An Interview with Ryan Garey

Abstract: In this interview, Ryan Garey discusses his Master Thesis and how Michael Jackson influenced him and what he envisions for his future with Michael Jackson. REFERENCE AS:  Garey, Ryan. “An Interview with Ryan Gary.” Interview, The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies 3, no. 2 (2016). Read More …

“Who’s Bad?” Disrupting Cultural (Re)Production Through Representations of Michael Jackson

Abstract: The dynamic process of producing and consuming commodities shapes not only individuals but also their relations with each other and their societies. Although popular culture theorists have often attributed to popular music the effect of securing the consent of subordinated people for their own Read More …

CHAPTER 6 – “I DON’T KNOW” BODIES DISRUPTING CULTURAL REPRODUCTION

Jackson ends the Bad album the same way he commenced it: with a question. In the same way that it is impossible to answer the question “Who’s Bad?” in any definitive way, the final question leaves us profoundly unsure. “Are you okay?” is sung dozens Read More …

CHAPTER 3 – “EXACTLY WHICH MICHAEL JACKSON ARE WE TALKING ABOUT ANYWAY?” AGENCY AND IDENTITY IN BAD

Songs: “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Speed Demon,” “Liberian Girl” The next three songs introduce the more specific normative constructs of gender, identity, and agency and go beyond troubling or disrupting them the way “Bad” did. They envision alternatives to hegemonic constructs and playfully Read More …