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How Constant Change Killed Jackson

Michael's fate bears resemblance to Elvis' and Marilyn's, writes Lee Siegel. From his dance moves to his plastic surgery addiction, Jacko’s need to transform drove him—and did him in.

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American popular culture is our eternal present, our illusion of deathlessness. We don’t really mourn the death of a pop-culture icon. We use his extinction to resurrect his life.

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