Living with Michael Jackson Part 1 of 9 - Transcript & Analysis

Living with Michael Jackson Part 1 of 9

There is one thing I agree with Mr. Bashir about (surprised? Me too!). His creation (see below) is not a documentary. Mr. Bashir himself describes it as a current affairs film. And that is a far more apt description.

I love movies, and when I watch one I enjoy on DVD, I first watch the movie as is, then the DVD commentary. If it's really good I'll watch all the versions, Director commentary, Producer commentary etc.

It always amazes me how when I watched it the first time I just took each scene at face value, not appreciating the amount of thought that went into every decision - from the music, location, wardrobe and camera angles.

For my preparation to go on Rev. Catherine's Blog Talk Radio show, I decided I needed to get quotes from the film "Living with Michael Jackson" in case we touched on this.

In doing the transcript of certain sections, I could clearly see Mr. Bashir's manipulation at work. The music he had selected, the lyrics which were audible during certain scenes, the manipulation of the timeline in order to maximise the dramatic effect his film would have on the viewer - all these things I had not previously thought about due to my personal dislike of the man. But now, for me, it's no longer a case of personal dislike - I have very good reason to detest the work he has created. In my last posting, I detailed the accusations made by Mr. Mesereau to Mr. Bashir. You can read that here.

This is my next step in my campaign against Mr. Bashir - I want us to examine his (and his team's) every decision and recognize the manipluative tactics that were employed in this film.

What you will see next is the transcript with a notation of what music plays in what scenes as well as the scene selection.

At the end of that I will comment on the text highlighted in pink. But, by no means, do I think my analysis is conclusive or all encompassing - that's why I'm so keen to share this with all of you. I'd love to hear your feedback, thoughts and theories.

(Opening scene – Michael is seated in his studio. Mr. Bashir is standing nearby with his left arm resting on a computer screen.)

BASHIR: “Why are you laughing?”

(Michael snorts with laughter) “Okay…c’mon” (camera pans in for a close up of Michael)

BASHIR: “What…what…what have I done?”

MICHAEL: “It’s all right…”

(camera pans over to a smiling Mr. Bashir) “C’mon tell me, what have I done?”

MICHAEL: “No. I like your accent.” (camera pans back to Michael) “I was laughing…”

BASHIR (off camera) : “You like my accent?”

MICHAEL: “…laughing at how you said I’m gonna ask you somethin– you said “I’m going to ask you [adopts posh British voice]. I like it!” (laughs)

BASHIR: “Can you do an English accent?”

MICHAEL: “A bit.” [adopts posh British voice]

(Bashir, off camera laughs)

MICHAEL [speaking with British accent]: “It’s nice…Nice to meet you.”

BASHIR (parrots laughingly): “It’s nice to meet you.”

MICHAEL [speaking with British accent]: “A nice, beautiful interview.”

(Bashir off camera laughs uproariously)

♫ Billie Jean (from Thriller album, 1982) plays

(Montage scene follows – starting with driving up to Neverland gates at night)

♫ Michael beat-boxing the introduction 

(cuts to footage of same then cuts to Michael dancing to Billie Jean)

♪ “She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene

 ( MJ & Bashir shopping in Las Vegas then the Las Vegas sign)

♪ I said ‘don’t mind but what do you mean, I am the one’

 (Michael dancing)

 ♪Who dance on the floor, in the round

(Michael & Bashir on Ferris wheel then in the go carts)

♪   She said I am the one, who dance on the floor, in the round

(MJ & Bashir shopping in Las Vegas)

♪ She told me her name was Billie Jean as she caused a scene

Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one

Who dance on the floor, in the round

(MJ & Bashir in Las Vegas with Prince then Michael feeding baby Blanket)

♪ People always told me ‘Be Careful what you do…

Don’t go around breaking young girls hearts’

(MJ hugging pretty blonde fan in Germany)

♪ And Mother always told me ‘Be careful who you love…

Be careful what you do until the lie becomes the truth’

(MJ & Gavin holding hands with Gavin’s head on MJ’s shoulder)

♪ Hey Hey! Billie Jean is not my lover…

She’s just a girl that says I am the one…

But the kid is not my son…”

                                                  (Opening scene – Neverland carousel)

Bashir Commentary: “8 Months ago I put a proposal to Michael Jackson: Show me the real man but show me everything - make nothing off limits. He thought about it and then he said “Yes! Come to Neverland.”

(Cut to Bashir & Michael Jackson walking with amusement park rides in the background.)

Bashir: “Do you come out here on your own?”

Michael: “Yeah!”

Bashir: “How Often?”

Michael: “All the time!” (laughs)

Bashir: “Just come out on your own?”

Michael: “Yes.”

Bashir: “What, and go on a ride?”

Michael: “Yep, usually the carousel, I play music. I love…I love playing classical music on the carousel cause I love…um…like um…something like ‘Childhood’ or ‘Smile’ you know…”

(Mr. Bashir laughs)

Michael: “Or ‘People’ by Barbra Streisand…something beautiful, you know?

Bashir: “Right…What about the Ferris wheel?”

Michael: “I like the Ferris wheel, it’s a traditional…um…very old, you know… amusement exhibit and its soothing, it’s not, you know, anything that’s dangerous or anything. It’s just comfortable…makes you wish and dream and...”

(cut to scenes of amusement rides)

Bashir (voiceover): “Can we go on it?”

Michael (voiceover): “Sure!”

Bashir (voiceover): “Let’s go on it.”

Bashir Commentary: “We began a journey together – across continents, through his past and rapidly into the disturbing reality of his life today.”

Bashir (off camera): “Shake hands before battle commences.”

Michael (laughingly): “Okay…all right.” (Cut to the two men shaking hands before each heads off to their respective vehicles)

Bashir: “Michael Jackson versus Martin Bashir…”

Michael: “Okay…”

Bashir: “…in the go cart land of Neverland…”

(pans over to Michael who is laughing heartily as he enters his go cart aided by an attendant)

♫ Bad (from album of same name 1987) starts to play

Michael: “You got a head whooping coming…I’m gonna whoop your head”

(Michael laughs – cut to Mr. Bashir who is seated and turns his head to look at Michael. Cut back to Michael who is waiting for roof of his go cart to be lowered.)

Michael: “Hey, he’s cheating! He’s cheating!” (Michael starts to drive but Mr. Bashir is already well ahead)

♪ Your butt is mine, you know you ain’t right…show your face…

Bashir Commentary: “This is Michael Jackson as you’ve never seen him before.  From the inside; his music, his money, his children, his sex life, his face. Quite simply: his world.”

♪ “I’m giving you…to the count of three…to show your stuff or let it be…

I’m telling you…just watch your mouth…I know your game…what you’re about”

Bashir (who is winning the race): “Wooooohoo! Yeah!”

Michael: “Ha, Ha. He’s good!”

Bashir: “Nice win for Britain there against the USA.”

(Cut to Michael’s studio where Bashir is asking:)

Bashir: “How do you write a song? (pause) How do you write a song?”

 Michael (off camera): “How do I write a song?” (Camera pans over to Michael) “Well…”

(Cuts to picture)

Bashir: “You don’t have a pen in your hand and you don’t try...”

Michael: “If I sat down at this piano…”

Bashir: “…What would happen?”

Michael: “If I sat here and played some chords or whatever and say ‘I’m gonna write the best song ever written’ nothing happens.”

“Something in the heavens has to say ‘Look, this is the time that this is gonna be laid on you and this is when I want you to have it.’ Now, I remember when I wrote ‘Billie Jean’ I was riding in my…err…car down Ventura Boulevard. All I said to myself beforehand “I wanna write a song with a great bass hook’ you know and…uhm

then, I just let it go really and then several days later, you know…[♫Michael beat boxes the introduction to Billie Jean]”

Bashir: “Where did that come from?”

Michael: “From above.”

Bashir: “So…”

Michael: “It really did.”

Bashir: “Okay, you were singing the bass lines, sing that again, and then what happened? How did you get the other instrumentation and the composition? How did it work?

Michael: “It…It…It…See the thing is…in…uhm…Artists seem to get in the way of the music. Get out of the way of the music…you know, don’t write the music! Let the music write itself.”

Bashir: “The dance as well?”

Michael: “Yeah, same thing.”

Bashir: “How do you do it? Can you show me how you do it?”

Michael: “Oh boy!”

Bashir: “C’mon just get up and show me!”

Michael: “I’m shy.”

Bashir: “Oh C’mon just show me!”

Michael: “C’mon…”

Bashir: “Just show me. Just show me. Show me what you do. Teach me.”

Michael: “Okay…err…Oh boy! You’re putting me on the spot now.”

Bashir: “C’mon!”

Michael: “See, now people are discovering something about me - I’m really shy, I’m embarrassed!”

Bashir: “Okay, you’re shy. Just get up and show me.” 

  

(Michael laughs then says “OK” and rises from his chair. He then proceeds to dance to a mostly instrumental version of ‘Billie Jean’)

Bashir (voiceover): What’s going through your mind when you’re dancing?

Michael (voiceover): “Not thinking. Thinking is the biggest mistake a dancer can make. You have to feel…

(Michael dancing)

“You become the bass…You become the fanfare, you become the clarinet and the flute the strings and the drums”

Bashir: “So you’re almost the physical embodiment of the music?”

Michael: “Yeah, absolutely!”

(Michael stops dancing and invites Mr. Bashir to join him “You want to try one?”)

Bashir: “Show me. You want me to do it?” (laughs) “How am I going to do it? What do you want me to do?”

Michael: “Like stand here.” (Shows Bashir how to moonwalk) “Mainly one foot down and really using the other foot…push! It’s like really pushing, just push, you know? Using your heel…use your heel to slide back…slide back on your heel…heel”

Bashir: “That’s very, very difficult…That is not easy, that is not easy!”

Michael: “Huhm?”

Bashir:  “No, that is not easy!”

Michael: “You know what? It’s very hard to explain too, how to do it.”

Bashir: “What…when…what…when your describing…

Michael: “Do it one more time, do it one more time. Just use that heel. Don’t slide back on your toes, slide back on your heel, okay?”

Bashir: “Okay, so I slide back…”

Michael: “You’ll wanna go on your toes, but don’t go on your toes, go on the heel. Not on the toe when you go back. Always on the heel. Heel. Heel. Heel.”

Bashir: “That’s pretty unnatural because normally you lift your foot as you walk.”

Michael: “I know, that’s part of the illusion.”

Bashir: “Right, So, I slide back…”

Michael: “That’s very good though!

(Bashir laughs self mockingly)

MJ: “That’s the idea.”

Bashir: “You’re a very kind man”

Michael: “That’s the idea.”

(Cut to montage of Bashir driving up to Neverland gates in a version of the bat-mobile. Followed by scenes of the amusement rides, the giraffes and elephants and then a close up of a Peter Pan garden statue outside the main house.)

Bashir Commentary: “Michael Jackson’s home Neverland is a 3000 acre ranch 3 hours north of Los Angeles.  As with most of his life, it has to be seen to be believed. Inspired by the children’s fairy tale ‘Peter Pan’ - about the little boy who never grew up. It’s a multi-million dollar, man made slice of make believe. As well as the full size fun fair, there’s a zoo with giraffes, elephants, tigers and a couple of orangutans Bubbles the chimp has been moved out to an animal sanctuary.

It literally paradise for a 10 year old child but Michael Jackson is now 44.

END OF PART 1 - Now for my analysis/commentary:

1. “C’mon tell me, what have I done?”

Well, where do I begin? Try reading Michael’s quote at the end of this posting for starters, please Mr. Bashir! Or else this, this and that.

2. “A nice, beautiful interview.”

I’ll let Mr. Mesereau tackle this point.

“That, from Mr. Jackson’s point of view, the incentive for doing

that documentary was that he trusted Mr. Bashir was going to

present him in an appropriate,honorable and honest light. And

that’s not what happened.”

     3. ♫ Billie Jean (from Thriller album, 1982) plays

I would like the reader to consider the choices of Mr. Bashir and his team when assembling the tracks used in this film.

In a film, every decision is calculated; nothing is random so the only debate remaining is what were the intentions behind the choices that were made?

      4. ♪ People always told me ‘Be Careful what you do…

            Don’t go around breaking young girls hearts’

            (MJ hugging pretty blonde fan in Germany)

I interpret this choice as a dig at Michael’s sexuality – especially combined with the next point. That he could only break a girl’s hearts because…

      5. ♪ And Mother always told me ‘Be careful who you love…

            Be careful what you do until the lie becomes the truth’

            (MJ & Gavin holding hands with Gavin’s head on MJ’s shoulder)

The implication is this is Michael’s lover. A kid, a young boy. That’s why the previous girl would be broken hearted. Why else show that piece of footage at exactly that moment of the lyrics?

6. Bashir: “Just come out on your own?”

I’ll borrow some legal speak: Asked & Answered dude! (Okay, so I added the dude…)

 7. Michael: “something like ‘Childhood’ or ‘Smile’ you know…”

‘Childhood’ – from 1993 Free Willy Soundtrack, 1995 HIStory album

‘Smile’- from 1995 HIStory album

You might observe that I seem pre-occupied with the release dates. But it seems to me that all songs used in this film are from the 1980’s or earlier.

My thought on this is: Mr. Bashir and the film makers wanted to define Michael Jackson as a has-been. To not have any of his music from the preceding decade would propagate that misconception.

Seven has an excellent article on Verbal abuse where she says one of the first things an abuser does is impose their own definition onto their victim.

In July 2002, when the actual filming began for ‘Living with Michael Jackson’, Michael’s latest album “Invincible” had been out for a little over 6 months. And yet, most unusually I would think, there is no mention of this album at all. Later, in Part 7 of this series, we do see (although blink and you’ll miss it!) what looks like an Invincible poster or album cover presented to Michael Jackson to autograph by one of his fans.

One of the reasons why this fascinates me so is because until only a few months ago I had never listened to the ‘Invincible’ album. I had not realized until I did listen to it how affected I had been by the media’s portrayal of Michael. When they weren’t ignoring that album completely, they were depicting it as a massive failure. When the album’s singles and videos dried up, I concluded that there must have been some merit to that. I blindly accepted their characterization as accurate, not even dreaming that they could possibly be that powerful that they could influence me so successfully. I had thought of myself as reasonably intelligent, but then again, this is not a question of intelligence but one of awareness.

There are, in my opinion, as many potential hits off “Invincible” as there were from Michael’s earlier efforts.

I often wonder what the short films would have been like had he been able to complete them the way he wanted…

8. Bashir Commentary: “We began a journey together – across continents, through his past and rapidly into the disturbing reality of his life today.”

Again, Mr. Bashir is defining Michael’s life from HIS negative viewpoint.

9. Bashir (off camera): “Shake hands before battle commences.”

Why bother pretending to be a gentleman Mr. Bashir, when your own footage clearly shows you cheating by starting to race before Michael is even seated?

10. ♫ Bad (from album of same name 1987) starts to play

My theory here: ‘Bad’ as written by Michael Jackson really means you’re good, the best in fact. Mr. Bashir is using Michael’s own song but saying that Bashir is really the ‘bad’ one. 

Later, (Cut to montage of Bashir driving up to Neverland gates in a version of the bat-mobile) - like Mr. Bashir is a superhero! Not! 

11. ♪ Your butt is mine, you know you ain’t right…show your face…

Continuing on this theme, I believe these lyrics are directed at Michael. ‘You’re butt is mine’- you’re at my mercy, I can do what I like to you because I don’t like what I think it is that you do. I think ‘you ain’t right’. And he certainly proceeded along this path didn’t he? 

12. Michael: “Ha, Ha. He’s good!”

With all due respect Michael – you were right the first time, he’s a cheater! But God Bless you Michael, even after Mr. Bashir cheats, you are so gracious about the whole thing.

13. Bashir: “Nice win for Britain there against the USA.”

Now, I am Australian and not British but this poll result gives me the confidence to suggest that most Britons would cringe at this statement given how the resulting win was obtained. 

14. Michael (off camera): “How do I write a song?” (Camera pans over to Michael) “Well…”

This is one of my pet peeves. Both Mr. Bashir and Ms. Winfrey are guilty of repeat offences in this regard. (When I’m done with this series I think I’m going to analyze Oprah’s 1993 interview as well)

One of the reasons both of these personalities were so keen to ‘get’ the Michael Jackson interview is because he so rarely granted them. This is why I’m driven absolutely wild when I see one of them cutting off Michael in mid sentence. I feel like screaming ‘we’re not watching this because of you, we want to see and hear Michael!’

Keep a track of how often it happens as you continue to read this series.

15. Bashir: “C’mon just get up and show me!”

My friend and I were discussing this section and she pointed out to me how she felt Bashir was being incredibly condescending "Like show me what you can do, boy!" with definite racial overtones.

As soon as she said that I thought “Wow, she’s right. I had definitely got the patronizing vibe from that section but not made the racial connection.

16. Bashir: “You’re a very kind man”

A-ha! So you CAN tell the truth every now and then Mr. Bashir!

I don’t want Mr. Bashir to have the last word so I’ll end with this so we hear from Michael last.

“I trusted Martin Bashir to come into my life and that of my family because I wanted the truth to be told. Martin Bashir persuaded me to trust him that his would be an honest and fair portrayal of my life and told me that he was the man that turned Diana's life around. I am surprised that a professional journalist would compromise his integrity by deceiving me in this way. Today I feel more betrayed than perhaps ever before; that someone, who had got to know my children, my staff and me, whom I let into my heart and told the truth, could then sacrifice the trust I placed in him and produce this terrible and unfair programme. Everyone who knows me will know the truth which is that my children come first in my life and that I would never harm any child. I also want to thank my fans around the world for the overwhelming number of messages of support that I have received, particularly from Great Britain, where people have e-mailed me and said how appalled they were by the Bashir film. Their love and support has touched me greatly.  Michael Jackson
Michael’s comments on the British TV film by Martin Bashir, broadcast February 3, 2003.

Michael Jackson & Princess Diana - sharing a laugh. This is how I like to think of them!