I may be wrong, I often am, but I really don't think that the 2,000 items up for auction, constitute Michael's entire legacy.
It's a comment that Julien has repeated many times that I often reflect upon, that being, as per Julien: "Michael just has too much stuff to keep up with."
I agree. And I believe it's a combination of things. Maybe it's that he has too much stuff to keep up with as well as getting rid of some items that may have bad memories attached to it....as well as stuff he doesn't use or has never used, etc...
Clearly 2,000 items are not all of Michael's personal belongings and collection.
They don't entirely define his legacy.
But you're not understand the SYMBOLISM and MEANING of what this means to dismantle Neverland and sell so many of these unique and precious items that belong ONLY to Michael and Neverland.
JUST selling the GATES OF NEVERLAND ALONE is like...incomprehensible.
It's not for any other one person to own.
I'm really shocked at Michael that he has chosen this way.
Maybe he doesn't realize just how extremely special we all agreed Neverland really was.
It really was a world unto itself and it's really now become a lost treasure spread around the world...I'm not trying to be dramatic but I'm considering generations from now when no one knows what has become of the Neverland Gate or any of the precious items because I don't believe that the people who have the money to purchase them are necessarily going to regard them in the way they should be like true fans would. I really feel that it belongs in a museum as one collection...or preserved in a place in a way that Graceland was (although Neverland is so much more than Graceland I hate to make that comparison).
I completely agree with this post, however for all that was special about Neverland, it was Michael's. It belonged to him. Fans may have enjoyed the place and appreciated it, but he's the one that dreamed it, designed it and ultimately worked to bring it to life. If pulling the plug on it is what he's decided to do it can't be harder for us as it had to be for him. At least that's my opinion as I don't know what he really feels, of course. :flowers: As some people like to say (country people lol) he put his "big boy britches on" in deciding to close that chapter of his life to start a new one. Some may say well, considering what happened, it should have been a no-brainer and easy for him to do. But as we can see, it took 3 years for it to happen. Maybe if he had cut ties with the property right after he left, it would have been easier for some fans to digest becuz everyone was still angry about what had happened? I dunno. I think the idea that he still has a stake in the property is slightly telling. When he said he'd always have Neverland, in a way he still does...just not as much as he did before considering he doesn't own it 100% now and it looks nothing like we knew Neverland to be.
Overall, it's one less thing he has to worry about now. No more losing Neverland stories for the press. No more PETA up his butt about animals. No more liens against a property and it's contents by greedy people who would love to profit off the fact that MJ lived there. In a way, some small teeny way, there has to be a sense of relief for him. Tough decisions are hard to make but once you've done it and made some kind of peace with it and it's in motion, a sense of relief does take ahold. He's free. Free to even create another Neverland somewhere if he ever wants to (hears all the Nevy haters and naysayers moaning and groaning in the background). He's free to rebuild or recreate something new and special, if not more special, if that's his goal. Sometimes the only way to reach for something better is to let go of what you already have in your hand. It sucks but "sometimes" it's unavoidable and worth it down the line.
As for the 2,000 items not defining his legacy, I agree with that as well. As IvoryKeys stated, he doesn't seem to be selling EVERYTHING. And with all the stuff MJ was known to have, I'll take a wild guess and say he probably still has 2,000 more items that he could put in a museum or something someday. There's gloves in this auction I've never seen. Who knew he had that many or gloves in those colors? I see a glove with spikes or pointy things coming out of it. :lol: And there's quite a few things I've yet to see at all (paintings, statues, etc..) that were very much a part of the place. Of course, there's 2 more catalogs that aren't up yet, but I think the one containing the items from MJ's personal collection and career will be the most interesting one. So far, I see a lot of items that are rare and collector worthy...one-of-a-kind things. And I suspect that's the reason for a few personal items from his friends going up in the auction. I don't believe Mac only did one painting for MJ in all the time they knew each other. And for all the years he's known Elizabeth Taylor, I'm guessing they've given each other more than one gift. So parting with some of that seems to be a way to generate collector interest more than anything else...at least to me.
It's his decision and we have to respect it. There is no Neverland anymore but there is a new strong decisive and happy Michael. That's all that matters!
I would hope that he's happy. :flowers:
Martin Nolan talks about the auction
http://www.rte.ie/news/news1pm/
Thanks for posting.
Sooooo they ripped up the train tracks but the trains are not for sale? Sweet!