The aim of this book is to investigate how traits of a mythical hero are manifested in modern culture and, to be more precise, in social beliefs about Michael Jackson. These beliefs are traces leading to complex levels of understanding the phenomenon of pop culture and its taboo. Pop culture makes up its own mythologies and creates its own heroes, but it does so with a reference to the more complex cultural wholeness. This book is an attempt to follow these references and reflect on them. Micheal Jackson
It seems that not only did Jackson infringe in his statement the rule concerning the adult-child relation, but also stepped beyond the taboo of not speaking about these rules. Hence, his statement soon contributed to Jackson being 62 G. Bataille, Erotism: Death and Sensuality, op. cit., p. 216. 63 M. Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo, Routledge, London 2002, p. xi. 64 See what Joanna Tokarska-Bakir writes in this matter; J. Tokarska-Bakir, Energia odpadkw, op. cit. 65 Zygmunt Bauman writes, The opposite of purity the dirt, the filth, polluting agents are things out of place. It is not the intrinsic quality of things which makes them into dirt, but solely their location; more precisely, their location in the order of things envisaged by the purity-seekers. See: Z. Bauman, Postmodernity and its Discontents, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford 1997, p. 6. 89 90
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Part II: Reception of Michael Jackson in Collective Awareness formally charged with sexually molesting a minor, as well as an investigation and a trial conducted against him. Online Statements For words may project a vision of the world; not solely describe it but create it.
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(Wojciech J. Burszta66) I will commence the presentation of online statements with presenting verbal comments. These are characterised by a high degree of aggressiveness and prejudices towards Jackson. Authors of these comments openly condemn both paedophilia and Jackson charged with sexually molesting a minor. The first comments to be cited are those in which there are references to antisemitism: Put the paedophile to a gas chamber, no trial needed. [karol, Aresztowanie Jacksona: Koniec kariery Krla Popu?, 20 November 2003 wp.pl]67 gas that trash! ! ! [marek, Jackson: Decydujce stracie, 1 June 2005, interia.pl] MJ gas him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [roocko, Michael Jackson: Niewinny!, 14 June 2005, wp.pl] Michael Jackson!!!!yuuuuuuck gross gas the man!! Hes only good for scaring children anyway!!! [paula, Jacko ubiera si jak clown i ma twarz mumii, 17 August 2005, wp.pl]
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Hes clearly a q***r and should be gassed just for his looks and acts. Moron [Rudolf, Aresztowanie Jacksona: Koniec kariery Krla Popu?, 20 November 2003, wp.pl] The expression such as gas him used by the authors indicates presence of prejudices based on stereotypisation. Here, Jackson becomes a symbolic Jew sentenced to a gas chamber, hence, a type of a death sentence that provokes associations with the Holocaust. In the case of these comments, we are dealing with a transference of an antisemitic discourse. 66 W.J. Burszta, My zmieniamy wiat albo magia dzisiaj, in: idem, Asteriks w Disneylandzie.
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