Running Head: PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH TO PERSONALITY
Psychoanalysis of Michael Jackson
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Psychoanalysis of Michael Jackson
The psychoanalysis school of thought owes its origin to Sigmund Freud. It lays emphasis
on how behavior the unconscious mind influences human behavior. Erick Ericson made an
extension of this approach by developing the Psychosocial Theory of Personality. This paper is
an illustration of psychoanalysis of Michael Jackson, an iconic figure in popular culture. It
begins with a brief life history of Michael Jackson and psychoanalysis of the pop figure
thereafter.
A Brief Life History of Michael Jackson
Jackson was born on august 29, 1958, and his demise came on June 25, 2009. He was a
renowned recording artist in America, a businessman and an entertainer. The Guinness World
Records view him as a highly successful entertainer. Jackson was often labeled the King of Pop
and sometimes MJ, signifying the initials of his name (Campbell, 1993). He influenced global
music, fashion and dance immensely and his legacy lives on.
Psychoanalysis of Michael Jackson
Jackson brought about several controversies in his life when he changed his appearance.
This was also caused by his numerous personal relationships and sexual behavior (Campbell,
1993). Doing a psychology analysis of the life of Jackson, one can conclude that he suffered
from an erotic disorder. This is a condition which makes a person seriously obsessed with sexual
desires and behaviors (Bailey, 2009). He was a homosexual auto pedophile who had several
sexual encounters with pubescent boys and committed child abuse on several occasions. Jackson
was largely influenced by the Disney cartoon, Peter Pan in his desire to be a pubescent male. He
experienced gender dysphoria and longed to have a feminine body while loathing his male body.
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Since he was rich, he easily organized the remaking of his body physically as well as
behaviorally.
He was also influenced by his unconscious mind, to change the look of his nose so as to
look different from his father (Bailey, 2009). He succeeded in doing this following a plastic
surgery, but the effects of this transformation lingered in his mind for a lifetime. His face looked
remarkably odd after the surgery. Moreover, an autopsy test done after his death revealed that
Jackson had gone through thirteen plastic surgeries in his entire life. This was enhanced by the
fact that he always loved being different from other people. Therefore, he had to go an extra mile
to make himself unique. He was rarely adamant to think about the repercussions of his actions,
and he just focused on the result of his decisions. On many occasions, people view the result of
the numerous surgeries as serious mistakes that Jackson made in his life.
Jackson’s voice was so unnatural that people who were keen on listening to him would
have noticed this (Bailey, 2009). When he was singing, he adopted a high voice and when he was
sad he used a deep voice. These variations were caused by his subconscious mind that seems to
have been a determinant of the voice to be used in the private and public domain.
This iconic figure dressed like Peter Pan on several occasions while in the house and his
nose resembled that of the cartoon. Perhaps the desire to change the look of his nose was largely
influenced by the cartoon. His high pitch voice resembled that of Mary Martin, a woman who
aired Peter Pan in a television program.
In summary, Jackson is remembered for excellent and unpleasant things. However, his
influence on music and entertainment industry overshadows his melodramatic issues of plastic
surgery and child abuse. The psychoanalysis reveals that Jackson was immensely influenced by
his subconscious mind in his performances as well as personal life.
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References
Bailey, M. (2009). Michael Jackson: Erotic Identity Disorder? Retrieved on November 19, 2012
from
http://www.science20.com/j_michael_bailey/michael_jackson_erotic_identity_disorder55152
Campbell, L. (1993). Michael Jackson: The King of Pop. Wellesley, MA: Branden.