Michael Jackson’s biopic and what it leaves out
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 747 Ratings
🗓️ 1 May 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A new estate-backed film, Michael, tells the story of Michael Jackson’s rise from Gary, Indiana to global fame, highlighting hits like Thriller and his record-breaking success. But it ends before major scandals, and it leaves out the US musician's race and politics, including his solidarity with Palestine. What story is being told, and what is being erased?
In this episode:
- Sherry Zane, Historian
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by David Enders and Sarí el-Khalili, with Spencer Cline, Catherine Nouhan and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Noor Wazwaz and Tamara Khandaker.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, the origins of Michael Jackson, as told by his own estate. |
| 0:17.0 | There's a lot missing from the story they tell. |
| 0:26.3 | And I think it's important to understand that those things are missing on purpose. |
| 0:32.9 | The electrifying story a new film does tell and the costs of the cutting room floor. |
| 0:38.1 | I'm Malika Bilal, and this is The Take. |
| 0:54.0 | Hey, quick note before we go on. Whether you've seen the new film Michael or not, you've heard of Michael Jackson and his music. So that means you probably have thoughts about his legacy, and we want to hear them. |
| 0:59.0 | Share your comments as you're watching this conversation. |
| 1:02.0 | And if you're listening to this episode on your podcast player, leave us a review. |
| 1:06.0 | We want to know what you think of the show. |
| 1:09.0 | My name is Sherry Zane. I'm a historian. want to know what you think of the show. |
| 1:19.4 | My name is Sherry Zane. I'm a historian and also a writer. And I'm speaking to you right now from a suburb of Chicago, which is Geneva, Illinois. Sherry, welcome to the take. We are taking a step away from the hard news cycle today to talk about |
| 1:31.6 | Michael, which is the estate sanctioned biopic about Michael Jackson. |
| 1:38.1 | Just have all these songs in my head. |
| 1:44.3 | She's got to be a man. |
| 1:45.4 | She's got to get him out. |
| 1:54.2 | There is a lot to say about this film, which I got a chance to see yesterday, and I really enjoyed it. |
| 1:57.1 | But let's start with the man himself. |
| 2:03.1 | I grew up with his music, as so many people listening and watching are going to relate to. I remember watching the making of Thriller on Beta Max video cassette, which is a thing more than |
| 2:10.5 | half of our audience will have never even heard of. I am dating myself here. But there's this warm, |
| 2:16.4 | fuzzy nostalgia that is there when you mention Michael |
| 2:20.9 | Jackson. And it's coupled with some incredible stats. Michael Jackson has the best-selling album |
... |
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