LWMJ Part 1
LWMJ Part 1
LWMJ Part 1
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.
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.)
♪ 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)
(Cut to Bashir & Michael Jackson walking with amusement park rides in the
background.)
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: “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]”
(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.”
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.
“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.”
I would like the reader to consider the choices of Mr. Bashir and his team
when assembling the tracks used in this film.
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?
I’ll borrow some legal speak: Asked & Answered dude! (Okay, so I added the
dude…)
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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!
Posted by Karen at 8:25 PM
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