God Will Walk Out of the Room

NONO

[BY Quincy Jones ] Caught a little of the Elvis movie on TV. The kid from Dublin playing him was good; had the moves down. It got me to thinking about fame and massive success and about how some people can handle it -- and how for others it can be the most destructive thing in the world. It got me to thinking about Michael -- and how difficult it is to watch what’s going on with him now. When we made “Thriller”, he was the most beautiful person in the world. Just a beautiful little brother. And you can’t help but wonder if things happened too fast, or does success of this magnitude become emotionally unmanageable? All I know is that, on their own, human beings are not programmed to be able to handle that much fame, that much adulation, that much success. The only way to deal with something that overwhelming -- even overwhelming success -- is if you are spiritually centered. If you believe that you deserve all that money and adulation, that’s a problem. If you believe you don’t deserve it, that’s also a problem. And if you don’t understand this, you’re in trouble. I’ve been in the business 57 years and I’ve seen it over and over again. It’s all about trusting a higher power; believing in divinity. It’s about cause and manifestation. Cause being God’s job, manifestation clearly being our job. The moment success leads you to say, “I’ll take it from here, God,” God’s reply will be, “Be my guest.” And God will walk out of the room. The only way to navigate that road is to have humility and grace. Those are the two cardinal rules. You must approach creativity with humility and have grace when you’re blessed with success.

Kian

在电视上看到了一些Elvis传记电影的片段。演绎他的都柏林男孩很不错，演绎得很到位。 这让我想到了名声与极大的成就，为什么有些人能够承受，而对有些人来说却是世界上最具破坏性的事呢？ 这又让我想起了Michael——想要看清现在发生在他身上的事情是多么困难啊。 当我们制作出“Thriller”的时候，他是世界上最美丽的人。我一个可爱的弟弟。你不能阻止事情发展得这么快，快得让你感到惊讶，是因为这样巨大的成就会让人控制不了自己的情绪吗？ 我所知道的只是，在主观上，人们没被写下程式去承受这样大的名声，奉承以及成就。处理无法压制的事情——甚至是无法压制的成功——唯一的方法就是要让自己有平和的内心。 如果你觉得你得到这些金钱和奉承是应该的，这会是一个问题。如果你觉得你不该得到这些，这也会是一个问题。但如果你不明白这些，你的麻烦就更大了。 我在这行做了57年，看到这样的事情在不停地重复发生。这关乎着相信一种更高的力量；相信神的存在。这是关于内在的根源与外在的表现。根源就是上帝的意志，而表现上帝的思想则显是我们的工作。你拥有了成就，就是你在说：“上帝，我会从这里拿走它。”，而上帝给你答复“你是我的客人。”然后上帝走出了房间。 要在路上继续走下去，就必须做到谦卑与悲慈。 这是最重要的两个准则。你必须做到谦卑地表现出创造力，当受到祝福拥有了成就之后，也还得要有悲慈的心。 [ Last edited by Kian on 2005-5-23 at 12:33 AM ]

Bevmj7 : I'm not particularly fond of Quincy. He's been shakey in the past regarding Michael, in my opinion. I didn't bother reading the article, so I probably shouldn't comment, but I will anyway. If Quincy was referring to Michael in terms of him thinking that he does deserve all of his adulation and success, than I strongely disagree with him on that point. However, if he is reffering to Michael in him thinking he does NOT deserve his adulation and success, I agree with him on certain points. Michael is the most successful musical and performing artist the world has ever known, he's achieved a level of fame that is beyond anyone else's, but simultaniously, he has shunned the spotlight since his adult years began, he has shyed away from interviews, and he has isolated himself from the press and media. You'll notice this about Michael. Whenever he recieves an award, or completes a performance, upon which recieveing a standing ovation, Michael is always VERY embarressed. He looks embarressed, he acts embarressed. When recieveing an award, he has trouble looking at the audiance, he keeps looking down at whatever trophy is in his hands, he looks away, he smiles bashfully, ect... He has the same reaction after performing. I have always said about Michael, he is someone who works so hard towards achieveing perfection in his work, because that is the only thing in which he has EVER known acceptance. And he doesn't want to let all those people down that will lay their money on the counter to buy his art. He is afraid that if he dissapoints them, if he lets them down in some way, that they will stop loving him. Do you remember that note Michael wrote to his fans outside his hotel window, on a pillow? He said something along the lines of 'You are my life always, please love me always.' Michael is afraid that he will be undeserving of love, because frankly, that is the message that has been sent to him all his life. He does not feel the need to be number one to boost his wanning ego. He feels the need to be number one because he feels that if he does not achieve that, then he will in some way be letting those who love him down, and in doing so, he feels that he will no longer be deserving of their love. In short, what I am trying to say is, Michael is TOO humble. He feels like he owes a perfect record, a perfect performance, a perfect him everytime to everyone. If Michael's ego really were big, if he really did lack humility, than he would NOT feel the need to make his work perfect, he would NOT feel the need to work on his albums for months and months on end, working himself into exhaustion (sp?), he would not constantly wave to his fans, constantly tell them how much he loves them and how much they mean to him. He would not be so critical of himself. Remember, he cried after Motown 25; he felt he had not put on a good enough performance, despite the screaming standing ovation that he recieved. Michael's has more humility than anyone I have ever known or known of. He is painfully shy, still, he is devastatingly sweet, and utterly grateful for his gifts and for what love he does recieve. Michael Jackson's humility is so such, that at times it completely consumes him.

Pepina @ May 12 2005, 04:39 AM) It's not like Michael's fame happened suddenly and over-night. The fame Michael incurred as a result of Thriller was something he had been working toward since he was 5 years old. Michael had already been a star since he was at least 10. If Michael was still a "beautiful little brother" by the time they were recording Thriller, his psyche wasn't going to change suddenly at 26 because of the success of the album. If Michael Jackson's ego was going to go out of control, it would have when he was 10 years old and knocking the Beatles out of the number one spot. And then he'd be Corey Feldman, but he is obviously anything but. Quincy likes to feed into this popular perception within the music industry and media that Michael became irrelevant post-1983 (i.e. without Q), even though Q's senile mind seems to forget that he was involved in 1987's Bad, too. His so-called irrelevancy is supposedly a direct result of his "descent into madness" and that's bullshit. Listen to Michael's interviews from 17, from 27, from 37 and now when he's damn near 47...the person in those interviews hasn't changed. He sounds a little more defeated now, but the message is still the same. Fame wasn't too much for Michael. The jealousy that people unleashed at him as a result of his fame and the maliciousness that he's been subject to since catapulting to phenomenal success might be, though.

pinkhouse: all of these people were talking endlessly at the time how generous mj was, tenderhearted, etc. has q forgotten that it was mj who put down most of the lyrics to we are the world? not humble enough for you, q? what about donating his share of tour profits to charity, or ensuring that sick children had some of the best seats in the house? hmm? mj was very rich and famous before q started working with him. q knows that. he was a young man looking to make the transition from formidable "child star" to formidable adult star. and q is damn lucky mj jumpstarted his career. that's right i said it. quincy said so himself that the powers that be at mj's label wanted mj to work with someone else on his solo effort, and mj went to bat for him when they first started working together. so q can shove it. as you've stated, it was everyone else's reaction to mj's fame that was crazy. can you imagine people being ANGRY with anyone else for purchasing a music catalog? ANGRY with anyone else for selling that many copies of one album? ANGRY with anyone else who married the daughter of an equally famous music star? ANGRY with anyone else who was self-conscious and insecure with his looks and decided (rightly or wrongly) that he desired plastic surgery? ANGRY with anyone else who broke all sort of records? ANGRY with anyone else who built a park which serves a majority of the time as a haven for sick children and their families? ANGRY with anyone else that has had to battle a debilitating skin disorder that he can do nothing about? are people angry at elvis or the beatles the way they are at mj for his fame and accomplishments, whatever shortcomings any of these people had as men? i see all sorts of compassion for elvis; is there none for mj? i'm glad that i didn't read quincy's mess, and i stand by my earlier post that he should have shut the f**k up. he is getting cheap publicity for himself, and slagging off someone else who has done nothing to him.

LONER: Celebrities live in a world of myth and fantasy, where limits have been peeled back by money and fame. Boundless opportunities can feel like a prison with silken walls, luxurious in its isolation. However, much the world opens up to celebrities, a part of it also closes down. There is a massive loss of privacy. It is a challenge to maintain human contact. The seclusion and grandeur imparted by fame can trigger paths of thinking that resemble schizophrenic or paranoid delusions. Ask any therapists they will tell you that their celebrity clients often develop an adaptive form of personality disorder: a split between their private and public selves. There are constant accolades from outside based on how they look, who their characters are. It's easy to lose track of who they are holding on to a sense of self is difficult. Celebrities struggle every day with their private persona who am I to the world, who am I to myself, who am I to my family? There are two types of celebrities the first type is self-confident and secure, and retains their ego strength. The second is driven by inferiority to gain approval and masks this with narcissism, constantly demanding special attention. But there are commonalities in people who are drawn to the genre and succeed. They tend to be iconoclasts, people who need to live the gypsy life. They love challenges, stimulation, and verbal expression. They're usually social and gregarious, and have great charm and wit. The main stressor is the cyclical nature of the entertainment business, when working, the incredible hours. There's no time or energy left over for family. Then, during the hiatus, there's anxiety about if they'll ever work again. Commitments are not made from year to year. Fame is elusive - you're the darling today, and can't get a job tomorrow. Celebrities, then, can scarcely enjoy their fame for fear of it slipping away. And while you are on top, the people who sign your paycheck, fickle lot though they may be insist on following you everywhere. You can't even go pee without being followed by hordes of fans demanding autographs. For decades, an ever-expanding pool of celebrities has been competing for a finite public attention....Viewed in more ruthless economic terms, these movie stars, athletes, artists, journalists, and socialites were human commodities. Most celebrities don't like to think of themselves as passing fads, or even plan for that possibility, for fear of jinxing their careers. They tend, instead, to make huge amounts of money in short amounts of time, then spend it very quickly. In a business that is feast or famine, Celebes may reward themselves when the big checks come in, assuming that they will be able to sustain their new lifestyle. In a business where what you sell is, ultimately, yourself, appearance takes on a special significance. In acting and modeling, it has become almost chic to step away from your own image. Stars, like most of us, often fixate on their flaws, not on their best attributes. Women in the business seem especially anxious about fulfilling expectations of willowy beauty and ever-sustainable youth. It may be an understandable response, given the built-in insecurities of fame: There's always another talent arriving on the celebrity shuttle. The late Gilda Radner did some soul-searching in her autobiography, "Its Always Something," written just before her death from ovarian cancer. "With fame, and the constant display of my image on television, came anorexia. I became almost afraid to eat," she said. But New York streets are filled with tempting kiosks. "During the second year of `Saturday Night Live,' I taught myself to throw up. I became bulimic before medical science had given it that name." Many celebs had a third risk factor - "crisis of mobility," in which fame transports them from one world to another. "The know how to act, but then they become a stranger in a strange land. Life had, at some level, lost its bearings. Drugs can be a stabilizer, at least temporarily, providing anxiety reduction, feelings of omnipotence and power, or a soothing, deep peace otherwise unattainable. For celebrities, especially in the entertainment field, the pressure is always on to turn in a perfect performance, to be better than before, to constantly hit the mark. At the same time, artists tend to be sensitive souls in touch with naked emotions they mine for our perusal. Celebrities are the sacrificial victims of our adoration. They are delivered to us as perfect human beings. We look to them as ideals, and that gives us orientation. Celebrities understandably become more protective when they achieve the level of fame where fans begin to swarm, track, or target them obsessively; they’ll buy burglar alarms, cars with tinted windows, guard dogs, body guards. Some of them even border on paranoia, like the stars who have four bodyguards with them at all times, even on a movie set, and change clothes five times a day. It's a fine line. You've got the up side, where celebrities have the freedom and opportunities to go places and do things that bring them wonderment and joy. But their boundaries are constantly being pushed back, physically and mentally. The tabloids, both print and TV, lead the pack, certainly. But even the mainstream press has incredible leeway when it comes to reporting on public figure. Where a private person must prove only negligence to claim libel, public figures (such as celebrities, politicians, and others who have sought the spotlight) must claim actual malice or knowledge that the statement is false. Being constantly judged and evaluated by their appearance, whether attending the Academy Awards or stepping out to get a newspaper, denies celebrities any part of their life that is truly and exclusively their own. There in lies madness...or, at least, resentment. Does buying a movie ticket, owning a television, or subscribing to a magazine give us automatic rights to 24-hour surveillance? We build 'em up, just to knock 'em down. Just as we have created celebrities, we have created the hall of mirrors in which they so precariously exist. For the famous today, self-approval depends on public recognition and acclaim.

GIRLINTHEMIRROR: What a fascinating, insightful and eloquently expressed commentary on the effect of fame on the individual, and the mental, emotional and physical prison that it can so easily become. Michael, for a long time (1983-1993), had a level of GLOBAL fame and adulation that I don't believe anyone before or since has ever had. Even now, while decried as a 'has-been' he remains one of the most hounded celebrities on the planet. And his fame began before he was old enough to consciously choose it (at least most celebrities have the luxury of doing THAT), and certainly before he could even begin to understand it. So Michael's experience with fame is not only unique because of its unprecedented magnitude. It is also unique because no one else on the planet has ever been as famous as Michael was at such a tender age, and still been so famous 35 years later. In other words, no one else was this consistently famous during their pre-teen years, their teen years, their twenties, thirties, early to mid forties and counting... At least if you become famous when you are in your late teens to mid-twenties (the majority of celebs are born some time within that range) you are able to go through puberty and make the transition from adolescence into adulthood in the real world, and with your privacy intact. Michael did not have that luxury, and he has talked many times about how painful it was to go through those formative years with the unforgiving spotlight of the media shining on him. The younger you are when you have a dramatic or traumatic experience (and fame brings with it a continual supply of both), the more it affects you, as neurons in the child and adolescent brain are firing much more quickly than in the adult one, busy building the pathways which literally 'wire' the brain. No doubt about it, fame messes with your mind, and the bigger the fame, the greater the damage. No one emerges from the hall of mirrors (love that analogy!) that is fame unscathed. I know this much though: given the life he has had, Michael is a much saner and much better human being than he should be. By a LONG shot. And it suggests to me that he never did ask God to leave the room.

wannabestartinsomthin21: Fame is generally fleeting, most of our celebrities today have their 5 minutes of it. I look at all of our pop "stars" as being here today, and being replaced tommarow, because they will be, whether they realize it or not. But when I look at Michael, and his situation, I cannot place him in the same catogory as any other "celebrity" or person of fame, because in honest truth, he simply is not on the same page. He is on a whole nother level, completely. He is seperate from all of them for several reasons. The first and most obvious reason lies in how he grew up and what he was put through as a child. He began working as an adult before any of us can even speak cohearently. He grew up as an adult, in an adult's world and was expected to be an adult, from the age of 5. That would leave no memories of actual childhood. Now, second, and the less obvious reason I suppose, why Michael cannot really be compared to other celebrities is, he's just unlike other people, be it regular, everyday people or regular, everyday people who happen to be famous. I see celebrities as regular human beings, who just happen to be famous. Not Michael. Michael will never be not famouse, his level of notariety and recognition will never go down. While he may have lost a great deal of his popularity, his fame is still as intense as it has always been since the early 80s. He is still just as recognized, still just as known to the world. And the reason for him never losing that fame is because he is not just a "pop star" created by the machine that is the music industry, delivered for our entertainment and for our own idea's of perfection, as you said loner. Michael Jackson is NOT that. He is himself, he made himself. His talent is beyond anything that has ever come out of the entertainment industry. He is not of that industry or any industry. He just creates, he is beyond an entertainer, he is a brilliant artist, someone who can see something in life that the rest of us are blind to. And then there is who he is. He does not have an image manufactured by the industry or by the public. He's real, all the way. He may choose to keep certain details of his life away from the public, as to maintain himself as a good role model for children, but his image is not manufactured, he is not fake, as are other celebrities. And he wasn't created by anyone but himself, and God. Well, just to wrap this up, you cannot compare Michael to other celebrities, you cannot place him on the same page as them, or put to him the same pyscoanalysis as you would to them, because he is not the same, nothing about him is the same. He is a human being, and will deal with certain issues as others would, but his perception is different. He sees things differently then other people. And his situation is not the same. Michael does not have the same type of fame as do other celebrities. He is on a whole nother level, from any and everyone.

there

so long,i read it slowly.