Well that interview shows a few things:
1) What an amazing young girl she is. Very confident, well-spoken, polite, unspoiled etc.
2) How close PPB are. You can see Prince whispering to Blanket, almost as if re-assuring him. Bless Blanket. He's so shy!
3) How much she values her dad. She claims 99% of her brain is MJ music.
4) She wants to babysit and loves children. Not only does that come from Michael, it shows that she is actually very down to earth!
Now for the negatives:
1) She seems to have no real idea about Lundon's bridge and the fact that there is no backing etc. it seems she wants this project cos it relates to pollution and money will be given to schools. Yet none of these things look likely to happen.
2) I can't help thinking she wants attention. I have a theory about this. She was the only girl in that family of Prince. Blanket and Michael. Michael probably unconsciously treated her slightly differently, as is natural. She was probably her Daddy's princess and grew up with that attention, which was probably heightened by the lack of a mother. There is something special about a girl and her father. Girls learn that they are loved by a man, who is really the only man they can depend on. They feel reassured of their place as women to be, by the love and PROTECTION they feel with their fathers that cannot be provided by a mother. Mothers show comfort and warmth. A dad makes you feel protected and special. (I know this from having never known my own father).
Therefore, once MJ died, it all disappeared and maybe she feels that loss of the special attention more than her brothers?
I know this is all speculation, but this is just what I think, based on what I know about parents and children (and that's a lot!)
I think it's not quite fair to make it out to be a 'craving' thing i the sense that makes it sound as if it was somehow heightened and not normal to have that kind of relationship to your father. I am quite certain that Blanket and Prince also have had their own daddy and son rituals- but that they are simply not that vocal about it. I do remember Prince talking about beach walks, candy bars and sodas etc. Trying to establish that from a distance is tricky. They also were children to Michael, his children- from all photographs I have ever seen all his children were clothed as little princes and princesses- just how all children should be treated by their parents. And I do recall hearing from Blanket that in his view it was Prince who 'got away with everything'. I think it incredibly difficult as an outsider to come up with anything, perhaps we shouldn't.
To feel love and protected should be the norm- not something rare, so I have serious issues with stereotyping male and female parents in this way.
I had a very close relationship to my dad similar to the way Paris describes it- and it was not for lack or absence of my mother. The fact that I have had this relationship to my dad in no way means that I view males as the savior and protector only. It is quite alright for both gender to 'depend' on one another- that's not wrong. Don't know why people get so hung up on genders.
It probably helped to feel this way since my father was a very outspoken feminist- so this whole reassuring 'women of their place as women to be" sounds a little funny. And by all accounts it sounds as if Michael didn't just see his little girl as tea party dress up doll- especially after hearing the accounts of Paris that they went to museums, art galleries etc.
For every time that people accused Michael of having 'issues dealing with females' etc etc- Michael's daughter is obviously not the shy and retiring wallflower type and apparently by all accounts Michael didn't seem to raise a daughter to sit quietly in the corner and hope that her time in life will come. She obviously has no qualms about wanting to do things in life. I hated when people came to these strange conclusions about Michael- so I'd rather cut off my hand then turn around and do the same thing to his daughter.
I simply want to be cautious about judging an adolescent on these types of gender roles. People are simply different personalities- and when you spend time with actresses and other artists of both genders- especially actors- it's a personality thing. Any artist that can command an audience has the ability to draw attention in this way- and they do that at an early age. If you spend some time with young actors you'll see that a lot of artist can have that aura about themselves. Heck, her dad was one of the most charismatic artists this planet has ever seen- I am not sure why people are so surprised that one out of his three children might be the opposite of shy and retiring?
Yes, they 'crave attention' because those that have a draw to acting seem to express themselves that way.
I'm just very very cautious and wary when people start stereotyping a young adolescent on the "growing up with MJ". People of both genders have different personalities, different types- and I do find it slightly sad that in the year 2011 a female gets put into the 'craves attention' drawer.
When Prince spoke in Berlin nobody was theorizing about the lack/absence of a mother- everyone was just plain impressed. A female on the other hand gets analyzed as Daddy's girl for just being herself- and that is close to gender stereotyping. I normally wouldn't write this- but since her being herself got labeled in the 'negative' category- and that is neither fair, nor rational. Especially from a distance.
