ShellyMcG said:

Well my hopes for this movie are quite low but at least the guy looks and sounds like Michael Jackson. Which is a major benefit to casting the man's nephew. Unfortunately, I also think that casting is a sign that the movie will avoid a lot of the more controversial elements of his life. And I'm not talking about the allegations or any of that stuff. I'm talking about how much of an absolute scumbag his father was and how his mother was complicit in all of that.

You need to take your 21st century lens off.. This was the 1940s/50s, there's not much she could've done.

ffdff123 said:

Thanks. Looks a tad interesting but I'll wait a few months until I see some more trailers. Personally, don't really care too much for biopics but, after all, this one's about Michael...

ffdff123 said:

ShellyMcG said:

Well my hopes for this movie are quite low but at least the guy looks and sounds like Michael Jackson. Which is a major benefit to casting the man's nephew. Unfortunately, I also think that casting is a sign that the movie will avoid a lot of the more controversial elements of his life. And I'm not talking about the allegations or any of that stuff. I'm talking about how much of an absolute scumbag his father was and how his mother was complicit in all of that.

You need to take your 21st century lens off.. This was the 1940s/50s, there's not much she could've done.

And even if she did speak up, who's gonna listen to a Black woman? They don't listen to Black women in 2025, why would they in the 50s or 60s? Hell, women couldn't even own a credit card or barely a house on their own back then, much less be a mouthpiece for abuse. They'd blame her for it somehow, likely.

I don't know what the movie holds, but this isn't a huge sweeping biopic. Like any biopic, it's going to take moments and string them together. It's impossible to tell anyone's full story like that. It's the most interesting or controversial moments that are dramatized with a loose narrative stringing them together.

Despite all this, we're all going to watch it. And we all know it. I don't care how much he looks like MJ or not. That's always the go-to. "She doesn't look like Whitney." Well, it's not a look-a-like contest either. It's a story. You have to suspend disbelief and just let it play out.

TrivialPursuit said:

ShellyMcG said:

I don't buy that argument as a valid excuse. Her complicity in his abuse can't be excused by saying "nobody would listen to a black woman".

Well how do you explain Tina Turner being married to Ike for over 15 years? She was an adult. Then she kept his name instead of going back to Anna Mae Bullock. Even today some women remain with abusive men (it also happens in lesbian relationships), and this is post "me too". The casting couch still exists in show business too. Didn't all of those people including fans ignore the reports about R. Kelly? It wasn't some big secret he got married to Aaliyah, people continued to work with him. Chris Brown is still very popular right now after all of the bad press he got.

MickyDolenz said:

ShellyMcG said:

I don't buy that argument as a valid excuse. Her complicity in his abuse can't be excused by saying "nobody would listen to a black woman". I'm not even saying you're wrong. I'm just saying it doesn't excuse her in any way. She could have taken her children and left. She didn't. She chose to stay and look the other way because she saw the dollar signs. Just like most other people in Michael Jackson's life, she took advantage of his talent and used it for her own benefit and didn't give a shit about him or anyone else. As far as I can see, Janet is the only half decent one out of the entire bunch.

Believe me. I'm not making excuses for any of them. I'm giving a reason, which is entirely different. Doesn't even mean it's a good reason. It just is what it is. Where is Katharine Jackson going to go with nine children, that Joe couldn't find them and yank them back home?

I don't think people always sell out for money. People are human and despite being a celebrity mom, she still had her emotional entanglements that lead her to do whatever she did or didn't do. MJ cared way more for Katherine than Joe, by far. And sure, he was no dummy. He knows when people were using him. He even said once the only person he trusted was Katherine, "but even then, not always."

She's not innocent, but she's certainly not the worst of the two parents or anyone around them. But I do think removing 2025 filters helps lend perspective, compassion, reasoning and sound judgment on the whole rigmarole. It'll never be fully untangled.

Let's not get going on Janet. Ima have to get on my hind legs to defend her. 🤣

TrivialPursuit said: