In the wake of Michael Jackson's untimely death, greatest hits compilations, DVDs, and the upcoming This Is It documentary are surfacing to capitalize on fans's thirst for material. One of the earliest out of the gate is Devotion: An Unauthorized Tribute to Michael Jackson, a DVD claiming to document Jackson's life story. Unfortunately, the documentary falls short of being a complete guide to his complicated life.
Taking a decidedly biased view (thus the word "tribute" in the title), Devotion focuses on Jackson's relationship with fans, his charity work, and his vast commercial success. Curiously, the plastic surgery never receives a mention, and the accusations and eventual trial are glossed over. While Jackson's life story presents a challenge to anyone wishing to condense it to two hours, barely discussing the Jackson Five's hard road to Motown also seems a glaring omission.
As is typical with “unauthorized” programs, the documentary contains no original music and little in the way of new interviews. Berry Gordy appears, although he rehashes some of his memorial service speech; Janet Jackson very briefly describes the close relationship she shared with her brother; and Quincy Jones discusses the recording of Thriller, although the BET Awards poster in the background reveals the footage's age: 2008. Thus the interview is not exclusive to the program. More interesting is some of the lesser-known figures in Jackson's life, including his former publicist Susan Blond and photographer Harrison Funk. Blond recounts her years working for Jackson, fondly recalling the mania surrounding Thriller. Funk remembers taking photos of Jackson at Neverland Ranch, seemingly charmed by his childlike nature.
Hardcore fans will quibble with various aspects—for example, while the narrator touts Off the Wall's success, footage of fans mobbing Jackson plays, clearly from the Thriller era. Oddly, when songwriter and frequent collaborator Rod Temperton's name is mentioned, Stevie Wonder's face appears. Video from the Bad era accompanies the Thriller section, and much is made of Jackson meeting President H. W. Bush (though his 1984 visit with President Reagan remains more noteworthy). Since the documentary's producers failed to obtain footage of the original Motown 25 “Billie Jean” performance, the viewer is treated to a very bad imitator's version of the moonwalk. Some of the facts appear blurred—for example, Jackson's 2001 feud with Sony and then-company president Tommy Mottola stemmed from Jackson's unhappiness with the lack of success of his last album, Invincible. Instead, Devotion mostly couches the incident in vague descriptions of him wanting more control over his Sony catalog. Interestingly, the DVD does include the inflammatory remarks Jackson made about Mottola being “mean” and a “racist.”
Article comments
1 - jol
Yeah, the media have the right to be biased for profit, but nobody who attacks them dare show the tiniest bias by not mentioning that 20 years ago he may have planted a completely harmless story.
2 - Monica Simonds
Amen, Jol.
Mean-spirited comments against MJ by the likes of Diane Dimond, Maureen Orth or Nancy Grace is always hailed as "honest" or "speaking the truth".
But, anything which is sympathetic toward MJ is automatically labeled "biased" or "fanatical".
Talk about a double standard.
3 - Kit O'Toole
Monica and jol, thank you for commenting. I think some of my remarks may have been misinterpreted, so I'd like to clear it up. I felt this DVD did a disservice to MJ's legacy by oversimplifying his story, and even including inaccuracies. His legacy is a complicated one, and a fuller picture would better serve him and his fans.