Smoke and mirrors
A lmost f i e years after his death, the . ing of 3op is back hologram of 0ichael Jackson made its debut at this year’s %illboard 0usic wards in as 9egas, performing H WR W H
W P from his posthumous scape album and moonwalking across the stage amid a host of backing dancers both real and ethereal ,t may ha e been all smoke and mirrors, but the late icon’s specter, de eloped by a consortium of isual effects companies, stole the show
7he late singer Moins a growing roster of musicians both ali e and long deceased who ha e had their likenesses proMected during a li e performance or broadcast 0adonna and holographic members of the cartoon band *orillaz opened the * rammys in , while Janelle 0onie and 0 , were able to duet last month despite being miles apart from each other
0eanwhile, on the e e of % arack 2bama’s election ictory in , 11 decided to conduct an inter iew with a technically rendered apparition of Will , m, and the late 2l’ irty %astard and azy- returned in as irtual hip- hop legends l is 3resley hasn’t been spared the digital azarus treatment either and 0arilyn 0onroe is said to be ne t to recei e the hologram tribute
%ut it was the resurrection of rapper 7upac killed in a dri e-by shooting in at the oachella festi al in that seems to ha e popularized the practice and raised Tuestions about its ethics Whether you find it amazing, tacky or macabre, you ha e to wonder about the repercussions on what is supposed to be li e music
7upac 6hakur ’ s surprise three- dimensional appearance has been widely described as a cutting-edge stunt 7he lifelike 6hakur, a brainchild of rapper and record producer r re, was created by igital omain, the 2scar-winning effects house that made computer-generated images of .e in %acon in H U W and %rad 3itt in H XU RX
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ccording to H R RR HSRUWHU, howe er, it had nothing to do with holograms erything was made possible by a magician’s trick known as 3epper’s *host, a techniTue that dates back to 9ictorian %ritain
7hat the headline-grabbing feat in ol - ing 0ichael Jackson’s self was no less re ered for not being real is perhaps a testament to the modern-day audience’s lo e for and faith in technology s RUEH notes, 0ore than , mentions on 7witter following the performance is a Mump of more than ll of this attention is pushing massi e sales numbers scape is poised to reign on this week’s %illboard album charts
0ore than that, it could ery well be a demonstration of the mechanics of mourning in the social media age With holograms, it has become e en easier for fallen superstars to conTuer mortality and make gra estones of pre ious milestones With a potentially lucrati e new re enue stream in the offing, Jackson won’t be the last to pull off such a spectacle, portending rights battles and ethics debates to come