The XX Factor : michael jackson

Company Creates Perfume From Michael Jackson's DNA

Samantha Henig — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:02:00 GMT

A post from DoubleX writer Lauren Bans: For the MJ lover in your family— My DNA Fragrance , a Los Angeles company that seems to exists mainly to translate the DNA of the rich and famous and deceased into scents for the rest of us mortals to wear, has...(read more)

Don't Psychoanalyze MJ's Memorial Service

Marjorie Valbrun — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:56:00 GMT

Whew Willa, you offer some tricky psychoanalysis here . None of us can say what the Jacksons were thinking on that stage with Paris, or what they were trying to project to the YouTube audience. What we can safely say is that despite being a dysfunctional...(read more)

Children Speaking at Public Funerals: Cathartic or Cruel?

Jessica Grose — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:25:00 GMT

So. That happened . The bizarre spectacle of Michael Jackson's funeral was everywhere yesterday, and the most talked-about moment was when Michael's daughter, Paris Jackson, went up on stage and told the world , "Ever since I was born, Daddy has been...(read more)

Heath Ledger Profile Shows How Fame Can Destroy the Psyche

Jessica Grose — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:38:00 GMT

Sara, you said that childhood stardom was such a destructive force for Michael Jackson , and you were right. But the current issue of Vanity Fair has a cover story on Heath Ledger that shows for a sensitive adult, stardom ain't all its cracked up to be,...(read more)

Follow the Second Star to the Left and Straight on 'Til Morning

Bonnie Goldstein — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:50:00 GMT

Now that Michael Jackson has gotten what always seemed to be his wish for eternal youth, I expect participants in his secretive life will emerge for a last reminder of the extremely gifted pop star’s lifetime of sad dysfunction. The Jackson Family will...(read more)

What Michael Jackson Can Teach the Gosselins

Sara Mosle — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:52:00 GMT

I was particularly touched by Emily Yoffe's remembrance of Michael Jackson as the young, innocent, and extraordinarily talented boy he once was, before his life went terribly wrong. Despite such cautionary tales, parents continue to push their kids in...(read more)

Michael, Pop, and Race

Samantha Henig — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:08:00 GMT

A friend told me last night the sort of thing that you only admit when you’re standing in a bar where the entire room is grooving on the 18th song in a marathon of Michael: that recently, for no real reason, he had read through a bunch of the coverage...(read more)

Reclaiming the King of Pop

Willa Paskin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:11:00 GMT

Michael Jackson was blasting on the streets of New York City last night, out of car windows, restaurants, bars, and radios set up next to makeshift fruit stands. People were paying their respects, but also up to something more. They were taking the first...(read more)

Last Moments of Michael

Nina Shen Rastogi — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:30:00 GMT

Tracking celebrities' final moments has become a kind of collective, Internet parlor game. The e-mails start flying: Who's getting the best scoop? Who can spot the first credible death announcement? I'm currently standing vigil over Michael Jackson's...(read more)

The Thriller is Gone

Emily Yoffe — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:25:00 GMT

Has there ever been a major celebrity who so wholly turned himself into a freak? He destroyed his face (the tabloids loved to get photos of him sans surgical mask, a prothestic tip taped to the end of his ruined nose), he was involved in endless pedophillic...(read more)

Two Pop Icons Lived in Opposite Ways

Hanna Rosin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:19:00 GMT

The Los Angeles Times confirms that Michael Jackson has died of cardiac arrest . Two pop icons down in a day, and to me their lives moved in opposite directions. After her flash appearance as a sex symbol, Fawcett spent the rest of her years backing away...(read more)