Encomium -- No Faint Praise

To say the media and blogosphere have been filled with encomiums for Michael Jackson would be like saying the OED contains a smattering of words. Today, the date of his massive memorial service in L.A., you could hardly escape the tidal wave of encomium for the late King of Pop short of renting a rocket ride into near-Earth orbit. A week ago, I'd already found myself rolling my eyes at the outpouring of emotional language about Jackson. I admit, I couldn't quite fathom the level of public reaction even though I once eagerly absorbed the videos for "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Thriller" on that dazzling new medium called MTV back when the "M" actually stood for "music." Still, for heaven's sake, I said, he was just a singer and dancer!

My dear hubby has had his fill of the Jackson coverage, too. But as he noted, it's not inappropriate to say that Jackson's death is the contemporary equivalent of the passing of Elvis. And when people mourn the death of a major star or pop culture figure of their time, it's as much -- or more -- some element of their own lives for which they're feeling those heart pangs. Jackson's hits certainly permeated the 80s and 90s: "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," "Rock With You," "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'," "P.Y.T.," "Beat It," "Billie Jean," "Man In the Mirror," "Human Nature," "Bad," "Black Or White," "Smooth Criminal," "The Way You Make Me Feel," and, of course, "Thriller." Jackson's songs provided the soundtrack for many a date, school dance, amusement park thrill ride, smooth move at the roller rink, beach trip, slumber party, pool party, talent show, summer camp, cruise down the highway, yearbook work weekend, etc. etc. Kids of all ethnicities in middle schools and high schools across America mimed his signature moonwalk step -- they certainly did in the thoroughly white-bread suburban schools I attended.

Yes, Jackson's music was part of the soundtrack of my formative teenage years, too. Though I was not necessarily the typical teen. I hazard a guess that I'm among the very few people who thought that the most impressive element of "Thriller" was that they got Vincent Price (!!) to do that voiceover punctuated with his diabolical laugh -- although the dancing with zombies was pretty sensational, too. But none of Jackson's songs was an "our song" for me and hearing "Don't Stop" or "Billie Jean" doesn't carry me back to a particular youthful experience on a wave of nostalgia. Even so, I can certainly understand how Jackson's songs evoke those memories and emotions for millions of people. And I can understand the pangs of the sense that some part of those memories has slipped away, making those ghosts of feelings seem a little thinner and fainter.

Hence the use of encomium to describe the accolades heaped upon the entertainer today at his memorial service and carried across airwaves and cyberstreams throughout the day. Dictionaries note the formal character of the term. It's more than praise. It's "a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly," says the New Oxford American Dictionary. Encomium derives from the same Greek roots as eulogy: enkōmion from en- meaning "within" and komos meaning "celebration."

I will be thrilled when the media hoopla over Michael Jackson dies down. But I will not roll my eyes at those who tell me they had a videostream of the live coverage of the memorial open on their computer screens all day or that they pulled out and played all their old Jackson albums one evening after hearing about his death. I get it.