite…”
BASHIR: “Don’t you prefer making love, or…”
MICHAEL: “Huh?”
BASHIR: “…going to a concert, or…you prefer…You really mean that? That you prefer climbing trees and having a balloon fight?”
MICHAEL: “Yeah, a water balloon fight.”
BASHIR: “And you prefer that to anything else?”
MICHAEL: “Well…as my pastime, fun.” (Bashir nods) “You know, not…you can’t compare it to performing. Other people play football, basketball…I like to climb trees.”
♫♫♫ ‘Big Boy’ plays
(00:03:36 Cut to first exterior then the interior of the main house at Neverland, including a sweeping pan of the numerous framed photographs atop the piano).
BASHIR (off camera): “Do you remember when you first discovered you had a special musical talent?”
BASHIR (voiceover at first, then cut to him asking the question before panning completely over to Michael): “When you would be practicing you were very heavily disciplined by your father.” (Michael simply says “huhm” in acknowledgement.) “What was that like?” (00:07:12 camera moves in for a close up. Michael laughs uncomfortably and pauses before answering)
“Martin Bashir, as you know, made a point of cutting away to the ‘Michael’ painting every chance he got-”
“A__hole! Pardon my language.”
I assured him no apologies were necessary.
“Martin Bashir is an a_hole.”
“I tried to tell Michael not to do that show. But he was convinced Martin Bashir would do for him what he did for Princess Diana.”
BASHIR COMMENTARY: “So, how had this singing and dancing genius arrived in this surreal place that is his life today? I started to look for answers back at the beginning. (00:03:56. Cut to David Nordahl painting and the camera pans down to where Michael is seated below bopping away to the ‘Big Boy’ track.) He played me his first single, ‘Big Boy’ which was released when he was just eight. By then Michael Jackson had already been performing for three years.”
(00:04:17. Camera cuts back to the David Nordahl painting and shoots it for about 9 seconds)
(Cut to Michael answering the question)
MICHAEL: “My mother…caught me…making my bed one day and I was singing. And she said to my father that I could sing and he didn’t want to hear of it. You know, he said…uhm…that Jermaine’s the lead singer not Michael and Mother said: ‘Joe, you really should hear him sing, he can sing.’ And he goes: ‘No! Jermaine’s the lead singer of the group and that’s it.” (laughs)
(00:04:47 cut to close up of a movie projector then to Bashir & Michael sitting silently in the home theater looking up at the big screen – the men have similar body language; elbow bent allowing the men’s chin to rest in their hand)
MICHAEL (now a voiceover): “She forced him to listen to me and once he listened to me and from that moment on I was the lead singer of the group.”
♫ ‘I want you back’ introduction plays
(Cut to behind MJ & Bashir’s seats so we can now see what it is they’re watching – The Jackson Five performing “I want you back”)
♪ “When I had you to myself, I didn’t want you around
Those pretty faces always made you stand out in the crowd…”
(Cut to MJ eating popcorn. MJ and Mr. Bashir are having a conversation but meanwhile the voiceover continues)
MICHAEL (now a voiceover): “My entire childhood, I remember people always saying to me: ‘He’s a 42 year old midget.”
♪ “…take a second look. Oh baby, give me one more chance (show you that I love you) Won’t you please let me back in your heart…
MICHAEL (now a voiceover): “At first, I didn’t understand. But what they meant was, the way I, you know, moved on stage and the way I sang...like you say the inflections or whatever.”
♪ “…but now since I’ve seen you in his arms...
BASHIR (voiceover): “Did someone teach you to do that?”
MICHAEL (voiceover): “No. You can’t teach that. You can’t teach it. It has to come from inside. It’s a gift, you know. ”
♪ “…All I want…All I need…All I want…All I need (MICHAEL)
Oh just one more chance to show you that I love you baby (JERMAINE)
Baby! (MICHAEL) Baby! (JERMAINE) Baby! (MICHAEL) Baby, I want you back!
Song transitions into ABC
♪…never, never knew before (‘I’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’)
MICHAEL (voiceover): “I remember precisely going to Motown studios to record. And right across the street from the studio was a park. And I could hear the roar of the, you know, the Little League team. And they were playing soccer and football and volleyball, and they were playing baseball. And I remember a lot of the times looking back and really hiding my face, crying.”
♪…sing a simple melody…that’s how easy love can be…Yuh! Sit down girl!”
(00:06:45 cut back to Michael)
MICHAEL: “I wanted to play sometimes and I couldn’t, you know, I had to go...I had… ”
BASHIR (voiceover): “Why…why couldn’t you?”
MICHAEL: “I had to go to the studio.”
♪ “Show me what you can do…Shake it, shake it baby! C’mon now! Shake it, shake it baby! Ooh Ooh 123 baby! ABC baby! Na Na. Do re mi baby! Hey! That’s how easy love can be…”
MICHAEL: “Uhh…Well I…I didn’t…have it that hard… (He says this apologetically) …cause he used me as the example…it was like: ‘Do it like Michael!’ you know, he practiced us with a belt in his hand and if you missed a step expect to be…uhhh…” (makes a whipping motion with his hand and does a matching sound effect)
BASHIR (off camera): “Just let me…go back…you just said…that you would practice the dance steps and your father would be holding a belt in his hand, is that what you just said?
MICHAEL: “Yeah. Yes. Yeah, he would tear you up if you missed…and so, we…not only were we practicing, we were nervous rehearsing because he sat in the chair and he had this belt in his hand…and if you didn’t do it the right way he would tear you up…really get you. I…I got it a lot of times but…I think my brother Marlon got it the most…because he had a hard time at first…and he tried so hard and uhh…it was always: ‘Do it like Michael, do it like Michael!’ You know, but…the others were very nervous, and I was nervous too, you know, because…uhh…he was tough…” BASHIR (off camera): “How often would he beat you?”
MICHAEL: “Hhhm. Too much.”
BASHIR (off camera): “Would he only use a belt?”
(Michael places one hand over his face, clearly distressed, but after a pause he does answer)
MICHAEL: “Why do you do this to me? No. More than a belt.”
BASHIR (off camera): “What else would he use to hit you with?”
MICHAEL: “Ironing cords…whatever’s around…throw you up against a wall as hard as he could…uhm…see, it’s one thing to…”
BASHIR (off camera): “But you were only a child…”
MICHAEL: “I know…”
BASHIR (off camera): “You were a baby…”
MICHAEL: “I know…It’s one thing to discipline…”
BASHIR (off camera): “And you were producing successful records…”
MICHAEL: “I know…He would lose his temper I just…remember hearing my mother scream: ‘Joe, you’re gonna kill him, you’re gonna kill him! Stop it, you’re gonna kill him!’ you know and uhh…and I was so fast, you know, he couldn’t catch me half the time but…when he would catch me, Oh My God! It was bad…it was really bad.”
(cut to footage of Jackson Five performing ABC)
♪ “I’m gonna teach you (teach you teach you) all about love yeah”
BASHIR COMMENTARY: “I looked up at the screen and couldn’t help wondering what effect this violence had on young Michael.”
♪ “ABC. Easy as 123”
END OF PART 2 - Now for some analysis/commentary of my own...
1. (00:00:32 cut to camera doing a sweeping pan of the rafters ending on the quizzical expression of the police officer/security guard mannequin) thinking that is very special.”
It is in the 2nd part of this series that we see one of the more insidious tactics being used in earnest against Michael Jackson. That of using Michael’s own possessions – from his songs to his artwork, household decorations and photographic collections – all of these used time and time again to mock and humiliate him.
Here, the editor has spliced the cut of the security guard mannequin (with the quizzical expression) to Michael’s answer to Mr. Bashir’s question – almost as if to say to the viewer “are you buying any of this?” or “isn’t this guy just a little bit weird?”
In Part 1, around the 5 minute mark when Mr. Bashir is asking Michael about his songwriting process, there are various cuts by the camera to the stills that were taken during the 2001 Vibe Magazine photo shoot. Even now, I am not really sure what the point of those cuts is – the only thing I could come up with was: are they trying to portray him as some sort of egomaniac for having these photos of himself?
Oprah Winfrey has evolved this practice to use Michael’s ex-wife and family against Michael – what with all the drug addict references and plastic surgery jibes that have formed the basis of her recent interviews.
2. (00:00:50 cut to Michael driving the bat-mobile. When he stops Bashir goes up to him)
The significance of this might get lost if you don’t watch the ten minutes sections of Part 1 and Part 2 fairly close together.
At the 00:08:58 mark of Part 1 Mr. Bashir drives up to the Neverland gates in the bat-mobile. That scene lasts approximately 20 seconds.
By contrast, the scene where Michael is driving the bat-mobile lasts less than half that time – under 10 seconds.
Who drove the bat-mobile first I wonder? Seeing as I am convinced that many of the scenes in the film are not shown in chronological order, I suspect it was Michael but in the editing room, the decision was made to feature Mr. Bashir in the bat-mobile first. Why? And, why does it matter? Well, perhaps it doesn’t save to show the ego at work in the film making process.
3. Bashir Commentary: “The climate is a problem for Jackson. He says the color changing skin condition, vitiligo…”
‘The climate is a problem for Jackson.’ Jackson. Not Michael Jackson or even Michael. If you have read Seven’s excellent article on Verbal Abuse, you’ll recognize this tactic – discounting.
By saying “He says the color changing skin condition…” he is distancing himself from the statement, calling into question its veracity. The media do this a lot in relation to Michael’s vitiligo: ‘Michael claims he has a condition called vitiligo…’
How many times have you watched a TV show where the host says: “We are now joined by Michael J Fox who says he has Parkinson’s.” or “Please welcome Michael Douglas who claims he is suffering from cancer.” Have you ever heard them do this to these other two Michaels? Hopefully not! I certainly haven’t. So why do they still do this to Michael Jackson?
4. BASHIR: “You go and climb it…and let me…when you’ve climbed it, let’s see how inspiring it is…
How incredibly patronizing of you, Mr. Bashir! If you had listened to Michael he just finished telling you about the massive hits he had written up in his giving tree. ‘Heal the World’, ‘Black or White’, ‘Will you be There’ and ‘Childhood’.
Oh, but wait, they were all hits from the 1990’s and you have chosen to ignore his later work, haven’t you?
5. MICHAEL: “This is a big secret. (Cut to a smiling Bashir under an umbrella looking up at Michael as he continues to climb) I never show anybody my giving tree.”
We all know why Michael had to shield his skin from sun damage. What’s your excuse Mr. Bashir, as we can all see it isn’t raining?
6. BASHIR: “Is it safe?”
MICHAEL: “Of course!”
BASHIR: “I’m frightened!” (laughs)
Oh, please! It’s a tree not Mt. Everest for goodness sake!
7. ♪ “That way. Why, oh why? Why, oh why? Looking out, across the morning, the city’s heart begins to beat. Reaching out…”
The choice of ‘Human Nature’ here intrigues me. On the one hand, it is quite fitting for the contemplative mood scenes they filmed. However, seldom are their choices noble so is there another connotation I’m just not getting? What do you think? I welcome others interpretations…
8. BASHIR: “Don’t you prefer making love, or…”
Ewwwwww! Cringe-fest! I’m glad Michael ignored it…I'm not a total prude...it's just so creepy the way Mr. Bashir says it...
9. Bashir Commentary: “So, how had this singing and dancing genius arrived at this surreal place that is his life today?
You started this sentence off so well, Mr. Bashir, but you just couldn’t maintain it…
10. (00:04:17. Camera cuts back to the David Nordahl painting and shoots it for about 9 seconds)
To my mind, the camera really took on a personality, a sinister one, with the way it shot this painting (and others too, for that matter – see point 1 above).
The first shot of the painting I appreciated – after all, as a viewer we want the camera to ‘paint’ a picture of the environment. As a MJ fan – probably even more so than just a regular viewer– I loved seeing his beautiful Neverland home, including his artwork.
But there’s where the problem arises – as a fan I just see a beautiful piece of art. Michael looking like he did in the “You Are Not Alone” vid- (oops…sorry Michael!) I mean…short film. In the painting he is surrounded by cherubs – innocence personified.
The 9 seconds long focused shot was designed for non MJ fans though – to portray his relationship with children as being nefarious somehow.
Michael: This painting, which David Nordahl completed in 1999, is clearly visible behind the singer during his interviews with Martin Bashir at Neverland for the 2003 documentary current affairs film ‘Living With Michael Jackson’.
PICTURES: Images of the Jackson paintings
Raven from www.allforloveblog.com interviewed Mr. Nordahl and this is what he said when Raven asked him about this matter:
Martin Bashir Had A Field Day With The Painting "Michael." But David Nordahl Had A Few Choice Words For Bashir - Or More, Aptly, One Word
“A__hole! Pardon my language.”
I assured him no apologies were necessary.
“Martin Bashir is an a_hole.”
“I tried to tell Michael not to do that show. But he was convinced Martin Bashir would do for him what he did for Princess Diana.”
Yes, he did do what he did to Princess Diana. Unfortunately, Michael wasn’t aware, until it was too late, that that meant forgery!
(My thanks to Raven for letting me reproduce this part of her article here. Please follow the links to read more on her interview. Also Deb Kanesh from Reflections on the Dance has an excellent David Nordahl interview.)
11. And she said to my father that I could sing and he didn’t want to hear of it. You know, he said…uhm…that Jermaine’s the lead singer not Michael
I did not want to ignore this, as I am as interested as the next person in the Jackson Family dynamics, but I will save an in depth discussion about it for another post, on another day.
12. In the home theater looking up at the big screen – the men have similar body language;
The actual conversation on the audio track appears to have taken place in the studio but the film makers have decided to use the footage taken in Michael’s home theater at Neverland.
What motivated them to move the action from the studio and away from the David Nordahl painting the cameraman seemed to be fixated on? It makes sense in terms of matching the ‘Jackson Five’ footage to Michael’s recollections of his early days; recording in the studio rather than being able to play like all the other kids, for example.
But I think there are a couple of less noble reasons…and it is all to do with what comes next.
Mr. Bashir uses the early Jackson Five days to lead into the abuse by Joe Jackson. I think he is ‘mirroring’ Michael’s body language for Michael’s benefit but also his own. Perhaps there’s a part of him that wants to be ‘just like Mike’…
What do YOU think?
13. Song transitions into ‘ABC’
And here’s the first of the other possible motivations. The film makers were shopping “Living with Michael Jackson” to the U.S television market. ABC News ended up being the winning bidders and news articles report that ABC paid somewhere in the vicinity of 5 million U.S dollars to secure the rights to air the programme.
Now, it is possible that “ABC” was placed there simply because it’s a great song. And even if it was placed there deliberately, so what, right? Isn’t that just good business sense? Yes, of course it is. A sweetener for the company you are trying to sell your product to…
To wrap the song around the Joe Jackson abuse storyline is clever. Even though the Arviso stuff ended up being more controversial, it has been deleted from later versions of the film.
But this thought always persists in my mind now whenever I see or hear ‘ABC’:
Diane Sawyer + Oprah + Bashir + $5 million + ABC = Humiliation for Michael Jackson
14. MICHAEL: “Ironing cords…whatever’s around…throw you up against a wall as hard as he could…uhm…see, its one thing to…”
BASHIR (off camera): “But you were only a child…”
MICHAEL: “I know…”
BASHIR (off camera): “You were a baby…”
MICHAEL: “I know…its one thing to discipline…”
I’ll repeat – this drives me nuts! Let the man finish his sentence, please!
15. BASHIR COMMENTARY: “I looked up at the screen and couldn’t help wondering what effect this violence had on young Michael.”
♪ “ABC. Easy as 123”
Again, I suspect the commentary has been tailored to tie the abuse into the ABC song.
This is nasty having to think so much about the horrid things done to Michael, so allow me to lighten the mood - and also give Michael the last word...
