Thinking out loud

The late Michael Jackson, the talented child star that became the pop culture icon of the 1980s and whose music will outlast any of us - was a pop star, not a film star. A highly misjudged All African-American urban remake of The Wizard of Ozmarks his sole real feature credit, a disturbing motion picture that is actually more freaky than any act Jackson was accused of in his personal life. The movie is kind of difficult to remove from your conscious once you've seen it (Jackson is on the far right - as the black scarecrow). I mean alright - a case can be made that he starred in the greatest music video of all time which carried the production values of a feature film, that goes without saying. I also fully supported the National Film Registry's decision to preserve the video. That makes sense. Yet, is an extended music video enough to get a mention on the annual "In Memoriam" Academy Awards segment? I've been going back and fourth over the issue for the past ten minutes. Yes, I understand how inspirational his music is/was and his iconic pop culture status and everything but this is the biggest film show on the calendar and I would hate to think he would make the cut over say - a set designer, or a cinematographer who has worked all his life in movies and has a CV of several dozen flicks. Those people in the industry whose work you see and enjoy but you don't know. I'm not thinking of anyone in particular but I can't help but think each year there will be some out there.