Michael Jackson Memorial: Memories Captured on Live TV

(Originally published on my Examiner.com page)

Funerals in general, and celebrity funerals in particular, in part because they are so public, encourage the sort of emotional ambivalence that helps define life and being human. On the one hand, we feel a terrible loss because we will miss the person who died. On the other hand, we want to celebrate the person's life and all the good she or he has accomplished. When the person leaves behind a body of work or a clearly defined legacy we have something to hold onto, even though the person is gone. The funeral or memorial service, itself, becomes part of that legacy.

When Michael Jackson's flower covered casket was wheeled into the Staples Center in Los Angeles, millions watched on screens of all sizes, around the world. When Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz began with a heartfelt rendition of I'll Be There, the sounds of their voices were transmitted around the globe through fiber optics and satellite dishes so millions could mourn in synchronous high definition splendor. For two hours this day, Jackson was the world, or at least large segments of it.

As expected, the quality of the performances, oration, and stagecraft was first rate, fitting for a man with a legitimate claim as the top entertainer of his time. To their credit, the TV broadcasters provided commercial free, uninterrupted coverage once the service began.

During Brooke Shields' remarks, she mentioned that Michael's favorite song was not one of his own; it was Smile with music written by Charlie Chaplin. When Michael's brother, Jermaine, sang it a few moments later, it captured the ambivalence of the day, dramatically.

In the end, Michael's own words, from We Are the World, co-written with Lionel Richie, and Heal the World, served as a fitting close to an unwanted and premature capstone event in the life and legacy of Michael Jackson. But only after the planned, produced, part of the program ended did we get the most raw sense of the intense pain that the loss of a loved one surely inflicts. Michael's daughter, Paris, spoke last, through tears, a sad but brutally honest moment that will soften with time but speaks volumes about love, all captured for the world to see--and experience--on live TV.