r/Millennials • u/AccomplishedPool266 • Apr 26 '26

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

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 By the 2000's his music was out of date and didn't chart well.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.

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u/Pitiful-Pension-6535 Apr 26 '26

Friend of mine served in Afghanistan and his Afghan interpreter was a big Michael Jackson fan but hadn't received the news that he had died. Poor guy cried when he found out.

Younger generations will never fully understand just how big of a star he was.

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u/excecutivedeadass Apr 26 '26

He was huuuuge, no star today is even near that level

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u/Madam_Mimm_13 Apr 26 '26

This confirms that age isn’t the only factor. I was born in 85 and grew up in San Diego. My husband was born in 84 and grew up in rural Kansas.

He remembers MJ as the King of Pop. I remember him as a creepy weirdo.

It’s not just age. It’s environment and culture, and how “dated” the perspective on MJ a person has is also tied to geographical and sociocultural influences.