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Michael Jackson and the Quandary of a Black Identity
In Michael Jackson and the Quandary of a Black Identity, Sherrow O. Pinder explores the ways in which the late singer's racial identification process problematizes conceptualizations of race and the presentation of blackness that reduces blacks to a bodily mark. Pinder is particularly interested in how Michael Jackson simultaneously performs his racial identity and posits it against strict binary racial definitions, neither black nor white. While Jackson's self-fashioning deconstructs and challenges the corporeal notions of "natural bodies" and fixed identities, negative readings of the King of Pop fuel epithets such as "weird" or "freak," subjecting him to a form of antagonism that denies the black body its self-determination. Thus, for Jackson, racial identification becomes a deeply ambivalent process, which leads to the fragmentation of his identity into plural identities. Pinder shows how Jackson as a racialized subject is discursively confined to a "third space," a liminal space of ambivalence.
234 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 16, 2021
Sherrow O. Pinder’s book, Michael Jackson and the Quandary of a Black Identity, is an academic examination on race in America, and how a black individual – even a famous and super-successful one like Michael Jackson - cannot escape being “racialized” in a society which continues to relegate such people according to long-prevailing racial stereotypes. Pinder points out that in the US, Blacks are taught to stay in their place. Michael Jackson didn’t, and neither did he conform to society’s view of what a Black person should look like and how they should behave.
Pinder suggests that Jackson’s weariness of being racially stereotyped prompted his proclamation in “Black or White” that “I’m not gonna spend my life being a colour.” The author proposes that he thus attempts to forge an identity for himself that is neither black nor white, which she calls “a racial in-betweenness” that subsequently created anxiety amongst the masses. Unfortunately Pinder does not mention vitiligo until much later in the book, but she does acknowledge there were “valid explanations.” However, when vitiligo does emerge in the text, it is accompanied by an excellent lesson in “the United States’ racist history” as illustrated by the “one drop rule” which stated that a person did not have to look Black to be Black (i.e. one drop of negro blood meant you were all negro!).
Jackson was not reticent in using his art to express his feelings on matters that concerned him. “Black or White”, Pinder states, “is not about the artist confirming his racial identity, but about refusing the constraints of racial identification.” While application of her various hypotheses to Jackson’s experience rings true in many instances, Pinder missteps slightly in referencing other of his lyrics, and song and album titles out of context. Jackson fans know the true meanings of the album titles “Bad” and “Dangerous” and the stories behind lyrics from songs which he did not write such as “You are not alone” and “Thriller” and those he did write, e.g. “Speechless” which don’t fit the scenarios in which they have been used in Pinder’s narrative.
Nevertheless, I came away having great respect for her knowledge of and ability to explain at length and in exhaustive detail the Black experience in the US and the weight of societal expectations borne by Michael Jackson. This includes his being the subject of some harsh and judgemental comments from some academic authors (e.g. Margo Jefferson) and by the media. As Pinder writes, “Michael Jackson’s body… is subject to all kinds of negative readings and conceptualizations.” As we have seen since his passing, this hasn’t changed.
By his non-conformity to what is perceived in his own country as the racial norm, Michael unwittingly condemned himself to being labelled “Wacko Jacko”, a racist pejorative that had an enabling effect on both the media (who created it) and an often largely unsympathetic public. It is a short jump from being considered weird to being thought “criminally” weird when one has such a false persona bestowed on them. Pinder’s arguments for the abuse of Michael Jackson’s rights by the police and the media who salivated over their coverage of his arrest and trial, and especially the prospect of him going to jail, are symptomatic of the problems experienced by many Black Americans in their own country even today. (Sadly, it is symptomatic of stereotyping of various ethnic and cultural groups in many countries.) Coupled with blackness, “weirdness” or “freakiness” disturbs the social body, she explains. Michael Jackson, by acting on his right to be the person he wanted to be, disturbed society to a degree that he was demonised without evidence.
Michael Jackson and the Quandary of a Black Identity is very much a book for those with an academic interest in how Michael Jackson’s situation illustrates the broader experiences of Black Americans, even famous ones, and the limitations society places on them. It is not a cheerful read, but it is certainly an important one which, it is hoped, leaves us all wiser and more appreciative of what Michael Jackson and others have endured because they dared to be different, broke down barriers, and expected to be treated as human beings rather than stereotypes.
Review by Kerry Hennigan
September 2021
Pinder suggests that Jackson’s weariness of being racially stereotyped prompted his proclamation in “Black or White” that “I’m not gonna spend my life being a colour.” The author proposes that he thus attempts to forge an identity for himself that is neither black nor white, which she calls “a racial in-betweenness” that subsequently created anxiety amongst the masses. Unfortunately Pinder does not mention vitiligo until much later in the book, but she does acknowledge there were “valid explanations.” However, when vitiligo does emerge in the text, it is accompanied by an excellent lesson in “the United States’ racist history” as illustrated by the “one drop rule” which stated that a person did not have to look Black to be Black (i.e. one drop of negro blood meant you were all negro!).
Jackson was not reticent in using his art to express his feelings on matters that concerned him. “Black or White”, Pinder states, “is not about the artist confirming his racial identity, but about refusing the constraints of racial identification.” While application of her various hypotheses to Jackson’s experience rings true in many instances, Pinder missteps slightly in referencing other of his lyrics, and song and album titles out of context. Jackson fans know the true meanings of the album titles “Bad” and “Dangerous” and the stories behind lyrics from songs which he did not write such as “You are not alone” and “Thriller” and those he did write, e.g. “Speechless” which don’t fit the scenarios in which they have been used in Pinder’s narrative.
Nevertheless, I came away having great respect for her knowledge of and ability to explain at length and in exhaustive detail the Black experience in the US and the weight of societal expectations borne by Michael Jackson. This includes his being the subject of some harsh and judgemental comments from some academic authors (e.g. Margo Jefferson) and by the media. As Pinder writes, “Michael Jackson’s body… is subject to all kinds of negative readings and conceptualizations.” As we have seen since his passing, this hasn’t changed.
By his non-conformity to what is perceived in his own country as the racial norm, Michael unwittingly condemned himself to being labelled “Wacko Jacko”, a racist pejorative that had an enabling effect on both the media (who created it) and an often largely unsympathetic public. It is a short jump from being considered weird to being thought “criminally” weird when one has such a false persona bestowed on them. Pinder’s arguments for the abuse of Michael Jackson’s rights by the police and the media who salivated over their coverage of his arrest and trial, and especially the prospect of him going to jail, are symptomatic of the problems experienced by many Black Americans in their own country even today. (Sadly, it is symptomatic of stereotyping of various ethnic and cultural groups in many countries.) Coupled with blackness, “weirdness” or “freakiness” disturbs the social body, she explains. Michael Jackson, by acting on his right to be the person he wanted to be, disturbed society to a degree that he was demonised without evidence.
Michael Jackson and the Quandary of a Black Identity is very much a book for those with an academic interest in how Michael Jackson’s situation illustrates the broader experiences of Black Americans, even famous ones, and the limitations society places on them. It is not a cheerful read, but it is certainly an important one which, it is hoped, leaves us all wiser and more appreciative of what Michael Jackson and others have endured because they dared to be different, broke down barriers, and expected to be treated as human beings rather than stereotypes.
Review by Kerry Hennigan
September 2021
February 12, 2022
Sherrow O.Pinder’s Michael Jackson and the Quandary of a Black Identity is an alarmingly good read. Alarming is the word that springs to mind because it packs a punch, not shying away from the incredible complexity of analysing a black identity. Through the course of four chapters, a comprehensive introduction and a thought-provoking epilogue, Pinder guides the reader through a myriad of analytical techniques and quotes widely. I do not want to spoiler the book but I must say that it was a great addition to the academic catalogue for MJ Studies and anyone who is looking for a deeper understanding of Jackson and his career.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews