Up to The White Glove
Michael Jackson's white glove may also be seen as a star's way of maintaining distance from his audience. The glove is vaguely "magical," and in many Jacko "short films," the star is portrayed as a magical being: "Smooth Criminal," "Billie Jean," "Remember the Time," etc. Michael's fashion statements are consistently idiosyncratic and odd: he has worn white and black arm bands (they seem military with WWII overtones, but have been described as a "gesture of sympathy" to suffering people of the world), usually on one arm - not both; he often wears business shoes for some reason - black, penny loafers; his pant cuffs are too short; he has worn a white brace or bandage on one wrist - reminiscent of that worn by carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers. It's very likely that these flourishes come from some private reference point important to Michael (there are lots of references in videos to the 40s Fred Astaire film "The Bandwagon"). If so, they still serve to distance the artist from his audience, while perhaps endearing him to them. They remind us that Michael is not like us... and help to usher us into his world.
Copyright © 1997 by Robin Mookerjee rqm7699@is3.nyu.edu All Rights Reserved.
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