The MJ Lesson Idea Challange "Wanna Be Starting Something" + a Motown PDF!

[Ryan Goble]

I know a lot of people are troubled by the hoopla over MJs passing. Yes, he was a troubled dude, and possibly did inappropriate things with young children, the same young children we teach in our classes on a daily basis. This guy is an extremely bizarre and flawed icon like Kennedy, Lennon, VanGogh, Monroe, Kerouac and a wide range of folks who made massive contributions to global culture.

Nicole and I watched Martin Bashir's Jackson Interview from 2003 on NBC the other night and it was both riveting and disturbing. If you can forgive the language, this Chris Rock clip speaks to what we've all felt about MJ at one time or another. On the flipside, his passing has allowed us to refocus our energy on the songwriting, dancing and singing that left mere mortals in the dust. You might love Paul McCartney (as I do) but you put him next to MJ in "Say, Say, Say" and the "Girl is Mine" and suddenly Paul sounds like Ringo.

On the night of MJs passing, Nicole and I went over to the Apollo as it is only a ten minute walk from our apartment in Harlem. This is what we experienced:

Find more photos like this on Making Curriculum Pop
There was something completely beautiful about the evening, people of all races, creeds and colors singing and dancing to songs loaded with happy memories. I was 7-years-old when the Motown 25 aired in 1983 and I still remember being completely wrapped-up in MJs performance - I also remember my parents refusing to buy me a red leather jacket.

Overlooking the bizarre stuff for a moment, Jackson is deeply tied into the history of American (and world) culture. Not only was he a part of the cultural juggernaut that was Motown*, but he carefully studied his predecessors. If you don't believe MJ was a student of the masters watch this Fred Astaire/MJ mash-up below. The video is long, but it is certainly worth your time.

As I said during one of the Oscar blogs:

"I’ve always been a sucker for celebrations of art even if they are a bit out of touch (see the Grammys, although this year’s show was great). I would love to see all kinds of prize giving celebrations on network TV. We could roll out the red carpets for the Pulitzers, Nobeis, and third grade art fairs. I think creative work in all disciplines is worthy of celebration."

So to remember the passing of a gifted musician and celebrate the musical and racial barriers he smashed I'm trying an experiment today called the LESSON IDEA CHALLENGE (LIC). I'm asking teachers of every discipline to use the comment section BELOW to suggest possible lesson ideas using the following materials.

1. This short New Yorker article "Postscript Michael Jackson" by Kelefa Sanneh. It is quick and offers a unique POV into "Wanna Be Starting Something"
2. The Lyrics and Lyric Video of "Wanna Be Starting Something"
3. The "Smooth Criminal" video above
4. The Manu Dibango track “Soul Makossa” (song below)

Plus these two articles about the music biz (esp. to bring math and social studies teachers into the mix):
5. AP Exclusive: Michael Jackson claimed net worth of $236.6 million i...
6. David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars

Your idea can be small and simple. I would imagine a minimum idea would take about 6-sentences. To add further excitement, I'll give anyone who posts a comment a free "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" by the Temptations study guide from the Mindblue Song Guide Collection.** We don't have any MJ tracks, but a Motown track is certainly a close enough relation.

MATERIALS (plus those hyperlinked above)




* One could also argue that Motown (Hitsville USA in Detroit) was one of the greatest schools in American history. Gordy and Robinson pulled 16-year-olds from Cass Tech and other local high schools and trained them to be masters of their art and craft.

* *As I said on the MC pop front page, this site isn't about selling MB study guides. However, I think it is cool to share the resources when possible and I will mention them every once and a while as all the work I do posting and moderating the Ning is gratis. I'm hoping to further clarify my policy on this in the near future.

[mel tremper]

I was disturbed when James Brown died, but I can't think of an MJ recording I would want to hear again. Which leads me to propose using the overwhelming media play and frenzy among folks to buy any MJ release, enter for a chance to attend the mass memorial, etc. as an example of how fads grow and feed upon themselves. Hype begets hype, and the news soon is not about MJ but about the thousands who show up for the funeral or about the selling out of old copies of his albums, and then the pundits start to weigh and analyze the pop references from the past about his public/private persona and suddenly someone who is not earnestly blogging about the whole thing secretly fears they may become irrelevant to their audiences and so adds their own bucket to the sweeping tide.

[Ryan Goble]

If you look in the photo above, I do have my JB shirt on from the last time I saw Brown in concert around 2001. We were, unfortunately, in Chicago for the holidays when James Brown passed. The city marched his casket down 125th street in a horse drawn carriage all the way to the Apollo. That would have been an interesting site to see!

I like your idea of looking at MJ in the context of fandom, marketing, and business. On CNN today some pundit said that Jackson's 300-400 million dollar debt might be paid within four months because of the insane posthumous sales. The t-shirts were already in force at the Apollo the night of his death and certainly the concert promotors are going to find a way to make their "This Is It" profits last in perpetuity.

I wonder if we could also look at fandom and stardom in new ways when we've institutionalized the stardom of ordinary people through reality shows. Does the camera alone have the ability to create a star? Was Warhol correct when he said "In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes?" I would argue that Jackson fit an older conception of stardom. What are kids ideas of stardom and fandom?

As details surface about MJs health issues, one might ask students some questions about ethical standards for stars in the context of fan behavior. It would seem that the fan-star-business ecosystem in real and virtual terms can lead to some pretty strange co-dependance situations.

Obviously, when it comes to pop culture I try to imagine that there are lots of people who aren't entirely cynical about these events and that they have meaning beyond a sales figure. Princess Diana didn't capture my imagination, but I certainly understand why she was a cultural lightning rod. I think one of the guiding ideas behind the entire Ning is that pop culture is powerful, meaningful and teachable in a multitude of ways.

At any rate, I think the New Yorker article above as well as the Astaire clip does a nice job of flipping the script on a star who was clearly a fan and student. That might be an unique way to further explore the issues your bringing up. It will be interesting to see if others take that up in the LIC.

Mel thanks for getting sharing your idea and getting the discussion started!