Why pulling The Simpsons' Michael Jackson episode was a mistake

Slate

"Consigning 'Stark Raving Dad' to the dustbin of history is a mistake, an offense against art and the medium of television, and part of a growing trend of corporations using their consolidated power and the death of physical media to do damage control by destroying works by troublesome artists," says Isaac Butler of The Simpsons' producers' decision last week to pull Jackson's episode in wake of the sexual abuse documentary HBO's Leaving Neverland. As Butler points out, Jackson didn't write the episode, he's not physically represented in it, and doesn't have his name on it. "It’s an odd situation: Jackson’s involvement in the episode is minimal, but he’s also essential to it working," says Butler. He adds: "Removing the episode from syndication, where viewers could accidentally stumble onto it, would be an understandable decision, but actively preventing people who want to see the episode from doing so is a different story. The paternalism here—the belief that viewers can’t, or shouldn’t be able to, navigate these waters on their own—is striking. Thinking about the episode’s complicity in manufacturing Jackson’s family-friendly image might make James L. Brooks, Al Jean, and Matt Groening uncomfortable, but they have created something of enduring importance, and, like all great cultural works, it no longer completely belongs to its creators. It belongs, on some level, to all of us."

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