King+of+Pop,+Michael+Jackson,+Thriller,+Pepsi--8th

Home Civil Society Defined Great Man Continuum

1980's Topics 8th Period

Michael Jackson "King of Pop" Jacob Blankemeyer 

Task One Michael Jackson was “The King of Pop”, he defined what the era of music was. He led other pop stars into the 1980’s and his legacy still lives strongly on today. He stuck out from the crowd with his brilliant shows and costumes. He would light up the stage and use special effects such as smoke, cables that flew him off stage and even explosives and fire. “But it was Michael who transformed pop music as a solo act, becoming the first African-American singer to gain mass crossover appeal.” (Jones) Michael Jackson had many successes in music but also had his fair of downturns. Even though His first major single song Thriller which was “charted at No. 1 in every Western country and spent a record 37 weeks at No. 1 in the United States.” (CLIO). He was also looked down upon after being accused of molesting a 13 year old boy and his many different surgeries. Michael Jackson will be remembered by everyone being the king of pop. “The death of Michael Jackson was a monumental event that dominated the news media for weeks on end.” (Pop Culture Universe).

Pop music was the most prominent genre of music during the “Motown era”. “By the beginning of the decade, pop music had become record label–driven” (Batchelor). Music in general became extremely available to everyone. Record players became obsolete with the new innovations such as the compact disk and walkmans. With the rise of MTV Music changed instantly. “Traditionally, a new group would build a fan base by constantly touring. With the rise of MTV, however, a band had to have "video potential" in addition to musical talent” (Batchelor). With Pop music came awards, the Grammy’s gave artists a award to show how talented they are. In 1983 Michael Jackson won 3 different Grammy’s, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Vocal Performance. (CLIO). Pop music has been a largely respected music genre for the past few decades and still continues to influence society today.

__Task Two__ Michael Jackson was a single individual that had the most impact on pop culture out of any music artist. Michael Jackson changed the why “Jackson's musical influence on subsequent artists is simply unavoidable” (abc-clio). MJ is considered to be one of the most influential music artists that ever lived. “MJ was a music legend who set new standards in the music world” (Raje). Music artist’s are loved and looked up to by millions of people. Michael Jackson being extremely talented was also looked up to, “He was undoubtedly loved by millions” (Raje)."[His influence] feels like something that is instilled and embedded in anyone who wanted to create anything musically," (Respers). Michael Jackson changed the music and fashion industries and has given a lot to American Society.

Pop culture sprung up fast and strong. It replaced the musical beats of jazz and classical music. It influenced the whole world but the most noticeable influence was found in the United States. Hundreds of pop artists found success through concerts and also T.V. MTV allowed for music to reach out to the country faster than anything ever before. “Network influenced everything from fashion trends to hairstyles to filmmaking” (Atlantic city press). Suddenly a shift occurred, now music videos were just as important as the talent itself. “Their videos became a permanent fixture on [|MTV] and gained a worldwide mass audience” (Batchelor). If you had good talent but bad music videos you would probably end up nowhere. Popular Culture is defined as a “ system of attitudes, behavior, beliefs, customs, and tastes that define the people in any society” (Osborn). Pop music influenced young adults by what they wore and how they acted. Its influence was spread worldwide.

Task Three Michael Jackson had widespread influence all across the world. Millions in every country loved him for his remarkable talent. When he died on June 25th 2009 he was mourned across the world, many showed up to the scene of his death. Michael was the first black man on MTV and lead fellow black singers onto the stage. “In America Michael became the face of the modern Video age breaking down several racial barriers” ( Respers). Michael Jackson not only impacted the society was his music and dancing abilities but also he gave generously to charities. “He has been cited as the most charitable entertainer in history with more than three hundred million of his own money benefiting global causes” (Hawkin). Michael Jackson has given money to 39 charities making him a true humanitarian. Michael Jackson’s impact ranged from many different things. “His legendary music, iconic fashion and music videos have redefined not only American but global pop culture” (Moore). His impact will last for decades to come.

Pop Music was and still is extremely popular today. It has had a major impact on society. Some people think that Pop music today has a negative affect on teenagers due to the drug referencing which is true but in the 1980’s it didn’t impact young adults with drugs instead it… “The bands influenced teens to wear exuberant wild clothes and changed the styles of dance in its age” (Batchelor). Music is the main way for people to show who they really are. “ Without a doubt, popular music is a primary, if not the primary, leisure resource in late modern society” (Bennett). In the 1980’s was an era where music changed; it had an effect on advertisement’s and how people were entertained. “Video dance clubs sprang up everywhere. Radio played a wider variety of music” (Jones). Pop music has formed into many categories of music, which has impacted people, the entire world. 
 * Great Man Criteria || ** 5=long-run ** || ** 4=wide-spread ** || ** 3=moderate ** || ** 2=short run ** || ** 1=little effect ** || ** 0=not at all ** ||
 * ** SIGNIFICANCE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT ** ||  ||   || 3 ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ** ENDURANCE OF LEGACY ** || 5 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ** EXTENT OF INFLUENCE ** ||  || 4 ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * ** IMPACT ON DAILY LIFE ** ||  ||   || 3 ||   ||   ||   ||

Great Man Continuum Great --Event Making --((((Eventful))))--Social

Men -Hero ---((((Hero)))) ---Determinism

WORKS CITED:

Batchelor, Bob. "Country and Mainstream Pop Music in the 1990s." //Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas//. ABC-CLIO,2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.

Bennett, A. (2000) Popular Music and Youth Culture: Music, Identity and Place. London: Macmillan

"Death of Michael Jackson." //Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas//. ABC-CLIO,2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.

Hawkin, Tabatha. "Michael Jackson." //All Michael Jackson//. Michael Jackson's Biography Lyrics, 3 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. .

Jones, Steve. "Michael Jackson Dies at 50." //USA TODAY//. 25 Jun 2009: n.p. //SIRS Issues Researcher.// Web. 12 Mar 2012.

"Major Awards of 1983." //Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas//. ABC-CLIO,2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.

"Michael Jackson." //Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas//. ABC-CLIO,2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.

Moore, Booth. "Michael Jackson: King of Style." //LA Times//. Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2009. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. .

Raje, Nilesh. "MJ’s Influence." //DNA//. At&t, 8 July 2009. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. .

Respers, Lisa. "'King of Pop' was major influence on younger artists." //CNN//. Google, 5 June 2009. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. .

**Holistic Rubric for all 3 Tasks**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 18px;">**A quality topic post for the 1980s assignment will**
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Arrange Media to enhance and extend the significance of the topic to the 1980s decade.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Support the main idea in each paragraph with evidence from 3 different sources.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Select only signed sources from the LC databases.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Establish the credibility of the author the first time a source is referenced.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Credit sources with internal citations, ( Author's Last Name).
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">List all 7 sources alphabetically in the Works Cited. Format in MLA style.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Complete Great Man Continuum and Table.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Justify the placement of your topic on the continuum <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">using the evidence from the 7 sources to support your analysis of the 4 criteria.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">Answer the prompts for all 3 tasks and the research question thoughtfully and thoroughly.