As many people know Michael Jackson was a living icon. Many people would refer to him as the king of pop, but he passed away at a very young age. Throughout the documentary, Michael Jackson: Life, Death, and Legacy they use pathos, logos, and ethos. There are arguments which have ethos, pathos, and logos to support it. They use pathos to make the audience have an emotional connection with the film.
This documentary uses logos when they inform the audience how many albums Michael has produced and sold. Ethos is used my showing the audience the kind of person Michael was. Since this film does have a lot of ethos, pathos, and logos it makes it more effective in persuading the audience. Some people tried to paint Michael as a bad person. He had people accuse him of assault, bleaching his skin, and judging his appearance.
The media only likes to share the mistakes people make in their lifetime, but what a lot of people did not know was that Michael spent a ton of money on helping sick children around the world. Ethos is effective when this scene is shared because it shows how kind-hearted Michael really was. Michael spent a lot of money on building this place called Neverland. Neverland was a place for children to go and have fun. Jackson would let sick children from all around the world spend the day in Neverland. The media did not show this side of Michael Jackson as much as they shared the accusation of assault on a little boy. The media focused on the negatives of Michael more than they focused on the positive of him.
Logos is used a few times throughout this documentary. A time when logos was used is when they decided to talk about the color of his skin. Throughout Michael’s career his skin would get lighter and lighter. His fans started assuming he was bleaching his skin. However, he never really addressed the situation. When these accusations started happening more he released a song named Black or White, which states that it should not matter if he’s black or white.
What many fans did not know what that he has a skin condition that caused his skin to lose pigment. Logos is represented in this scene people it gives the audience the logic behind the reason why he was getting whiter and the detail of they skin disease he had. This skin condition that he had was called Vitiligo. This skin condition was the cause of Michael’s skin getting lighter over the years. Another way logos is represented in this documentary is when they mention his successful career. They give us the number of albums he produced over his lifetime, how many albums he’s sold, and they way his career started.
The emotional connection that is shown between Michael and his fans is unbelievable. Pathos is huge throughout this documentary. So many fans felt an emotional attraction to Michael and his music. His fans were heart broken when they found out that Michael Jackson passed away. Many people wanted to be at Michael’s funeral, so his family and friends decided to have his funeral at the Staples center and have the whole funeral live broadcasted.
Pathos was used throughout this documentary when they showed scenes of him at the hospital helping sick children, when he was performing on stage, when he was in Jackson 5, they showed where he passed away, and many more events that happened throughout his career. Throughout this documentary the audience would feel, at some point, emotionally connected, which would be because of the pathos represented throughout Michael Jackson: Life, Death, and Legacy.
Ethos, pathos, and logos are all factors that make this documentary. If this documentary did not have all three of these then it would not keep the audience intrigued with the film. This documentary attracted many people because a lot of people actually enjoy Michael Jackson and the music he produced and performed. He was a living icon and his legend still lives on today. His legend will live on through his children. He did not only reach one generation, he reached all generations. People today still listen to his music that he made decades ago.
