Stop gatekeeping, Michael is multigenerational!

[DangerousWoman29]

So with the Michael biopic release, Michaelmania has made a resurgence. I can remember the annoyance of MJ fans of the fans that jumped on the bandwagon when he passed away. But back then, there was a lot of gatekeeping as well from many not most or all Gen-Xers saying that he was their generation. Which I’m seeing a lot of again since the release of the biopic Yes, he was but he was also the silent generation, boomer, millennial and possibly Gen-Z generation too. I’m not going to gatekeep anyone’s experience with his music.

For context, I am millennial who was born in December of 1985. He was everywhere when I was growing up. I can’t really remember my first experience of him, he was just there just like Madonna. He was a part of life

And don’t get me started on the prime MJ comments. Lots of people especially older fans saying they were fans but don’t know anything outside of the thriller album. There’s no denying his prime popularity was 1983-84 in the USA, can’t speak for international though.

I could go so much into this but don’t invalidate my experience!

 

[EilonnaArroway]

it always makes me a little sad to see older fans be standoffish to new ones.

I get it a tiny bit. I was around when being a Michael fan meant being in the trenches. Having to defend him and being a fan. But it's been long enough for a whole generation to come up without him in the world. We can't take that trauma out on people who weren't even around back then.

To me, I don't care if you heard him for the first time yesterday. Come on in, stay awhile. Prepare for a crazy ride. The more people to come to our side and see the light, the better. The only way the fandom and Micheal's legacy continue is if the fandom lets in newbies and shows them the ropes. We were all new at one point, after all.

 

[R1chard]

In the UK we don't have any of these "generations", mostly we just differentiate young Vs old... And yeah, MJ appeals to everybody, young and old.

Anyway, for the most part I always used to find MJ fans to be very welcoming. In fact, in the 80s and 90s I wasn't really aware of people specifically calling themselves "MJ fans" - it was just that everybody liked MJ. You just didn't really think anything of it. There wasn't a label. There wasn't anybody trying to be a bigger fan than anybody else.

My whole class at school liked MJ, but that didn't prevent them liking anybody else, the way it seems to these days. Today everything is a lot more confrontational.

We also went through that short phase (online-only) of "MJ is for black people", but that seems to be over now.

I think it's just that the internet brings out the worst in people. I guess party this sort of behaviour is encouraged by the record labels.

 

[MJ5824ever]

I’m an ‘old’ fan

But I’ve always welcomed anyone that has gravitated towards MJ and finally recognised his genius and his message. Especially since 1993, when the media have done everything they can to turn people away from MJ.

Also, I remember how MJ has always had fans of every age, creed, social class, etc. All were welcome to Michael when he was alive, as they are now