Big thanks to Audible for supporting this one. If you want to keep going down the rabbit hole after this video, their catalog is unmatched for history and biography. Right now, Audible is 99 cents per month for the first 3 months and then 8.99 a month after that. That’s actually insanely good. Link's in the description: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Books-and-Originals/b?node=18145289011&linkCode=ll2&tag=volksgeist-20

I was two years old, sleeping or whining I believe.

There’s been quite a lot of half baked video essays about Michael Jackson lately since the biopic got released but this one really takes the cake. Balanced,  respectful, well researched and finally acknowledged the hand that Sony might have in his death (allegedly etc).

It's disgusting how celebrities started acting like they were his friend after he passed away...

I love Michael Jackson so much.

I was 9 at the thrift store with my family when we heard a lady scream that he died. The next school day, our elementary school stopped everything and held an auditorium to commemorate him. I was confused as a nine year old but seeing my teachers cry made me realize that this was a big deal. RIP ♥️♥️♥️

Is there anyone who does better biographies on YouTube than Volksgeist? Dude is becoming the goat

He didn't think the performance was a failure. He got fixated on the fact that he flubbed his spin and toe land. Minutes later a young boy approached him praising him for his dancing. Right then and there Michael realized how well he really did. He also late got calls from Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, two of his biggest dance influences, telling him how much they loved his performance.

A really cool thing about the biopic causing a recent resurgence in coverage about Michael Jackson is how his music is once again being organically introduced to an audience. It’s just in a new way that didn’t exist during his time (TikTok, YT Streaming etc). And even cooler to an audience who might not have even been alive yet when he died. Right now, my 9 year old daughter’s favorite artist isn’t KATSEYE or Taylor Swift. It’s Michael Jackson. That’s so awesome to witness.

As for myself, on that day I was in my early 20s and just barely pregnant with my first child. I distinctly remember being in my friend’s car while she was driving us somewhere when we heard the news on the radio. we just sat there at a light stunned for a moment. He felt like one of those “immortals”. The type of artists who, logically you know one day will eventually be gone, but the thought of that day happening seemed inconceivable. Bowie was another of those artists to me.

I was 13 years when he passed away in boarding school. Our rugby coach cried 🥲🥲

I was 11 when he died, I remember I was in the HEIGHT of my Michael Jackson fandom phase. I was going though the discographies of artists from that time and I absolutely fell in love with Michael. When he passed I remember sitting at my iMac G4 and absolutely bawling my eyes out. Understanding what he had gone though throughout his life I am a firm believer that man never had ill intentions and he legacy was tarnished by people who wanted to nickel and dime him. This was a great piece, very balanced and respectful.

1:05:43 Correction "having been killed by his doctor"

Thriller was released when I was 8, it absolutely changed the world. And then I was at UCLA when he died, walked past the medical center he was taken to on the way home. Hundreds of ppl were in the parking lot. Death of an Icon.

michael was like a prophecy or something. he'll be remembered forever as one of the most famous human beings EVER. nobody will ever be able to replace him.

No one can say they had the same experience as him to be able to see the world from that perspective. It's  baffling. Not even the royals were scrutinized and on display for the public's consumption 24/7 from age 5. Like, what?!?!?

Exceptional documentary.

Once I saw him Moonwalk, I began practicing it in front of every body length mirror I came across for at least a year.

Killed. When it happened I was at a techno music festival and all the floors started playing his songs...

I feel so bad for MJ for the disrespect he was shown...

"His fame wasn't something that happened to him, it was something he did to the world" wow. That was deep.

Something about Michael Jackson the majority of people don't realize is that we've almost seen too much of him. We had him from 6 years old until he passed. This is a long time. In comparison... We often are not introduced to most actors, singers, entertainers, and athletes until they have already become who they are going to be. Michael Jackson was never given the opportunity to be flawed in public. Imagine all of the mistakes we have been allowed to make and it doesn't matter to anyone. Our mistakes are not flashed around the globe. We don't have people hiding in the bushes... Even his health statuses had to be hidden. But our trials and shortcomings are viewed as a rallying point. MJ didn't have this opportunity, never. Can you imagine the basic tenants of maturity and life experience applying to everyone but yourself? And the facts are that God still loved MJ and never demanded this of him. But the people closest to MJ did. He was the greatest man to ever hold the microphone... But he was also the most complex and misunderstood. I choose to remember Michael Joseph Jackson as the person who inspired billions to overcome their own troubled childhoods and to rise above circumstances they ultimately cannot control on their own. MJ is not God... He's simply a man who lived his life to the fullest. Nobody can ever take that from him, truly one of God's greatest angels we will never foreseen again. Shamone!… Long Live THE KING OF MUSIC!👑🌟🕊️

I was 19 when he died I was on the balcony burning a blunt.

I was devastated