Los subtextos detrás de la trama de Zootopia

Despite the inroads he had made towards independence from his family, by 1981, Michael Jackson still felt that his life was spinning out of control. When he was onstage, performing, he could transform himself into the desirable person of his dreams: a sexy, outgoing, confident person who exerted total control over himself and his audience. But offstage was another story. When he looked in the mirror, he saw a person he didn't like very much, a person who still allowed himself to be controlled by other people, whose talent was respected but whose opinions didn't matter. He'd begun to work on some of that with John Branca, but what could he do about the physical appearance of the man in the mirror? He'd never felt handsome, that's for certain, and by 1981 he had a litany of personal complaints, all adding to his deep insecurity.

Michael considered rhinoplasty surgery, popularly known as ‘a nose job’, as a possibility to thin out his wide nose. Since about the age of thirteen, he'd always been fixated on the size of his nose, and his brothers had only made matters worse with their nickname for him: Big Nose. Wide, flat noses were a Jackson family trait, inherited from Joseph. Michael had been threatening to have the surgery for years, but he was too afraid actually to go through with it. However, in the spring of 1979, he tripped during a complicated dance routine, fell onstage… and broke his nose. Fate had intervened; he had no choice. He flew back to Los Angeles and had his first rhinoplasty.

Gina Sprague recalled, ‘Joseph told me he doubted that Michael would ever have had the nose job if he didn't have to do it. That was the first. No one ever dreamed what it would lead to in the future. After the bandages came off, Michael liked what he saw.’

The result of that first surgery is the nose seen on the cover of Michael's Off the Wall album, one just a bit smaller than the one with which he was born. Indeed, Michael's face had been surgically transformed, confirming the notion for him that his appearance was one thing over which he could absolutely exert control if he wanted to do so. However, afterwards Michael complained of some breathing problems, and trouble singing. He was then referred to Dr Steven Hoefflin, who would suggest a second surgery. Hoefflin would perform that surgery, and others that Michael would eventually have on his face.

His friend, Jane Fonda was sufficiently distressed enough about Michael's new plastic surgery to approach him about it. She was perceptive enough to speculate that the real reason for the operations on his nose was not so that he could look like Diana Ross – as rumoured – but, so that he would not end up looking like his father, Joseph. She was a different kind of friend for Michael, a person with more on her mind than just show business. Thoughtful and direct, she was the only person in his life who actually confronted Michael about his surgeries. ‘I want you to stop now,’ she told Michael, according to a later recollection. ‘No more. Promise me you won't go too far with this thing. Love yourself the way you are, for who you are.’

‘I'll try,’ Michael promised.

‘And stand up straight,’ she told him, as if his school teacher. ‘You must look like you are somebody important, and that you understand what you're doing and why you are here. If you at least look self-confident, maybe you won't be so shy.’

‘Yes, Jane.’

But Michael obviously was not self-confident. By 1980, he had his new nose, but he was still desperately unhappy. ‘Even at home, I'm lonely,’ he said. ‘I sit in my room sometimes and cry. It's so hard to make friends, and there are some things you can't talk to your parents or family about. I sometimes walk around the neighbourhood at night, just hoping to find someone to talk to. But I just end up coming home.’ The notion of Michael Jackson – a world- renowned superstar – walking around his Encino neighbourhood in search of someone to talk to is startling. Imagine the depth of his despair, his loneliness.

The fact that his face was still broken out with acne did not help matters. Michael had read that the types of greasy foods he enjoyed contributed to the problem. Jermaine, who also had acne, became a vegetarian in order to solve the problem. It worked. Michael decided that he would do the same. One unexpected consequence of the diet was that he lost weight. Michael was certainly not fat, obviously, but he still had ‘baby fat’ around his waist, and his face was full. He longed to be slimmer, to have what he called ‘a dancer's body’. In time, his figure would become more streamlined and the roundness in his face would disappear. His acne would also clear up. Many people would think that Michael had ‘cheek implant’ surgery in 1980, but the new, clearly defined lines of his face were actually brought about by the gradual weight loss he had experienced after becoming a vegetarian, and also by the natural aging process.

It was John Branca's suggestion that, if Michael wanted to forge some independence he might want to consider purchasing his own real estate. He was twenty-two. Why did he have to live at home? The idea of moving away from Joseph was exhilarating for Michael, even though he didn't want to leave Katherine. Still, he thought he might try it. Therefore, in February of 1981, Michael bought a three-bedroom, three-bathroom condominium at 5420 Lindley Avenue in Encino for $210,000. He paid $175,000 in cash. The balance – .$35,000 – came from Katherine. In exchange, Michael gave her equity in the condominium as sole and separate property, meaning she did not have to share it with Joseph as community property. It was his way of giving her a bit of freedom, as well. Certainly, Michael didn't need her to contribute $35,000. No doubt, she wanted to pay for the possibility of having her own freedom, just like her son. ‘Now, if you can't stand him for another second,’ Michael said, speaking of Joseph, ‘you can move here. It will be great. We could live here together, imagine that! And without him.’

In the end, Michael could not go through with it; he couldn't move out, especially since Katherine didn't want to go, either. ‘I just don't feel it's time for me to move away from home yet,’ he said. ‘If I moved out now, I'd die of loneliness. Most people who move out go to discos every night. They party every night. They invite friends over, and I don't do any of those things.’ (In a couple of years, Michael would move into the condominium temporarily, along with other family members, when the Encino home was remodelled. He still owns the condominium today; it has been used as a haven for his brothers when they have had marital difficulties.)

In the spring of 1981, plans were being finalized for The Jacksons to embark on a thirty-nine-city concert tour of the United States to support their new album, called Triumph. Michael didn't want to go. One problem he had with touring concerned the enormous amount of preparation and work involved. Then when it was over, it was over – unlike a movie or a video, which is timeless and lasting. ‘What's so sad about the whole thing is that you don't capture the moment,’ he told me of live performances. ‘Look at how many great actors or entertainers have been lost to the world because they did a performance one night and that was it. With film, you capture it, it's shown all over the world, and it's there for ever. Spencer Tracy will always be young in

Captains Courageous, and I can learn and be stimulated by his performance.

‘So much is lost in live theatre. Or vaudeville. Do you know how much I could have learned by watching all of those entertainers? When I perform, I feel like I'm giving a whole lot but for nothing. I like to capture things and hold them and share them with the world.’

He really had no choice, however. His family wanted him to go on the road with them – the tour was projected to gross millions of dollars for them – the record label had also insisted upon a tour… so there would be a tour. Michael just hoped that it would, in some way, unite the family after such difficult times at home. He was frustrated and upset, but he would force himself along. Still, some would notice a cold implacability on his face when with the family at rehearsals. He seemed removed from the proceedings, not involved, not interested.

Before embarking on the Triumph tour, Michael underwent the second rhinoplasty surgery recommended by Dr Steven Hoefflin. ‘He didn't tell his family he was doing it,’ said Marcus Phillips. ‘He just did it. He came home all black and blue and bandaged, and Katherine said, “Michael, what in the world happened to you?” She must have thought he'd been beaten up. “Did you break your nose again?” she asked. He told her he hadn't, that his doctor recommended a second operation. Then, he went to his bedroom and stayed there for a week, coming down to the kitchen every now and then for some vegetables.

‘One thing I know to be true is that Michael was elated about the fact that with the second nose job he looked less like his father,’ Marcus Phillips said. ‘That appealed to him very much. If he couldn't erase Joseph from his life, at least he could erase him from the reflection in the mirror. Already, he was talking about having a third nose job.’

Even though Michael never discussed his surgery with anyone, he was crying out for help, becoming obsessed by the appearance of the man in the mirror, and a dangerous pattern was beginning to emerge.

In June 1981, Michael and Quincy Jones began work on a storytelling record book of Steven Spielberg's film, E. T. Michael would also be featured as vocalist on one song, ‘Someone in the Dark’, written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. Michael was so enchanted by the story of E. T. that he couldn't wait to meet the animated extraterrestrial ‘actor’ when a publicity photo session was arranged. ‘He grabbed me, he put his arms around me,’ Michael said of the animatronic robot, his face filled with child-like wonder. ‘He was so real that I was talking to him. I kissed him before I left. The next day, I missed him.’

Later in the month, Michael went into the studio with Diana Ross to produce a song for her called ‘Muscles’ – named after his pet snake. Michael was ecstatic about the opportunity to produce a record for his idol. Some claimed that the reason Michael had his plastic surgery was in order to look more like Miss Ross. However, as one Jackson confidant put it, ‘If Michael Jackson wanted to look like Diana Ross, believe me, he had the millions to look

exactly like Diana Ross. That was never his intention. However, that's not to say that he wasn't tickled that people thought he resembled her. “Do you

really think I do?” he would ask, tilting his head in a pose. “Because if I do, wow! How amazing would that be.”’

At this time, Diana had left Motown and was recording her second album for RCA, Silk Electric. The album was shaping up to be a disaster and she needed something outstanding on the collection, which is why she contacted Michael. ‘I was coming back from England, working on Paul McCartney's album, zooming along on the Concorde, and this song popped into my head,’ Michael recalled. ‘I said, “Hey, that's perfect for Diana.” I didn't have a tape recorder or anything, so I had to suffer for like three hours. Soon as I got home, I whipped that baby on tape.’

‘You're the man,’ Diana insisted, an admiring look in her eyes. ‘You're the boss on this one.’ Diana wanted Michael to take control of the recording session, but it was difficult for him. ‘In the end, the song just sort of produced itself,’ said a friend of Diana's. The kinky lyrics of ‘Muscles’ extol the joys of a man's muscles ‘all over your body’. ‘I don't know whether it's supposed to be Michael's fantasy or mine,’ Diana said when it was finally released.

Either way, it was a Top Ten record for Diana Ross.

The Triumph tour began in Memphis, Tennessee, on 9 July 1981, and ended with a record-breaking, sell-out, four-night engagement at the Los Angeles Forum. The biggest numbers of the show were always Michael's solo songs from the Off the Wall album. There were also special effects arranged by magician Doug Henning: Michael seemed to disappear into a puff of smoke after performing ‘Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough’. Offstage, Michael also seemed to want to disappear, rarely socializing with his brothers or the rest of the entourage. ‘This is my last tour,’ he promised anyone who asked. ‘I will

never do this again. Ever.’

Being on the road with him made the Jackson brothers realize how far Michael had distanced himself from them. He started talking to the press about the possibility of a solo career. ‘I think that will happen gracefully in the future,’ he told Paul Grein of Billboard. ‘I think the public will ask for it. That's definitely going to happen.’

It was not what his brothers wanted to hear. It didn't help them feel any more secure when Michael began involving himself more in the business end of the show. For instance, one day he was scheduled to rehearse with the group when someone handed him a copy of the contract for the trucks that were to carry equipment for the tour. Michael glanced at it and said, ‘Wait, I need to check something with my lawyer.’

‘That can wait, Michael,’ Jackie said, bristling with anger. ‘This rehearsal is important.’

Michael ignored his older brother's remark, left the stage area and found a telephone. He called John Branca. ‘He wanted me to explain a paragraph that dealt with what happened if the truck broke down, if it had a flat tyre, or the road washed out,’ John recalled. ‘I explained the paragraph. He asked a couple of questions and said, “Okay, I understand.” He was all about details, always with the details, wanting to know everything. He used to say, “It's important that I know.”’

Michael then returned to the stage, signed the contract, and went back to work.

Around this time Michael finally learned to drive so he could leave the estate when it became too difficult for him there. Singer Mickey Free (formerly of the group Shalamar) remembered his first meeting with Michael in the fall of 1981. ‘I was signed to Diana Ross's management company at that time. She was staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel and asked me if I wanted to come down to her bungalow and meet Michael. Well, who wouldn't?’ he recalled. ‘So I had dinner with Michael, Diana and Gene [Simmons of Kiss, Diana's boyfriend at the time]. I was freaking out because I always wanted to meet Michael, and he was so nice. So it came time for me to go home. Diana's car had brought me there, and she said, Okay, I'll call the driver to come and get you.’ Michael very softly said, “Oh, that's okay, I'll take Mickey home.”’

Diana and Gene were astonished. ‘Are you sure you want to do this, Michael?’ Diana asked him. ‘Are you sure you can handle it?’ ‘Yeah, I can do it, Diana,’ Michael said, confidently.

Mickey got into Michael's Silver Shadow Rolls-Royce, and the two sped off down the driveway in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel. ‘Be careful,’ Diana hollered after them. ‘Don't drive too fast, Michael.’

When they got to Mickey's apartment building about fifteen minutes later, Michael drove around the block a few times before sheepishly confessing, ‘You know what? I can drive this thing, but I don't know how to parallel park it. Can you park for me?’ Michael stopped the car in the middle of the road and the two traded seats.

‘I rode around the block ten times to find a parking place so people could see me driving Michael Jackson around in his fabulous car,’ Mickey recalled.