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Analyzing Michael Jackson's Handwriting
What do the pop singer’s missing commas and sloping t-crosses say about what was in his head?
Ever since Michael Jackson’s death, people have been looking for keys that might unlock the pop singer’s enigmatic persona. Why was Jackson so vulnerable to the impact of fame? Was he really a child trapped in a man’s body, or just misunderstood? Perhaps an examination of his handwriting—an extraordinary specimen—can provide some clues to how his mind worked.
Courtesy of Autograph Magazine and GottaHaveIt.com. All rights reserved.
This sample, written in the 1990s, contains the handwritten lyrics to the song, “We are the World,” which was written when Jackson was in his 30s. The mixing of upper- and lower-case letters shows confusion regarding his identity and could be the writing of a teenager. The movement, form, and space are weak, and the letters are narrow, which indicates introversion. The writing style is both slack and contracted, and the letters drift. A further lack of maturity is seen by the confusion of space and inconsistency in the size of the letters. The sloping baseline indicates melancholy, disillusion, and loss of innocence.
His baseline (a measurement of emotional stability) is constantly shifting.
This sample is replete with spelling errors, and the lack of punctuation and organization represents an almost free-association thought process. This could be due to having an incomplete education (as child stars often have) or a rebellious disregard for norms, including the norms of proper grammar and spelling.
Interestingly, the unique and original letter formations denote intelligence and creativity, and the slow, carefully written writing indicates that Jackson is a perfectionist who wishes to communicate on his own terms, unconventional though they may be. This reflects his unique and totally original lens on the interpretation of his thought process and the world around him.
The entire space picture is uneven. The size and zones of the letters change, as if the lines were a roadmap that rambles to nowhere. The baseline (a measurement of emotional stability) is constantly shifting, reflecting strong mood swings. The slant is variable and upright, possibly a stay against inner chaos and a search for an identity.
The t-crosses move to the right, representing future challenges. These t-crosses are often off the stem, showing he is always thinking of ways to behave, perform, and think differently. Jackson’s inner theater was filled with creative fantasy, which seemed to constantly renew itself.
The strong movement to the right, combined with the narrowness of the letters, show his emotional inhibitions despite his over-the-top behavior. Because everything is written in a state of flux and flow, the balance shifts—a further sign that he does not understand himself and does not find it easy to be understood by others. The lines are falling toward the bottom of the page, showing his fatigue, sadness, and search for meaning.
And although he has an unevenly developed spirit of savvy and an often-childlike manner, he is quick to make adjustments. Highly impulsive, he walks on a fine tightrope of feeling, reaching out and, at the same time, finding new ways to hide out at the expense of his authentic identity.
Arlyn Imberman is a professional graphologist and founder of Emerging Image, Inc. Her book, Signature for Success, was published last year.
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Really? I mean, come on.
If there is any scientific basis for graphology, I am unaware of it. Note the style of the analysis, which is similar to astrological writing. "...[H]e walks on a fine tightrope of feeling, reaching out and, at the same time, finding new was to hide...." The writer makes an assertion, then takes it back in the next phrase. This keeps all bases covered. Anything Jackson did was either reaching out or trying to hide.
And I can predict the weather: It will be sunny tomorrow unless it is is cloudy.
exactly
Holy cow -- these artists write lyrics on whim and quickly,
decorum aside. We Are the World was written in the 80s, not the 90s, and MJ was in his 20s, not 30s. MJ and Lionel Richie finished WATW the night before next-day recording.
Seriously?? get a life!!
Jackson has been pseudo-analyzed about everything, and will be for the rest of time. The fact is, his life was his career, and like his music, his life was crafted. It was not genuine. Everything, absolutely everything was surrounded in tall tales. He actually worked hard on creating the persona we've all come to know. It was intentional. Thus, it's pretty easy to come up with an analysis of his handwriting. It's so predictable.
Having said that, we should know that there was another part of him that likely only he really knew. He was probably so confused about his genuine self and his constructed self, the result is an almost hopeless person. No wonder he sought such extremes -- general anesthesia -- to get rest, he likely had some serious escaping to do...
OOPS! I just pseudo-analyzed him! See, it's easy for anyone to do.
When you come to think of it, Michael's best friend was E. Taylor, herself a celebrity performer / addict basket case. And Brooke Shields was a youth friend of his.
They, of the Howard Hughes school of weird. Weird, weird.
How can one say anything for certain about highly creative, imaginative, aesthetically-oriented people such as Jackson? Perhaps the unexpected capitals were simply an aesthetic choice as was the text direction and spacing on the page.
If this sample was composition-in-the-making, one could hardly expect him to closed off to anything during the time he wrote it -- of course his identity would be unstable and in flux during those moments.
This is insane! If Michael was righting a song he was probably just trying to get the words down and NOT thinking that someone would be analyzing it looking for signs that he was a lost soul. I want someone to diagonalize of his handwriting when he was righting something he thought people would see!
Thank you.
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