We Are All Leaving Neverland
After the so-called "revelations" of Michael Jackson's sexual abuse of young boys in the documentary Leaving Neverland, many fans are reeling at the prospect of their beloved entertainer being such a deeply flawed individual. Some stoically defend him, while others turn away from the deceased performers' work. Amidst it all, producers of the long-running animated sitcom The Simpsons have announced that they would discontinue syndication of the first episode of their third season, entitled Stark Raving Dad, due to it having featured Jackson's voice. It is an understandable but no less interesting move on the producers' part, given the first series of sexual abuse allegations came public in 1993, only two years after the episode aired.
This taken into account, the episode itself forms an interesting perspective through which to view the intense hero-worship and borderline deification of an individual. The very cult that formed around him that would see countless people defend his innocence throughout the course of the ongoing accusations against him, the appeal that saw parents offering their children as friends to him and the wool that was pulled over so many of our eyes' in the years that would follow. Even the story of the show's production is now left with an eerie ambiance, given how it was originally conceived.
According to producer and series creator Matt Groening on the DVD commentary of Stark Raving Dad, it was Jackson who insisted upon being given a guest spot on the show. He called their office personally, childlike giggles and all, and requested that an episode, written by his own staff, be produced as a vehicle for both himself and the show, which at the time had yet to attain the dazzling success it would itself achieve in the mid to later 90's. To the creators' credit, all of Jackson's submissions were rejected, and the gambit was taken to write and have their own approved by the Jackson camp. They were successful, upon the condition that the accused pedophile would go uncredited, and that he would voice an entirely fictional character, rather than an animated avatar of himself. An intriguing piece of the show's history, given the content of the episode it would create.
After a series of falling outs within the Simpson family see Homer forcefully institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital, the Simpson father soon makes friends with a fellow inmate who, despite his towering stature, overweight physique and clearly Caucasian ethnicity, claims to be Michael Jackson (the voice of Jackson supplied). After hearing of Homer's family woes, he offers his support and advice and eventually sees Homer and the Simpson family reconciled. Out of gratitude, Homer -who spends the episode blissfully unaware of Jackson's celebrity - invites the perfect stranger into his home, after a typically Jacksonesq sequence of self-aggrandizing that could only have been added by the accused pedophile's own writing staff, given the advertising material of his concerts and music videos. It is important to note, however, that at this point, neither Simpson nor the audience know what the reason for Jackson's self-imposed institutionalization actually was, other than his own explanation, which only came after the offer of joining Homer in his home with his family. In spite of the style of comedy featured in other episodes of The Simpsons, this is never once treated as humor. Even as Jackson is left alone with Homer's son Bart all night, that very night, during which time the two write a song for Bat's sister Lisa, nobody once raises this as an issue, be it comedic or otherwise. Not even the matriarchal voice of reason Marge Simpson ever raises any alarm.
The suggestion seems to be that not only is Jackson so present in our lives and in our homes already that we trust him even with our most precious responsibilities entirely, we would actually extend the same trust to someone just because they seem to have his voice and to affect his gentle demeanor. The arrogance, in retrospect, is astonishing. Whether by design or consequent to the naivety of the time, no character questions the situation, but neither did any of the staff on The Simpsons along the way to their delivery of the episode.
Taken this into account, it becomes clearer why the show's producers are so adamant that the episode should be wiped of all its history. However, this but one example of the kind of spell that Jackson had so very many of us under. The other is the most important: Neither did any of this scenario raise any alarm among viewers. The episode holds a 13.9 Nielsen Rating, held 23 per cent of the shared audience and was viewed in some 22 million homes. It is considered by many to be the show's turning point, the moment that sent it from simple sitcom to cultural phenomenon. Nobody objected to the content publicly.
Michael Jackson didn't just groom his victims. His status as a super-celebrity, hopefully one of the last that ever exists, allowed him to build such a devoted cult around himself that he could project what charitable, kind hearted, innocent and childlike demeanor out into his followers and nobody among them would question it. Most of the world swallowed the act hook, like and sinker.
The world cannot afford to forget Stark Raving Dad. We must remember the hyperbole that elevated a man to such an untouchable status that we ignored the cries of his alleged underage victims. Like the priests and scout leaders society is gradually turning away from in the wake of their own sexual abuse accusations, we all must grow from our woshipping nature. We all must leave Neverland.
This taken into account, the episode itself forms an interesting perspective through which to view the intense hero-worship and borderline deification of an individual. The very cult that formed around him that would see countless people defend his innocence throughout the course of the ongoing accusations against him, the appeal that saw parents offering their children as friends to him and the wool that was pulled over so many of our eyes' in the years that would follow. Even the story of the show's production is now left with an eerie ambiance, given how it was originally conceived.
According to producer and series creator Matt Groening on the DVD commentary of Stark Raving Dad, it was Jackson who insisted upon being given a guest spot on the show. He called their office personally, childlike giggles and all, and requested that an episode, written by his own staff, be produced as a vehicle for both himself and the show, which at the time had yet to attain the dazzling success it would itself achieve in the mid to later 90's. To the creators' credit, all of Jackson's submissions were rejected, and the gambit was taken to write and have their own approved by the Jackson camp. They were successful, upon the condition that the accused pedophile would go uncredited, and that he would voice an entirely fictional character, rather than an animated avatar of himself. An intriguing piece of the show's history, given the content of the episode it would create.
After a series of falling outs within the Simpson family see Homer forcefully institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital, the Simpson father soon makes friends with a fellow inmate who, despite his towering stature, overweight physique and clearly Caucasian ethnicity, claims to be Michael Jackson (the voice of Jackson supplied). After hearing of Homer's family woes, he offers his support and advice and eventually sees Homer and the Simpson family reconciled. Out of gratitude, Homer -who spends the episode blissfully unaware of Jackson's celebrity - invites the perfect stranger into his home, after a typically Jacksonesq sequence of self-aggrandizing that could only have been added by the accused pedophile's own writing staff, given the advertising material of his concerts and music videos. It is important to note, however, that at this point, neither Simpson nor the audience know what the reason for Jackson's self-imposed institutionalization actually was, other than his own explanation, which only came after the offer of joining Homer in his home with his family. In spite of the style of comedy featured in other episodes of The Simpsons, this is never once treated as humor. Even as Jackson is left alone with Homer's son Bart all night, that very night, during which time the two write a song for Bat's sister Lisa, nobody once raises this as an issue, be it comedic or otherwise. Not even the matriarchal voice of reason Marge Simpson ever raises any alarm.
The suggestion seems to be that not only is Jackson so present in our lives and in our homes already that we trust him even with our most precious responsibilities entirely, we would actually extend the same trust to someone just because they seem to have his voice and to affect his gentle demeanor. The arrogance, in retrospect, is astonishing. Whether by design or consequent to the naivety of the time, no character questions the situation, but neither did any of the staff on The Simpsons along the way to their delivery of the episode.
Taken this into account, it becomes clearer why the show's producers are so adamant that the episode should be wiped of all its history. However, this but one example of the kind of spell that Jackson had so very many of us under. The other is the most important: Neither did any of this scenario raise any alarm among viewers. The episode holds a 13.9 Nielsen Rating, held 23 per cent of the shared audience and was viewed in some 22 million homes. It is considered by many to be the show's turning point, the moment that sent it from simple sitcom to cultural phenomenon. Nobody objected to the content publicly.
Michael Jackson didn't just groom his victims. His status as a super-celebrity, hopefully one of the last that ever exists, allowed him to build such a devoted cult around himself that he could project what charitable, kind hearted, innocent and childlike demeanor out into his followers and nobody among them would question it. Most of the world swallowed the act hook, like and sinker.
The world cannot afford to forget Stark Raving Dad. We must remember the hyperbole that elevated a man to such an untouchable status that we ignored the cries of his alleged underage victims. Like the priests and scout leaders society is gradually turning away from in the wake of their own sexual abuse accusations, we all must grow from our woshipping nature. We all must leave Neverland.
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