THEY'RE
FEEDING HIM TO THE LIONS
ichael Jackon's trial started on Monday but televising it to
the world has been banned, so what do they do? Of course! Turn
it into a soap opera! Hire a Jackson lookalike and recreate
the exact setting of the courtroom and away we go. Let the
games begin.
E!
Entertainment Television has teamed up with British Sky Broadcasting
to create a half-hour daily show that will re-enact the daily
happenings of Jackson’s trial, once it gets underway.
Let me try and work out why this is annoying me so much. Back
in '93 O.J. Simpson's trial was broadcast live around
the world. I saw bits of that and just thought "crazy Americans"
- so I guess that didn't really irritate me. However, what's
different about this is the intention of the media to turn this
into a soap opera.
This is a trial to either convict or exonerate a man who has
been charged with very serious crimes. There is nothing entertaining
in the mix here. To go to enormous lengths and to spend so much
money to hire actors, and recreate the "court scene"
somehow turns the seriousness of this trial on its head. It
belittles the crime along with the justice system. It makes
a mockery
of the whole system and exposes how we, the audience, are much
more interested in the gossip factor than whats really happening
here. Lets remember what IS happening here. Children may have
been sexually molested - or may not have been. Either way this
is serious stuff and now its a prime time show on network TV
globally.
I
think it's one thing to do "live" coverage of [any]
trial. It's quite another to turn it into a circus. Sort of
reminds me of the games in Rome's Coliseum centuries ago, where
the Christians were thrown to the lions - for the amusement
of the people.
According
to The Toronto Sun Ted Harbert, President and CEO of E!
Entertainment Television, made the announcement to have observers
in the courtroom each day to take notes on the events, including
the tone and manner in which people speak and even how Jackson
is dressed. All of the details will be translated into an Unsolved
Mysteries-style re-enactment. When Harbert made this announcement,
he was met with gasps and laughter from the crowd. They may
as well be the people in that Coliseum so many years ago.
I would like to think that at least some people will try and
put themselves in Michael's shoes. Imagine if you are him and
you are innocent. Imagine how hard it would be to sleep at night.
Imagine how you would feel with the media gnawing at you like
a bunch of lions every single day for months. And we, as observers
only have to imagine. The real thing must be horrific.
If he is guilty and children have been abused, I would like
to think that there are people out there who would try to imagine
the psychological destruction and intense guilt felt by sexually
abused kids. If you were one of those kids, try to imagine how
exposed you must feel, how guilty and dirty you must feel (a
typical reaction to sexual abuse) how you can't comprehend ever
having a normal life. As I say we are only observers. The real
thing must be horrendous.
People are saying that this is going to be dubbed The trial
of the century. The media lions are having a field day
as millions of people around the globe sit with their popcorn
and await in anticipation for the games to begin.
And
now , lets do a "blast from the past", a "rave
from the grave" (as they used to say on 70's radio!) with
a report I did on the Beckhams a year or so back. You
can read that below, dated April 14th 2004
A
SUPERSTAR IN YOUR OWN JAIL
Well,
there we are, all watching as Beckham gives Victoria a peck
on the cheek. And a very political peck it was. Girls are coming
out of all sorts of crevices claiming to have been with the
worlds richest soccer player. The latest comes from Australia's
Sarah Marbeck, who sold her sordid little story to the low-life
rag "The
News of The World" Sarah is a model. She told the paper
"We made fantastic love and he gave me the highest,
most intense moments of passion I've ever felt," Right
Sarah, the cheque's in the mail.
If someone asked me would I like to be rich and famous, I'd
probably say "Yes, but you can hang onto the fame"
I honestly cannot think of anything worse than being famous.
Fame can afford you just about anything, but the price you pay
happens to be the most valuable asset of all: freedom.
"Beckingham
Palace", as it's known, was originally an orphanage, a
place for lost kids with lost souls. David and Vicky bought
it for 4 million pounds, and then pumped a further 5.5 million
to make it comfy for themselves. Indeed a retreat from the madding
crowd. And God knows they need it. The media tends to push you
to great heights and then pulls you down again, a bit like a
yoyo. Superstars need to know how to deal with the media, and
of course many of them simply don't. As far as I can see superstars
fall into three catagories.
The
ones who use it to their advantage, the stupid ones, and the
ones who are abused by it.
Madonna has done well out of it. She has always been one step
ahead of the media. Indeed, she has played with the media just
like you would with, well, a yoyo. Kylie Minogue is as solid
as a rock. They ain't gettin' nothin' on this chick! She doesn't
smoke, drinks moderately, dates guys, has no scandals, and smiles
confidently into the camera. When one of her boyfriends has
a drama, she moves away from them at a rapid rate. Jason Donovan
was no longer her friend when he did his drug thing. She had
no comment when Hutchence hung himself in a Sydney hotel room.
The media must hate her! This little Aussie belle also looks
after her own finances, as a lion would with it's cub. Kylie
knows the potential wrath of the media. She plays the media
game very very carefully. She knows it could be a lethal game.
Then
there are those who really should have never bothered to
get into the game, because they were simply asking for trouble.
And not because they couldn't handle the media, but because
they were bloody idiots. Boy George and Jason Donovan were
too busy snorting from the mirror table to notice the lurking
paparazzi. Winona got into theiving instead of visiting
her shrink. Bad move. The masses who work their arses off
to pay the rent will have no time for a spoilt little millionaire
who steals from a hard-working shop owner. |
Jason
and Kylie before Jason broke the rules of fame.
|
Rob Lowe jumping into bed with an underage girl. Hugh Grant
getting done by a prostitute on a side street in LA. Of course,
some say that these events were publciity stunts. I say nay.
These were mostly idiotic acts by irresponsible adults who should
know better. Who gives a shit if they do this stuff, but I don't
think your average teenage old boy needs to know that it's okay
for his idols on TV to do irreverent stuff, or your average
teenage girl thinking its okay to steal if you're famous. It's
possible you think I'm being real conservative here, but c'mon!
The media runs the lives of kids too.
The third kind are the ones who are simply taken advantage of
by the media. Okay so Sinead O'Connor did refuse to play the
US National Anthem at a New Jersey concert in '92. Big deal.
They came down on her like a ton of bricks. I guess the message
is "don't fuck with American patriotism". She was
only doing what many would love to have the chance to do. They
annihilated her.
Michael Jackson probably falls into the latter two catagories,
but I think mostly, he has been abused by the media. He picked
the wrong century to have sleep-overs with kids. I'm not going
to get into this, but I think Michael Jackson never abused a
child in his life. He IS one. And
most children like sleep-overs. Michael never grew up because
the media never let him grow up.
And finally, Princess Dianna, the most abused public figure
in history. Enough said.
David and Becky spent just under ten million pounds to create
a home out of a converted orphanage, a place which was used
as a retreat for kids with lost souls.
And
it's still a retreat where two lost souls live today.
|