Watching the movie 'Michael'—the same songs sound a little different now

I watched the movie 'Michael'.

To be honest, just being able to hear Michael Jackson's music in a theater was enough for me.

Oh, that's right, I thought.
As I watched, memories of seeing 'Michael Jackson's This Is It' on the big screen a few years ago and being moved by it came flooding back.

Every time his songs played through the large screen and sound system, it felt less like watching a movie and more like being at a live concert.

However, what was projected there wasn't just Michael as a star.

How difficult a life he had led.

I thought I knew it in my head from the gossip that circulated.
But seeing it through the film, it still makes my heart ache.

The relationship with his father, in particular, felt very heavy.

He was the one who nurtured his talent, but at the same time, he was the one who deeply wounded his heart.

It was a complex and painful relationship that couldn't simply be dismissed with the term 'toxic parent'.

Thinking about how desperately he, as a young child, tried to protect himself, express himself, and survive in that home environment makes my heart ache.

While watching the movie, I thought of him as an 'angel sent to earth'.

He clearly had a special light.
Perhaps he was someone who descended to earth to deliver that light and talent to people all over the world.

However, because that light was so great, he was also used and tossed about by many people.

That is why his loneliness is immeasurable.

Perhaps he didn't have any friends.
Having become a star so early, I think it was difficult for him to form normal bonds with ordinary people.

For someone who had so few places where he could feel at ease, perhaps animals were his only true friends.

The fact that he was always with a chimpanzee seemed strange at the time.
But after watching the movie, that image looks a little different.
For him, animals might have been the only beings who would just be by his side without judging or expecting anything from him.

Being extraordinary is not just about being brilliant.

When that talent is too great, people around them look only at that talent and value, rather than the person themselves.

I wonder if Michael didn't just want to be loved as a human being all along.

And after watching this movie, I feel like I finally understand why 'We Are the World' was born.

He truly wanted to save so many people.

He wasn't someone who wanted to use his talent only for himself.
Through music, he wanted to reach out to those who were suffering.
He wanted to bring light to those in places where it couldn't reach.

That song is not just a star-studded collaboration of famous artists.

Now that I've seen the movie, I feel even more strongly that it was born from his prayers and sense of mission.

By the way, I still treasure my 'We Are the World' DVD.

He reached out to the sick, gave a place to those who had nowhere to belong, and helped give freedom to those living amidst discrimination.

His music wasn't just for entertainment; it was a prayer to save someone and make the world even a little bit better.

What I felt anew after watching the movie was the magnitude of the discrimination that Black artists faced in American society.

Living in Japan, it's hard to truly grasp how intense the discrimination directed at individuals was in America at that time.

I was shocked to learn that there was an era when it wasn't even easy to appear on television or have a music video played.

Michael was also the person who broke down those walls.

As a Black artist, as an expressive performer, and as a human being, he paved the way.
Not just for himself, but for those who would follow after him.

I was surprised because it felt like the movie ended in the middle of things.

I had assumed it would depict everything up until his passing.
I wanted to see more of his world tours, the world he created, the behind-the-scenes story of 'We Are the World,' and what happened with his family afterward.

However, perhaps this movie was a work that focused on his relationship with his father and how he carved out his own form of expression, rather than depicting his entire life.

He wasn't just someone who wanted to be a star.

He was someone who earnestly and desperately wanted to express what was inside him.
Music, dance, and film—everything was, for him, the very act of 'living'.

After watching the movie, I also remembered Gen Hoshino's 'SUN'.
It is said that his feelings for Michael Jackson are woven into that song.

Listening to it again now, my heart feels even fuller.

He truly was an angel, and for many people, he was the sun.

For Gen Hoshino, for artists all over the world, and for us listeners as well.

Michael is not just a star of the past; he continues to shine in someone's music and in someone's memories even now.

I still listen to Michael Jackson as background music just like always.

But after watching this movie, the same songs sound a little different.

There, I find not only the brilliance of a star, but the pain, loneliness, prayers, and love of a human being.

It's late to say this, but I feel unbearably sad.

I wish he could have just been normally happy.
I wish he could have smiled with more peace of mind.
I wish he could have been loved more just as a human being.

A friend told me they watched this movie four times.
I think I understand that feeling now.

I think I will go watch it again, too.

I want to hear Michael's music in the theater once more.
I want to go meet his light once more.

Michael Jackson must have been someone who descended to this earth to deliver music and light.