Stuff You Should Know
The digital duo Josh and Chuck deconstruct your world.
The Death of Michael Jackson and the Peter Pan Syndrome
by Josh Clark | June 26, 2009
(Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
I just can’t do it. I can’t not write about the death of Michael Jackson. It’s too big of a deal. I don’t even like the guy’s music anymore, at least not the stuff he released from the late ’80s on. I did worship him for several years, during the Thriller stage. I was replete. My mom made me a white sequined glove as a gift for my First Communion. I also had the clearly unlicensed knockoff of the red jacket he wore following his rough transition from ’50s teenager to a werewolf to a zombie to his ’80s self.
As the years passed, Michael Jackson and I parted ways, what with me growing up and him opting to stay back in the formative years. As his behavior and appearance became increasingly bizarre (dating Liz Taylor, bff with his chimp, the attempted purchase of Joseph [changed] Merrick’s skeleton) and menacing (read: the three sex abuse allegations levied against him from the 1990s to 2003), the public sought to explain it. Well, I don’t have to tell you. You know you wanted to know what precisely was going on in the man’s head just as much as anyone else, especially once child molestation charges began to fly. Then we as a public had a duty to know what was going on.
What we came up with was the “Peter Pan Syndrome.” You’ll note the quotes; the syndrome is a pop psychology diagnosis, not recognized in the diagnostic psychology manual, the DSM-IV. Psychologist Dan Riley coined the term in a book in 1983 to describe the state of arrested development (afflicting men more than women) where, under conditions of overprotective parenting, a person comes to look at the world as too threatening and depressing to take head-on as an adult with all of the responsibilities and terrible consequences associated with maturity.
That definitely describes MJ in aces. I don’t think I’m the only one who await the cascade of revelations about his life that will surely come in the days to follow. I think the worst outcome for the public psyche is for us to find he really was just a gentle, misunderstood and fragile person we wouldn’t leave alone.
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I thought it was public knowledge that he and his siblings were both physically and sexually abused by their father…
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Talk about strange coincidence: I just finished listening to your “How Body Dysmorphic Disorder Works” podcast. I know the casts are probably recorded in advance, but weird that you’d be discussing BDD the same week when a likely sufferer dominates the headlines.
Despite all the controversy and drama that surrounded his life, Michael Jackson is still a major part of world pop culture. Enough said.
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Niyah says:
If you do your research before you write (I’m guilty too, I don’t always research first) you’d find that M Jackson had a difficult childhood. I took a few psychology classes at the UO and it’s a fact that there are certain behavioral and developmental activities and processes that children must experience to develop and mature appropriately (appropriate to the “average” child). If a child doesn’t do this they will be stuck in the phase before maturity begins as an adult (could explain his love for Disneyland items). It’s actually very sad and this happens to most kids that have a traumatic childhood (any kind of abuse, witnessed a horrific event, being exposed to things to young, etc.) It was as if he wanted to let other children live the fairytale childhood he never got to experience.
Being an entertainer as a child with older brothers and a father who counted on you for support concludes why he was troubled as an adult. We don’t know him, we only speculate and go off of what others say about him.
One thing we do know is that he is the King of pop and made history because his music appealed to every walk of life.
Another thing I do know is that if my child ever told me someone touched them even slightly inappropriately I would never let that person near my child let alone hand my child over to them. Sorry but that is scandalous and he was acquitted of all charges.
Your music will forever live on M Jackson!
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I’m not a health care professional… just a fan of MJ’s music, but it seems pretty darn clear that he *never* had a normal life at any stage of his life. This affected him profoundly and what he needed was simply a regular life (and professional help/ therapy). What you and I have on a daily basis and take for granted! While this is all quite sad, it does not diminish the magic of his music. My hopes now are that his children will adopt a more normal life and get the masques and veils off!
On another topic entirely: I have been listening to back posts and enjoying them very much. You guys are a blast! (You can talk about sexual functioning and no snickers! amazing….)
One post there was mention of Tom Selleck in the movie Runaway. Well a friend of my husband actually invented and developed the spiders. They could move but it was Hollywood that added the needles and they ‘made them jump’. Al only made the moving models and some static versions. We attended a spider party where the spider was the guest of honour and then all guests went to the theatre and watched the movie.
My only other Tom Selleck story is we used to have a neighbour who looked like Tom’s twin brother (really!) Seems Don was not related in any way, but his claim to fame was he once was Michael Caine’s gardener at some time in his youth.
Small world huh?
Great job fellas… -
cc says:
Michael Jackson WAS Peter Pan!
Being just a year older than MJ, I grew up with him through the 70’s and 80’s. His performances of the 90’s and more recent years were in the background for me as I became a mom.
I was a fan of his music and dance, but never a fan-atic. He was just always there.
Since hearing of Michael’s death, I have been watching videos of live performance, candid moments, rehearsals from past years – reading blogs & news from past and present,the horrible trial, his facial reconstruction, his marriages, etc.
All this week I have been virtually obsessed with discovering who Michael Jackson really wasand I’m not sure WHY. So I “won’t stop until I’ve had enough” (and I do have an active life!)
Here’s what came to me about Michael as Peter Pan
On stage he:
- creates magic, illusions
- dances, flies across the stage
- sings and uses his voice in fantasy-like sounds
- comes to life before adoring fans, his energy comes from them – as long as they remember and love him he is alive
- entertains in any way he wants – uses gloes, taped fingers as ‘magic’ to remind himself that he is onstage
- Can be the ‘bad’ boy on stage – ‘thriller, bad,Michael/Peter -
- loves to play with children – in his own Neverland
- feels safer with children
- doesn’t like or cannot sleep
- distrusts authority/adults
- very shy, turns away from cameras in interviews,very soft-spoken
- uses masks, wants to hide, be invisible
- adopts older sisters ‘Wendy’to help take care of things, i.e. Elizabeth, Diana. And it looks like Grace (the nanny) was ultimate ‘Wendy’
- is sensitive and is truly feels loveHis appearance over the years made him look just like Peter Pan!
- His reconstructive ssurgery – upturned nose, slant in eyes
- he dresses like Peter Pan
- Watch some 1987 live videos – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjywI7nc_PQ&feature=related
- check out cover of InvinsibleThe accusations by the children killed Michael’s Pan – the humiliation of the trial was more than most people could take. The prosecutor and Judge were both Captain Hook, bent on killing his whimsical spirit.
After that, the pain was too great – hence the ‘pain killers’ and numbing his psyche. He became the walking dead – zombie.
I believe this tour would have been good for him – if it was only 10 dates. He might not have been ready completely, but once he met with the love and belief from his fans, his health & energy would be refilled. And as a pro, I’m sure he would have been able to design his performance to suit his age. He also had an incredible talent to continue writing music, and mentoring your performers.
So, that said, if one of his ’sitters’ recognized that this man/child could not make the decisions to ‘clean’ himself of highly addictive substances – Michael/Pan might be alive.
Then again, maybe it was time for Michael/Peter to go back to Nerverland to remain fully alive in the hearts of us all.
Jusr some of my rambling thoughts (& typos)…thank you for letting me ‘get this out’
CC (A Wendy)
See more about the PP Syndrome:
http://www.evanbailyn.com/index.php/article/what_is_peter_pan_syndrome/ -
Do you mean Joseph Merrick, not John Merrick?
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Josh Clark says:
I did indeed, Kev-o.
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mimi says:
CC i TOTALY agree with you, that message yo wrote cold have been mine. Amazing how yo fond the same things and she the same thoughts i have.
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[...] me a post about the recent advent of public outpouring of emotion in Great Britain over things like the death of Michael Jackson and Susan Boyle’s devastating loss on this year’s Britain’s Got Talent. The [...]
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You state “I think the worst outcome for the public psyche is for us to find he really was just a gentle, misunderstood and fragile person we wouldn’t leave alone”
The public psyche?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!
What about Michael’s psyche? The INNOCENT. Abused by tabloid journalism for nearly almost 20 years. If tabloid journalists hadn’t destroyed him HE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE.
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