u/musicproducer07

TW: suicidal ideation

Words can't begin to describe how the movie alone changed my perspective of not only Michael, but life in general. Coming into 2026 was a rough start. I was overweight, my friendships weren't great, and I was slowly falling into a bottomless pit that I could not get out of. It felt like depression and anxiety were my biggest bullies who tormented me at any given opportunity and i couldn't tell them to stop so I just took it, which affected my personal life.

Then April came around. And it felt like being thrown one hundred bricks to my face. I was a mess, I was crying everyday. At the dining table, outdoors at walks, or even in my bed, and I was begging some sort of higher power to just take me out of my misery as I stared out of my windows, having been dropped by a circle of friends that I once called a second family, a group I spent the majority of my late teens in. Overall it was the messiest period of the year and I wondered if things were ever going to get better. It was the worst.

And then came the beginning of May, and by my dad's insistence, he took me and my mum to watch the Michael Jackson biopic. I had read the reviews by those so-called 'critics', and obliviously believed them, thinking it was THAT bad.

Boy I was wrong. I WAS VERY WRONG.

I went into the theatre and spent the next two hours watching Jaafar and Juliano give life to a once-in-a-lifetime superstar. Every time he performed I had a smile on my face, particularly at the end when he announced the breakup of the Jacksons and when he performed Bad. That took me by storm. Immediately after, I asked my parents if I could go to the nearby gym, but not before downloading a couple of MJ songs to get into my workout. And guys when I tell you that MJ can be your biggest motivator, he is!

For the next three months, Michael Jackson took up 90% of my workout playlist and my daily life. I would play his songs while on the treadmill, while exercising at home, while lifting, while cooking healthy meals, watched his old performances (particularly Jam in Bucharest 1992), and I would play Human Nature before going to bed to calm my nerves and Man In The Mirror as the ending to my workout in this already screwed up world. I would even watch essays based on his true life as performer and his tragic life behind closed doors. Thanks to MJ's biopic, his showmanship, his music and his affirmations and impact, I was able to lose eight kilograms (17lbs) over the course of April and July, solely because of what he gave to the world. And he motivated me to push harder than ever this time.

Truth be told, I'm only nineteen, and I was just a toddler when Michael passed on. I never understood how his mere presence alone was enough to make fans scream, cry or faint. Until now I guess. In those few months, whenever I would watch old MJ performances or his music videos, I would find myself crying! Even to his most energetic songs like Smooth Criminal and Thriller (don't get me STARTED on that Thriller dance break I always choke up when that shows up), and it was at that period I truly began to realize the impact that he's left to our already divided world. It has gotten to the point where I start crying at the movie version of Bad and it's Jaafar performing! The Jackson aura is unmatched and if somehow the universe magically brings MJ back I would be on life support lol.

But yeah, this is the end of my TED talk. Michael Jackson truly was a once-in-a-lifetime human being and I owe him everything for changing my perspective in life. Thank you for reading if you got to the end and may we play Twister with him someday! WE LOVE YOU MICHAEL!