A Picture from the book, pg. 260

I chose a set of three pictures on page 260 of Michael Jackson. These pictures are of Michael outside an arraignment hearing after he had been accused of child molestation in 2004. In the first he appears to be clapping for himself. The second picture shows him holding up either the peace sign or the victory sign. That depends on your perspective I think. He is wearing some godawful suit to this arraignment with a white armband around his right arm. I don't understand the significance of the armband, even though I understand his pushing the victory sign up. The last shot has Michael holding an umbrella over himself as he poses for a photographer taking his picture. Michael has in the past been very much a showman when up on stage performing. It looks like he is on stage performing again. He can play to his audience when and if the need arises. With the charges he was facing, it looks like the need arose to play to his audience.
I can remember way back in the day when Michael Jackson was a young black child performing with his brothers in the Jackson Five. To see the transformation over the years from the boy he was to the man he became can be mind-boggling for me. I have enjoyed all of his music over the years except for his most recent deliveries. The change in his body make-up and his persona also changed his music. One of my favorite songs that he wrote was "Man in the Mirror". The song dealt with making changes in the world, but how those changes all start with us. That we have to look at ourselves and how we respond to people, situations and issues before we can hope to effect any real change. I can say that I preferred the Michael Jackson that used to be as opposed to what he became. Of course, that is just my personal opinion but I feel the statements he made about issues and things going on in the world were more effective coming from the before person rather than the after.