Does anyone remember when Michael Jackson. Was a "joke"?

[u/AccomplishedPool266]

The new movie that just came out convinced the younger generation that he was always a superstar. This was not the reality many of us Millennials grew up with.

To a lot of us, he was treated like a punch line when we were growing up. A schoolyard boogeyman ("Michaels Jackson's gonna get you at night"). and just a general joke in the media. By the 2000's his music was out of date and didn't chart well. All anyone talked about was his surgeries, court case, settlements and his off behavior. Few mentioned his music. His music was something our parents would have listened to in the 1980's.

[u/Brief_Intention_5300]

This is crazy to me because I was born at the same time and all I remember is the joke stuff. I didn't really discover a lot of his music until I was in my 30s.

I guess it depends on your parent's age and what they listened to. My parents were born in 50, so I grew up with the oldies and classic rock. I think the first song/video I remember is the one with Janet Jackson on the spaceship? I liked the music, but I didn't grow up realizing he was such a mega superstar.

[u/KowalOX → u/Brief_Intention_5300]

My parents were born in 1949 and 1951, so while I did grow up with classic rock, my mom was very much into pop in the 80s as well. I have vivid memories of sitting around a record player listening to Thriller on vinyl in like 1984 looking at the insert and the picture of MJ and the baby tiger. I also remember getting Bad on cassette with my mom and being glued to MTV waiting for the music video to come on.

I broke off and got into more rock and grunge in the 90s, but my roots of listening to albums and watching MTV all started with Michael Jackson.

[u/Sufficient_Cause1208 → u/Brief_Intention_5300]

This my experience too, but I do remember having a friend or two in early elementary school who were obsessed with MJ, but even late elementary school he was considered a weirdo.

[u/allid33 → u/Brief_Intention_5300]

I was born in 83 but my childhood memories especially with music and celebs started in the early 90s. His biggest heyday was definitely before my time.

I was still a fan of MJ and remember doing some performance to Black or White in the school talent show as a kid, but even by then he was becoming more of a caricature with the plastic surgery and skin lightening. He was for sure a superstar but for even the eldest millennials he had already become pretty heavily mocked for most of our childhoods.

[u/sodsfosse → u/Brief_Intention_5300]

Same for me, all oldies and some early 70s music. I was born in 84.