This Is It: The Last Look at a Master at his Craft

I finally got a chance to watch the film “This is it”. Watching Michael Jackson, a true master of his craft, behind the scenes was a real treat. The show would have been spectacular combining elements of dance, music, film, amazing lighting and stage, and … Great dance routines and wonderful music shone through the film with references to war, to environment, to protest, and to indifference. Perhaps the loudest, clearest message was, “they don’t really care about us”. A message that resonates well with the times and feelings of ordinary people everywhere.

There was even a stronger message than all of these, perhaps an unintentional message, more of an inherent one, that of work, good old-fashioned, hard work. It was incredible to see Jackson to watch for the slightest changes of beat, tune, movement, light, stage, and just about anything. He was there all the time. This I knew from previous interviews about his work. People had said that Jackson would phone them at 6:00 am to ask for a minute change in a small part of a song or the other. And that is why I recommend this film to teenagers who spend hours and hours in malls looking for outfits resembling those of the Pop stars. The message bursting out of the film was work, and how much of it was involved where Jackson was concerned. His music and his dance were in top shape (he was fifty years old). That could not have come to him via dressing one way or the other or acquiring one life style versus the other. He worked for these, and he worked very hard. He was a professional to the extreme. I often look at teenagers so anxious to look like a Pop star not really knowing what is involved beyond the flashy images and all the media buzz. Unfortunately, there is hardly anything in the media about the amount of work involved in these shows. The importance of training, determination, and hard work is rarely brought up. Therefore, children and teenagers are left with the only thing they know of the person they are trying to imitate, the final mask at a very long hard road.  

I knew Michael Jackson was going to have a performance in London. And I had decided that I wanted to see his performance live. That would have been my first experience of his live performance. It is a pity it never happened. Watching the rehearsals I regret that even more. To watch him preparing for his performance was quite an experience. To watch a master and to marvel at human genius and determination. Regardless of all the buzz around his personal life, Michael Jackson was a genius at what he did, and as such, he is best to be watched at his craft. That is what I did when watching “This is it”. I am still in awe.