Michael Jackson Was Peak Relatable Content
I think there won’t be any “permanently world-renowned and adored cultural gigagenius icons” like Michael Jackson ever again.
For the world-renowned bit, it’s because people are committed into their own little “channels.” There’s no main source no central pool of stardom like there was back in the early aughts. I see a different set of people on my For You page than you do. My twitter feed is personalized to my tastes, my Youtube recommendations are entirely of my tastes. The homogenization factor of the need for media back then to appeal to the mainly mainstream is essentially gone, and likely won’t return. I don’t even think people would want that shared experience to return.
It’s saddening, at least to me.