As far as targets for ridicule and mockery go, Michael Jackson is a pretty easy one. Once an international pop star and one of the most influential musicians in recent history (which he remains), Jackson has become a caricature of himself.
Now, his financial troubles are beginning to consume him. The official statements insist that the upcoming auction of some of his personal belongings are not a result of his money woes but rather something he’s done on his own accord. Whether this is true or not is up for debate, but a quick glance at the auction items reveals a rather lonely existence.
The slideshow of a few of the items shows plenty of memorabilia from Jackson’s heyday, but the items that are the most poignant are those that show how Jackson viewed himself. A portrait of him as a Renaissance-era king, an ermine-accented cape, a golf cart decorated with Jackson as Peter Pan. At the time that these items were commissioned, Jackson was enjoying an unprecedented level of world dominance for a pop musician. But we know, both from his behavior and from countless examinations of his life, that Jackson rarely, if ever, had people around him with his best interests at heart. As time went on, and his musical career faded, as those things tend to do, he had countless people relying on him for money. Keeping up the delusions that he had was in their best interest.
He never recovered from his extremely abbreviated and abusive childhood. Certainly, if the allegations against him regarding his behavior with children are true, there’s no excusing him. But it does help to understand how someone gets to that point when you get to see the charred remains of a fallen star. The smaller items are perhaps the most heartbreaking. His crown brooch, starting at only $80, might as well be sitting amongst old Pyrex at a yard sale.
