Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ a Fans Experience

Fans crowded the 8 PM screening of the documentary detailing Jackson’s planned London shows in hopes to be among the first to catch a glimpse. Though there were numerous screenings scheduled for the day and the following days, tickets for the very first show were sold out almost a month ago since they were released.

At the Times Square, by 7 pm, people had flocked the area and the end of the line could no longer be seen. The anticipation was not what you would typically expect of a movie but it gave off a vibe similar to an upcoming concert. Though the film was only a documentary of the supposedly London concert, for the audience it felt like it was the real deal; that Michael Jackson was performing alive for all of them. Even in line a combination of chats, longing and eagerness were the main themes of conversations. Fans came dressed up in “Michael Jackson RIP” t-shirts and commemorative “Backstage pass” lanyards. People even jived to the tunes of Michael Jackson while waiting in line.

As soon as the lights were off, the theater was transformed into a concert hall as celebratory shouts were fired just from the pre-movie ad for the soundtrack. This started the continuous cycle of crowd applause and shouts for every song delivered. The film opens to an audition for dancers to join the tour with most of them expressing how Jackson had touched their lives and inspired them personally.

For the audience, they had really wanted to believe that Jackson was there performing solely for them. Typical of concerts, applause came when you’d expect it from the pelvic thrusts during “Billie Jean’, the “Ma Ma Se, Ma Ma Sa” of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin”, and the opening bass of “Thriller”. The crowd was so interactive, though not realizing those where rehearsal footage, but rather felt like this was the real deal. There was a portion of the film where director Kenny Ortega tells Jackson to pause for applause after a number and the audience gladly joins in breaking into shouts and claps.

The show itself proves that if “This Is It” had managed to push through, it would have been a magnificent display with the giant props, pyrotechnics, crowd interaction, and state-of-the-art visuals. For Jackson, he wanted this last concert to make people remember him as the performer that he is. “We want to take [the crowd] places they’ve never been before,” says Jackson toward the end of the film.