Michael Jackson Could Have Created Twitter

An article was published six months ago about whether Michael Jackson could have created Twitter or not, and it's bothered me ever since. I'm going to briefly summarize what the author, Scott Barry Kaufman PhD, stated and then give my rebuttal.

Kaufman's article is rather long and intricate, but boils down to the premise that a person must possess three certain characteristics of creativity to cross from one area of expertise to another. In this case, although Kaufman lauds Jackson as an entertainer/musician/artist, once again we see an attempt to confine Michael's range of creativity due to insufficient research.

Kaufman's criteria for creativity is as follows:

1. Domains: "Michael excelled in pop. He was the king of pop. Could he have done as well as a rapper, or a country music artist, or composing classical music? Probably not as well."

Michael was clearly interested in classical music. This article states all of the classical pieces that Jackson used in his shows over the years. Most commonly used was O Fortuna, from Carmina Burana. Youtube video is here. Originally used in Jackson's Bad tour, O Fortuna was "then used as the main introduction to the Dangerous tour in 1992, to literally whip the audience into a frenzy. It was one of the best openings to tour ever."

Author of Man in the Music, Joe Vogel, writes that "classical influence permeate(d) Jackson's work, at times even literally attached as preludes to his own compositions." In fact, Jackson was planning to record his own classical compositions before he died, as published in this article shortly after Michael died.

What about rap? One only has to listen to Jackson's unbelievable beatboxing skills to know the answer to that.
How about the transition to rock? Again, listen to Dirty Diana, Give In To Me or Another Day and one realizes that Michael crossed over into the rock genre many times in his lifetime, and did so successfully. So for Kaufman to state that Jackson would not have transitioned well into another genre of music is false, because he already had crossed the line from pop to rock, and may have done the same with classical music.

Kaufman states that Jackson's "particular, unique constellation of abilities seemed perfectly suited to his specific domain of music."

The author seems to either intentionally ignored or failed to research thoroughly other aspects of interests to Michael Jackson. What about his ability to draw and paint?

According to Julien's Auctions, Michael drew this picture of a boy in overalls (above) when he was nine years old.
This is a painting Michael did of his childhood idol, Charlie Chaplin.

What about Michael Jackson's patent on the shoes created for the Smooth Criminal lean?
Jackson, Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins invented the shoe which allowed for Michael to perform the "lean" in Smooth Criminal without the aid of cables, for live shows. This invention of Jackson's most certainly does not fall under the creative category of music, but more likely under dance or invention.

How about Michael's Dome Project and his interest in 3D technology?

In this article, a person who was at the rehearsals for This Is It and the Dome Project states that both Thriller and Earth Song were shot in 3D to create a new look to the older songs. "The complete remake of (these) hit song(s) was a VERY big deal, and the new technology adapted for (them) added a whole new fresh look for the performance than what fans had seen in the past. The content added a scary yet humorous approach just like the classic short film shot did that put Jackson on the map as a solo act." In this article, the same author states that Jackson was just as interested in lighting and choreography as he was in music, and that "that is what made Jackson the greatest entertainer that ever lived. He simply got the entire package of entertainment from music to lighting to choreography and set design like no one else."

2. Microdomains: Kaufman asks if "... Jackson (could) have been a brilliant ballerina? I think it's highly unlikely that he could have made such a splash in the world of ballet. His specific dancing abilities are so well suited to the larger domain of pop/R&B that it's impressive."

In both the domain and microdomain theory, author Kaufman has restricted Jackson's musical and dancing abilities to the genre of pop. However, most fans know that Michael studied and studied the Moonwalk from Soul Train dancer and Shalamar group member Jeffrey Daniels. We have heard countless stories of Michael studying a dance, and practicing countless hours to perfect it. So if Jackson had wanted to become a ballet dancer, it is entirely possible he could have, and been successful at it.

Lastly, author Kaufman states that in microdomains, there is either vertical or horizontal movement in order to be successful. Vertical axis' have more constraints and are harder to be successful at, horizontal axis' are broader and easier to maneuver through in order to be successful. Kaufman states, "So could Michael Jackson have created Twitter? I don't think so. He was so innovative within his general thematic area (music), domain (pop/R&B), and microdomain (the "Michael Jackson" brand of pop/R&B), because of his unique constellation of talents and traits."

And yet, there is NO mention of Jackson's ability to draw and paint, his inventions/patent, his interest in 3D technology, lighting, choreography and other things I haven't mentioned. The diversity that Jackson displayed in his lifetime are not horizontal but vertical. You see, the trend now is for highly educated people to write about Michael Jackson, predicting and psychoanalyzing him, without even having scratched the surface of his personality. In everything he did, Michael Jackson was on the forefront of cutting edge technology. So, it's my personal opinion that Michael Jackson could have and would have created Twitter. And again, it doesn't take a PhD to figure that out.

Quandary of Being Michael Jackson

The article The Quandary of Being Michael Jackson was published the other day on a Chico, California news site. The author, Professor Sherrow Pinder, lectured to CSU, Chico students about Jackson's desire for racial ambiguity, his identity as a black man, his skin color, plastic surgeries and other issues.

The article begins by stating that Professor Pinder grew up in Guyana in South America. She then received her doctorate in New York, and is now an assistant professor at CSU, Chico in both social sciences and political science. She is also the author of three books, all focused on racial identity. The article moves on to state that Pinder has "read voluminously about the entertainer". The following blog is a rebuttal to Professor Pinder's assessment of Michael Jackson.


1. Pinder states that Franz Fanon's idea (from his work Black Skin, White Mask) that the black man "not only must....be black; he must be black in relation to the white man." Pinder argues that this created a "profound crisis of identity' within Jackson.

Frantz Fanon: Fanon (1925-1961) was a French man who wrote about racism and colonialism. His works were largely ignored until he died, but as the racial tension was building in the U.S. in the 1960's, Fanon's books were translated into English and introduced to college campuses in 1967.

Fanon believed that the black man was not only required to be black, but be black in relation to the white man." "When the black man comes into contact with the white world he goes through an experience of sensitization. His ego collapses. His self-esteem evaporates. He ceases to be a self-motivated person. The entire purpose of his behaviour is to emulate the white man, to become like him, and thus hope to be accepted as a man. " Fanon called this process epidermalization; a sense of inferiority within all black men in relation to white men.

Pinder believes that this socio-cultural phenomenon created an identity crisis within Jackson. However, are we to believe that Jackson's ego collapsed, his self-esteem evaporated, he ceased to be self-motivated and the entire purpose of his artistry, humanitarianism and behavior was to emulate the white man?

2. Pinder argues that this "identity crisis" lead to what W.E.B. DuBois' believed was "double consciousness... wherein Jackson, like all blacks in America … has difficulties in developing his sense of ‘self’ in a culture that normalizes whiteness as an ontological neutral category and upholds the subject as raceless and unmarked." Pinder concludes that "whiteness is made synonymous with being human, and and blackness is 'the other,' a constructed identity that 'relies on an absolute contempt for the lived complexities of blackness ….'

W.E.B. DuBois' "double consciousness" is a term meaning that African Americans are "always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity." DuBois believed that it was difficult, if not impossible, for African Americans to merge successfully into society because whites would not allow it.

Michael Jackson was the most famous entertainer in the world. Jackson bought the Northern Song catalog and later merged it with Sony to become the Sony ATV catalog, THE most prized song catalog in the world. He was not only a successful music artist, but THE pioneer of short films, when others were making 4 minute videos. Jackson and Walter Yetnikoff laid the groundwork for breaking the color barriers at MTV. I could endlessly list the accomplishments and achievements that Michael Jackson incurred during his lifetime, but most of you already know. However, I strongly disagree that Michael Jackson felt that he was looking at himself through the eyes of others, and measuring himself by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and PITY. While Jackson was alive, the world showed NO pity for Michael Jackson.

3. Pinder believes that all of this lead to Jackson's quest for racial ambuigity, and that Jackson's "violent reconstruction of his face" only serves to underscore her point. Pinder states that Michael did not want to be white, but to be racially ambiguous, due to the racial divide between white and black culture. "By changing his appearance, Jackson was challenging the dominant notion that natural bodies and fixed identities are prearranged and controlled. It was for this reason that society had to resist, restrict or, worse, punish and humiliate him in order to safeguard the realm of normality", Pinder said.

Where is it mentioned that Jackson stated over and over that his father and his brothers teased him endlessly about the size of his nose? What about the physical and emotional abuse Michael suffered as a child? In all of Pinder's "voluminous" reading on Jackson, where is the mention of vitiligo? In addition, I do not for one second believe that Jackson had plastic surgeries on his nose to challenge the notion that natural bodies and fixed identities are prearranged and controlled. Michael's entire ethic was that a person could do anything, no matter what the circumstances.

Did Michael Jackson experience racism? Of course he did. One only has to watch Jackson's speech given in Harlem to know that he was deeply concerned about discrimination and economic disparity not only in the U.S., but worldwide.

But to generalize Jackson as a black man whose entire life is simply a parallel to white culture is quite simply, offensive. Pinder's belief reduces Michael Jackson to a man desperate for racial ambiguity simply to satisfy white society, when nothing could be further from the truth. It limits Jacksons' groundbreaking accomplishments, and worse, his individuality as a leader to a simple abstraction. And it doesn't take a PhD to figure that out.