What a Thriller!

Today, I’ve been moved.

And I blame it on ‘Human Nature’ and the King of Pop!

The experience I had today was unexpected, nostalgic, riveting and uplifting, for more than one reason.

The plan was to watch “THIS IS IT” with a bunch of friends, but because of a whole lot of miscommunication I reached early (earlier than them that is), already having missed the first 15 minutes, although I didn’t know it at the time and they reached much later and decided to not watch at all. At first I was ticked off. I declined their generous offers to buy me lunch and treat me to another show, all to make up (which I thought was extremely cute)! But then Jackson stepped in, took all of that and in his words “let it burn”!

So there I was embarking on a cinematic experience and musical journey, for the first time all alone and completely unprepared to be gripped by that ‘Dancing Machine’ who definitely knew a bit about living life ‘Off the wall’! Late as I was, my eyes were glued to that super-sized screen from the moment I entered. From the infectious rhythms and beats to the precise, intricate moves to the tunes we all know so well we could sing them in our sleep, this was an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world!

I guess being alone just helped me pay that much more attention to the film. As I watched, it hit me that this was all so real! He had no idea what fate had in store (or maybe he did), but there was certainly no chance this character in the movie was doctored in any way. There were no retakes. This was the King at work in a very real world. I watched in wonder, a humble genius doing what he did best. If anything epitomized a balance between razor-sharp perfectionism and a child-like innocence it was Michael Jackson.

The emotional attachment he had with his music, and message, came across crystal clear. He encouraged his troops to “nurture the music” and “feel the love”. He shows the world how in-touch with his child-like love of performance he was. His pureness of heart wore no disguise and was evident with how the words "God bless you" were second nature to him. One of my favourite scenes was the one in which he encouraged his lead, lady guitarist to reach for the highest notes she could and to own that moment because it was hers to shine! In true ‘Don’t stop till you get enough’ style.

I’m thoroughly glad that my first time watching a movie alone was this one in particular. It feels like homage was paid justly on my part to one of the greatest entertainers, and quite literally, movers and shakers of our time.

MJ the world was lucky to have you! And although your life’s pain was fuelled by ‘Tabloid Junkie’s that should’ve just ‘Beat it’, you left your mark. ‘It’s the falling in love’ that no one could stop. And you, through your music, performances, sheer scale of dreams and size of heart will continue to inspire us to ‘Keep the Faith’. ‘We just can’t stop loving you’ and will always ‘Remember the Time’ we were struck by a ‘Smooth Criminal’.

‘Invincible’.

And definitely, ‘Gone too Soon’.

 R.I.P. Michael.