Michael Jackson: There's Anger in Dangerous

A review of Michael Jackson's Dangerous, the Short Films, 1993
by Orandon Marie

Illustration by Mark Rydon

At first watch, this DVD is a little confusing. Packed with more of Jackson's shameless self-promotion, it made me wonder why that was needed? Because in this set of songs, Jackson is talking about being a victim, and showing victims of prejudice. Now I think Jackson took so much crap from the public and media during his career, he had to learn how to promote his own work and efforts to overcome it and continue to be the success he was, and is. (His own campaigning reminds me a little of President Obama's campaign efforts, if the truth be known.)

The flip-side of this DVD is that it shows how the videos were made, some behind the scenes fun. Some of this is self-promotion again; some of it is MJ giving you a glimpse into his world.

I was a little thrown-off by the carnivalesque imagery with Dangerous; however there is some great symbolism here, much of it corresponding to ancient Egypt... Interested?


There is a hand of stone (from the taped-up fingers we can see it belongs to MJ, however, the fingers of mummies in Egypt were taped in the same manner). The hand is paralyzed, and holding a young girl in it's palm. This represents the inner child as female, paralyzed; she is holding the skull of a crocodile. The Egyptian Crocodile God represents death.

She is standing at the gates of death and rebirth, where you see the un-evolved animal spirit entering the tunnel of the astral planes, and coming out the other side, reborn.

I had to sit with the images on the album cover for awhile before I could appreciate the imagery in the DVD. In the DVD you will see some bits that seem to be much like Alice Through the Looking Glass, only this time it's Michael Jackson chasing after the Red Queen, singing, "Why You Wanna Trip On Me?"

The Eye of Horus, rich and green, appears occasionally inside a pyramid; the Eye of Horus was used for protection and as a symbol of medicine in ancient Egyptian times.

Some of the imagery is also corresponding to the innate wisdom of being young. One has to keep in mind that even at an early age, Michael Jackson was world-traveled and someone who witnessed a lot of what was going on with our planet and us, as human beings.

Black or White opens the set. At the beginning it shows, perhaps, rebellion is a healthy way to get free of some things that keep us down... Even inviting us to look at the rebellious spirit of children, in order to understand our own pain and hopelessness (thus the dark dancing sequence of Michael's at the end). Why was this video so controversial for the media? Reporters were concerned about it's sexual and angry impact on young children.

Are we a little higher in our intelligence than animals? That might be a question to ask when watching the morphing sequences of human faces. At the end of the video, MJ states "prejudice is ignorance". What is the difference between stupidity (like a kooky Simpson's cartoon) and ignorance?

Stupidity does not have access to information and tools - like music, languages, the arts. Stupidity is like living in the dark because one doesn't know how to use a light-switch. Ignorance refuses to gain access to those tools; in it's stubbornness and need to be "right", ignorance becomes a form of prejudice. I think MJ is also asking, how much of our ignorance is projected on us by the media?

Super-Bowl Heal the World - I thought these pieces were very emotional, colorful and powerful, especially with the participation of the children (many who are in their 30's by now). Love it!

Remember the Time - just a fun song and dance number with Egyptian themes and fantasy, like a magical dream or reminiscing about the possibilities of past lives.

Will You Be There - another very powerful performance, with more footage from the Super Bowl gathering. A prayerful song for the spirit of the child, Jackson is saying many go to war and act-out with righteousness because they were wounded as children. He would be one to know!

In The Closet - erotic and frustrating; MJ comes across a sort of dancing Pinocchio when it comes to actualizing his desires in real life. Better to have a super-model do that for him?

Gone Too Soon - with an intro and montages featuring a young boy talking about discrimination, someone who died from AIDS, this one is dedicated to sick and orphaned children, and children with AIDS.

Jam - Jam is basically saying life is very confusing, like a game; we've got to learn how to take advantage of every day of our lives, because life is short. Featuring artists of the time - Kris-Kross and Heavy D, I love the beat with the jingling bells, interspersed with more kids dancing, playing and jumping rope (as if it is the children that keep life going here).

Heal The World - seeing this performed live brings tears to my eyes. It was important to Jackson to make videos, he said, because these would outlast the actual concert performances, leaving images behind which would stay with people's minds. Once you see this video, you will want to learn the song and sing it to a few people you care about (and even some you dislike).

Give In To Me - interesting rock performance piece. Jackson was multi-talented, and did some scat-singing in this video which reminded me a lot of George Benson's approach to rockin'. Give In To Me, and not to the ignorance out there; give in to the testimony of my life and what I have lived through, and learn from it. Let my life be a tool, a source of information that will help and prevent others from living in stupidity, and by their hard experiences.

Michael Jackson... His inner "world" is in turmoil, turned upside-down.

Sets are interspersed in here with a video montage of Jackson sitting at the piano, playing and singing to himself "I'll Be There", with footage of himself from childhood, harmonizing. Just lovely!

Who Is It - another romantic piece about loss and betrayal; slick filming; seems more personal and autobiographical.

Dangerous & Why You Wanna Trip On Me? - The energy of the two pieces as they blend into to one another seem to say, instead of looking for what's good and what's right, why do we tend to look for trouble?

Our natural curiosity as children are lost in hopelessness and cynicism. That's the real danger, is it not?

Michael Jackson: Buried Alive

The world has much to learn
from the life and the death of Michael Jackson...

I feel he was officially buried alive by Martin Bashir in 2003 (via a karmic agreement between the two). Both men went into these series of televised interviews knowingly, and both were dancing around each other trying to get at the truth. The interviews continue to be controversial because Bashir reached a point where he felt he had to become confrontational with Jackson, believing he was not getting the truth. Certainly, he was getting mixed messages from Jackson (in the same way the public was). But the end result of the interviews were that Michael became defensive and felt victimized by not being accepted at face-value. And it was how these interviews played out in public that buried Michael Jackson (and his career) alive.

Michael, like the rest of his family, was a shameless self-promoter and went to great lengths to present a certain kind of image of himself to the public. Unfortunately, over the last 20 years, Michael was also dealing with severe drug problems, which deterred his abilities to differentiate between public relations, the truth, and reality.

Michael Jackson did all he had come here to do.

He was done with this earth plane. His spiritual legacy is to teach those of us who loved him how to understand the deep oppression of what shaming and blaming does to our lives and the lives of others. Perhaps in the time of our President, Barack Obama, we will learn how to get beyond such patterns of personal blame and shame through the audacity of HOPE? That's my prayer.

Perhaps it was hope that kept Michael Jackson going for as long as he did - but he didn't find it, necessarily, in other people, and especially not in adults.

He was black, he was gifted,
he was abused and molested as a child; he was gay.
No one ever helped him to deal with this shadow, which took over his life.

Online reports say his father managed him by brutally kicking his son right where it counted - in his testicles. For this reason, some reports online are stating Michael was sterile and couldn't have kids. Michael was emasculated and oppressed by such actions by his father from an early age; he was groomed to lie to the public, especially about his sexuality. When asked as a young man by a reporter if he was gay, Michael requested that all recording machines be turned off. His answer was that he didn't want anything to go on record, that he didn't wish to say he wasn't gay, because he knew he had many gay fans. (I believe this was reported in a televised interview with Smokey Robinson.)

He was groomed to believe he was entitled to have riches, to spend money however he wanted. He began groping himself in public in his videos around the age of 27, with the BAD album. When kids came to Neverland, they wanted to dress like him and dance like him. He taught them how to Moondance, but might have also goofed around with kids and taught them it was "okay" to feel and touch themselves the way he did in videos. And who knows what went on behind closed doors? His rationale as an adult was inappropriate and questionable. For sure, Jackson's shadow-self and his acting-out against everything his father represented created repercussions in his personal life for the worst.

Certainly, if you check out the records on Michael Jackson, the reports are out there (google "smoking gun" and "Michael Jackson" for those pages). Investigators said the two court cases were singled out of many complaints from parents who felt they could do nothing but remove their kids from Jackson's circle.

He had controversial marriages; he had babies by fertilization; he had multiple alterations done to his face and body. Some believe he began to butcher his own face out of his hatred towards his father, who he resembled from the time he was little.

Michael Jackson was not able to look at himself in a mirror during the last 10 years of his life; that's how acute the pain of his shadow had become. He was like Peter Pan in that he had no control over it, or over himself. In the interview with Bashir he said just the thought of his father was enough to make him vomit.

Michael was anorexic and had a bulemic disorder. He used drugs and lied about it; he gave alcohol to children (as per reports shown on the smoking gun pages); his every act was a cry for help! And all of this was of his own choosing, because in his adult years he refused to get the right help.

It seems, too, the public and the law holds different standards for people like him and his family, because they are money.

Perhaps the public will come to learn from his life that we all have CHOICES in how we conduct our lives and ourselves.

God Bless Him

Ignorance does terrible things to people. We live in an age where there is no excuse for it; and even in wishing for hopeful outcomes for others, it is possible to imply that still, we all live with freedom of choice. But we have to strive for it, and be proactive about not allowing the shadows and the darkness in our lives to get the best of who we are, and who we will become.

Michael Jackson Personal Memorials

These are photos of spontaneous memorials set up for Michael Jackson last week, across the planet. Out of 187 photos posted on LA Times online, I chose these for my page... I have photoshopped these pics to enhance them.

This little heart appeared on plot at UCLA Medical Center,
once fans heard of Michael's death.
The fragrance of the rose is healing to all hearts.

UCLA fan carries a poster of Michael across campus...
Michael's spirit will continue to need many prayers
as he passes through the bardos of this lifetime,
searching for God's Light - may he be there.

Personal Message to Michael, I think this is in California...
(We all know, human beings can be very cruel.
We all know we need to work on our skills
to have better relationships.)

In Pakistan, a prayer altar...
May out prayers lift and guide the spirit into light.

Newspaper collection the next day...
Should anyone be surprised?

Red Rose for Michael...

Blue Rose for Michael...

A Jackson Fan in Milan, Italy
To cleanse ourselves with tears
is to allow more room in our hearts
for love; and indeed, tears
are a signal that love has touched us.

Altar for Jackson in Lima, Peru...
The Journey into the Light is long and arduous.

A vigil altar for Michael Jackson, in India
May you be remembered and recognized
in your perfection;
for God does not make mistakes.

Mourning Fans at the Eifel Tower, France
All pain is a revolution.

Young Chinese Boys honoring Michael at a gathering...

On Michael Jackson and Child Abuse

On Michael Jackson and Child Abuse
by Orandon Marie
This article is written by me and published for Jamie, c) 2009

Many adults in my generation have come from families where there was child abuse. And we're aware how many of our parents from the previous generation were also abused in childhood. For some, this may have come in the form of spankings and beatings; while others may have had to deal with sexual abuse, and others still have had to endure both.

People never really talked about these problems in the '60's and '70's. Yet as kids we'd witness children coming into grade school with dirty hair and clothing, nerve-ridden, and generally shaken from neglect or abuse. There are no other words for it - when someone is hurting, something is going on at a very deep level. Children are basically innocent creatures. I believe they are real victims in this world when they are not cherished and loved.

In the early '80's, a film was made based on a book by Christina Crawford, called "Mommy Dearest". Today it is considered to be a cult movie. Back then, the topic was controversial and shocking. It is a story about the famous Hollywood actress, Joan Crawford, and her relationship with her children. Christina was Joan Crawford's adopted child. She wrote about her mother's mood-swings and the severe beatings she and her brother got as kids. She opened the topic up to the general public, shocking people into the realization that we, too, had our stories... Which continue to haunt us and shape up in every-day life.

You see, the problem with child abuse is that it stays with a person's soul.


Memories from childhood can take a person back within just a few minutes... To a place where there is no time. Or things felt in childhood actually become timeless; yet because we still remember, we still tend to hold onto the pain in an effort to try to understand it and clear it. Neurology is showing how we do this physically, gripping our bodies. Being hit and slapped, punched and kicked - thrown into walls, throttled and yelled at... Called names and belittled - these things are purely done for dominance and control. There is no other real purpose, except to intimidate a child as if he or she were an animal. Or worse.

If child abuse is a consistent factor in a young person's life, chances are the abuser does not see the child as a person, but as a thing.

During the '90's and into 2000 and beyond, psychologists and social workers have been educating the public on the need for healthy boundaries. Personal boundaries begin early in childhood, with doing things like teaching kids to say "please" and "thank you".

Somehow I notice there seems to be a generation who apologizes for their very existence with a constant "sorry". Sorry...? For bumping into you; sorry for need to walk past you; sorry for tripping and getting in your way; sorry that my existence affects you? has an impact on you? I wonder if "sorry" is good enough? "Excuse" or "pardon" is sufficient. What is "sorry"? How can I make things better? How can I make difference? These are all variations of the same social skills so many people lack... Is it because of a background of wounding and pain?

Many are easy to take offense, or are thoughtless and accident-prone. It's because they are not in their bodies; they are spaced-out.

The reason for this is: a person can disown the child-self, or their inner child. Perhaps, through abuse, the inner-child energy is just "floating" around the body but not in the body. It's "sorry".

Are we timeless? While the rest of our being is functioning in time, there are aspects of ourselves that are working to try to understand things in other dimensions. Those aspects would be our souls, or the child-self, and our Higher Power, the spirit. Indeed? Our brains are the last organism of the body to compute what's going on.

The child-self is timeless, able to remember things all from the past, including past lifetimes. The child-self has an understanding of about a 3-5 year old. Talking to the child-self out loud with affirmations is one way to bring in some healing. (A great website: vital affirmations.com) Affirmations are like prayers, helping us to bring the child-self back into our bodies, allowing us to learn how to choose, make choices, have fun. The child part of ourselves needs to feel a connection with Higher Power.

I think Michael Jackson was able to find that in music.
In this way he could keep a connection
which will sustain his spirit for many years to come.

Michael Jackson, in March of this year - 5'11", 112 lbs, in his pajamas.

I think no matter what, Michael Jackson was dying. For one thing, he had entirely lost his appetite. He was 5" 11', and weighed at 112 lbs; he was starving his heart. (Please check out my heart blog: helpourheartsjesus.blogspot.com) The heart needs sustenance in order to live. Many people who have childhood abuse issues can be anorexic or bulimic. However if a person is also addicted to opiates, this will suppress the appetite. Michael Jackson reached a point in his existence where he chose to shut down his brain. That's what these drugs do.

Michael could not seem to differentiate between his feelings and the feelings of children. His boundaries were confused. He may have been able to feel the pain of others in a sort of psychic way... However, abused people cannot separate themselves from others - they tend to take on the pain of others and make it their own. This is why people need to get professional help.

If they are not being honest with themselves about the things going on in their lives, they will have out-of-body experiences, be spaced out, act severely self-conscious and inhibited and shy.

Professional psychological help can assist a person to learn how to speak in terms of self and other, not "we", and not put things in general terms in regard to force-teaming with others. Patients can become overtly dependent on their doctors; they may have trouble separating themselves from their need to have the doctor. Telling the truth to the doctor is one way to establish a link of trust, something very few patients of abuse have in their lives.

Telling the truth is a key, both in personal and public lives. In this process the person can begin to establish integrity in his or her life. We deserve to be with people who are calm, gentle and loving. We deserve to give that to ourselves as well.

Michael allegedly left more music behind...

Michael Jackson spent the last few years of his life doing endless self-promotion, as everything was being ripped away from him. He had turn to the Muslim community for help and financial assistance. He had to leave the U.S. Apparently he continued to write songs. He has allegedly left as part of his legacy a collection, approximately 200 songs on record in his studio.

Look to the Light, Michael Jackson!

What a grievous month! Starting with the "accidental" death of David Carradine, the "accidental" occurrence when I told my (now former) boss to f-off... And now my Michael Jackson.

Sure, his death was an "accident" - NOT!

Of course, when any famous musician dies, it is always a conspiracy. I don't know why that happens. A kind of denial sweeps over the public. These are not just human beings we are enjoying - they are "stars". They are immortal. So when a death happens, yes, we want to celebrate their lives... But there is always the painful reality that gets revealed - ten year's, twenty year's - and then thirty year's later - the really-really-ugly reality and truth. Because, you see, by giving the dead lots of time to be dead, we are giving the dead some respect. I find that ironic, don't you?

Certainly everyone felt Kurt Cobain's death was not an "accident". The death of Jimi Hendrix was not an "accident"; Jim Morrison was destined to die, but was it by "accident"? We think not; indeed he may have been murdered but we'll never know. And Elvis? That was no "accident", but how do we even know for sure if he's dead?!

It really hurts when you grow up with someone, watching all the "accidents" happen. That's how life is.

Certainly Michael's life has been no ball-game over the last 10 years. In the last 3 years, he had to witness all his personal property go up for auction, move out of the country, get slapped with lawsuits from every angle, and... Is it no wonder he needed pain-killers? It was either that or start telling the truth.

Michael Jackson was never good at lying.


He was just too tender-hearted of a person to pull it off; so I think that fact was slowly killing him, like torture. As Mark Twain once said, "You can't pray a lie".

It is stunning to look at the old, original videos of Michael as a young child, and see how he is performing for his Dad. In fact, his confident posturing, gesturing, the little gold rings on his fingers seem to shadow his own father... The eager look of desire for approval in his eyes. You see, Michael changed as he got older; and then he changed by torturing himself, since he had no one, really, to tell the truth to. He tried, when he wrote MOONWALK - he tried to get there, and then he gave up. I am sure that book was heavily edited.

But growing up, we thought Michael was gorgeous and beautiful. Eloquent, sexy and talented. All the girls in high school were nuts for Michael Jackson! He was all those things you look for in a boy - pretty, seeming to have his shit together, energetic, funny, bright, shy, intense, expressive, gentlemanly. He was just the kind of guy you wanted to hold and kiss for hours. The boy you wanted to go to the prom with. We were glad we never heard stories of him getting too cozy with anyone but Diana Ross - he left so much to our imaginations! Especially when he was performing songs like Dancin' Machine, I Wanna Rock w/You. Between him and all his brothers? He was enough to make you pass-out - - right in front of the TV.

Michael became intensely shy... He talks a little about this in MOONWALK. He said he felt that he was under a lot of pressure to keep producing songs and performing. I think it was more than that. Child abuse does strange thing to people.

This is not the time to go into it; suffice to say, Michael really needed to individuate himself, break away from the stronghold of his Dad. Already by this time Michael was dealing with some emotional baggage he couldn't dismiss. He became accident-prone, on top of things, and tripped and broke his nose on stage when he was 18. (That was the first nose surgery.)

You know, we, his fans, just thought he looked more handsome with his new nose.


His father told him - "You didn't get that nose from me."

Please forgive me for being anything like you, Mom and Dad. I didn't know I had to be perfect; I didn't know that was my job in life.

The other day a friend told me - "Orandon, artists don't take shit jobs. Why would you take a shit job? Why would you ever do something like scrub floors? That would be enough to piss anyone off!" Well, I don't think there's a specific job description for Rock 'n Roller - some of the most sensitive artists on the planet, and Michael Jackson was no exception. Was he special? Let's just say he'll be irreplaceable.


What great artists do is learn how to mimic, until they are able to discover their own style. The shit-work would be in, teaching yourself how to please your Dad, as he's swatting you with a belt; forcing yourself to move around a stage, dancing and hitting the high-notes like Little Richard; learning how to stretch the truth and tell a yarn in front of the public, on camera; being coached by your managers and producers to believe you are entitled; finding yourself very sexually confused and still a virgin at the age of 18; girls are throwing themselves at you, and you don't even know if you like them (except for friends); and finally being told, you're entitled to spend money, indulge yourself and work under pressure since you've been supporting your family from the age of 5.

Yes, I feel a little bitter when it comes to Michael Jackson's life. It's like having something ripped out of me... Something which only, in the end, leaves a giant black hole of loss! Great loss, that I will hopefully accept some day. But today? I can't accept it - it hurts too much. This is what happens when you grow up with someone; he affects you. You remember his presence during both the good times and the bad. You see yourself getting older too, but possibly learning from the mistakes and wounds of your friend, and choosing grace and kindness.

I want to feel relief at the thought that perhaps, finally Michael Jackson will have some true peace in his being. His soul needs our prayers.

n

So because I am still dealing with my grief, this is all I can say for now.

I was super-pleased to learn we have Michael's glove and sequined coat here in Seattle, at the Experience Music Project, a museum for rock star memorabilia.

It was fun to go down to the Space Needle, watch the little kids dancing in the giant fountain to Michael Jackson's songs... The 11-year olds were working on the Moonwalk. Then, at EMP, this sweater was on display with the glove. Cute - it is in fact a ladies sweater, loosely knit with no buttons - fragile looking! The glove is also knit, probably these were both made in China.


It was sobering to be in the room with these items, watching Michael perform on a giant-sized screen. (Even with that performance he was critical of himself.) The songs were - I Want You Back, Never Can Say Goodbye, I'll Be There, which he performed with his brothers before leading into Billie Jean...

Watching him wave the glove across the screen over our heads, somehow I felt as if it was a cry for help.

These days, fans can do outreaches online, make our thoughts known in ways we couldn't do for Michael Jackson 20 years ago.

I wish for him to see God's light, and be in it.

Right now, I doubt that Michael's soul is aware that he has died. When people are addicted to narcotics, it is impossible to tell the difference between sleeping, dreaming and waking.

So I think his spirit was willing - he was in the process of talking himself through the motions of doing this one last tour in July... The spirit is willing, but the body can only take so much pain.

His spirit has been passing over us, watching all the colors and sounds of our celebrations and ways of saying goodbye, then returning home, to try and figure out what has happened.

Where did my body go? Why can't I open my eyes?

Michael Jackson, 1958-2009
May you see yourself in the eyes of those who love you,
and may you find God's light and love, quickly.

Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

God Bless and Keep Your Great Spirit