Josephine Baker! I had been wondering for a while where the association between Michael and Josephine Baker came from (other than Josephine Baker being said to have been one of Michael's aliases) and "Blink" something came to mind when watching the TMP video Phase VII part one, the Rainbow Children.
At 5:50, Michael talks about adopting 2 kids from each continent around the World and this juggled my memory of the Rainbow Tribe. Josephine Baker and her fourth husband Jo Bouillon created a family of adopted children from the 4 corners of the earth, they called it the Rainbow Tribe
A Visit to Her Chateau in France, Home of the Rainbow Tribe
By Will Snyder[/center:2q95wp6o]
Ernest Hemingway called her “the most sensational woman anybody ever saw, or ever will.” Non-stop energy, sexual and political, she never accepted defeat, kept reaching out for a better world. The still-inspiring Josephine Baker has been honored in 2006, the centenary of her birth. And fans of hers keep heading to the castle in southwest France where she built the “humanist” legend, to add to the showbiz, Nazi resistance and ball-breaking legends secured elsewhere.
The amazing rags-to-riches story goes like this: born poor and black in race-riot torn East St. Louis, joined a traveling Negro Revue in her teens, rising nightclub star Josephine became the rage of Paris with her risqué banana skirt shimmying. She was a stunning artistic and commercial success, becoming the highest paid woman entertainer in Europe in the late 1920’s. She fell in love with a lot of men, but also with a 300 acre estate with a 15th century castle known as Les Milandes in the Perigord, Southwest France. Josephine was a hero of the French resistance during WWII. Once the war was over, and she had secured her Legion of Honor award from Charles de Gaulle, she bought the castle (and village) and moved in.
She had a dream. She and her fourth husband Jo Bouillon –stymied by Josephine’s two miscarriages- created a family of adopted children from the 4 corners of the earth, and raised them in their hillside French chateau and surrounding grounds. Theirs was a vision called the Rainbow Tribe, and they didn’t stop adopting children until they had 12 youngsters, nearly all from different nations and races. Journalists and tourists were welcome to Milandes to witness a community of love: an unabashed black woman uniting children from the four corners of the earth to live in harmony. Josephine brought many family members from the USA to help out, taking different roles in the operation of the castle and village, creating a model family adoption and entertainment center.
The dream lasted a little over 20 years. By 1968, husband Jo had left for Argentina. Josephine was a terrific entertainer, but a poor money manager. Her American family proved unable to help. Local suppliers took advantage of the situation and lack of controls. Financial ruin was averted on several occasions by donations from friends and benefactors. But the beautiful candle was burning out, and the wheels of justice finally closed the door on the dream when the village and castle were sold at public auction. Josephine was publicly humiliated by the new owners, and a famous photograph shows her locked outside the medieval kitchen in the rain in her bathrobe.
Friends again came to the rescue. Princess Grace gave her a house in Monaco, and she never returned to the Dordogne. Ten years later, she died during a courageous comeback on the stage in Paris. Her legend has continued to grow ever since.
The Milandes Chateau/ museum is open to the public, and is a rare treat, a “must-see” for Americans visiting France. The museum recently unveiled a centenary statue of Josephine by a local French artist. It shows her with several of her adopted children, happy in their Dordogne village- before her financial woes led to a bitter end of the French country dream. As Langston Hughes, who knew Josephine when she first hit the stage said of her, "There was something about her rhythm, her warmth, her smile, and her impudent grace that made her stand out."
Looking at Josephine’s life in any detail makes one realize just how extraordinary nearly every aspect of her character and personality really were. In addition to aiding the French cause during the Nazi occupation of Paris, she used her presence to fight for civil rights in the US, and was honored by the NAACP. She demonstrated alongside Bob Dylan and others in the 1963 March on Washington rally. Ever a friend of the rich and famous, she always kept her heart on the side of the oppressed. She was extravagant but human, show-biz yet compassionate for the less fortunate, before it was the politically correct thing to do.
She was also stubborn to a high degree. At the time of her financial crisis, she was given expert advice by her high-positioned friends, none of which she really listened to. One benefactor who was just getting started on a holiday center business called Club Med offered to pay off all her debts if she would give him a lease to bring a few guests to the village. True to herself, she of course refused.
No doubt that there are many other parallels between Michael and Josephine Baker:
- She died making her come back to the stage ---> Hoax Story: Michael dies Making his come back to the stage
- She supported the French resistance and other fights for Freedom ---> Performance Art/MJ AIR
- She was a terrific entertainer---> Michael is the greatest
and I am sure there is much more.
I have thought for a while that Lisa Marie is an intricate part in all of this. I don't know how long she has been knowingly involved, at first I thought since the private funeral, but then I question that as well.
Michael has always had very strong themes of the corrupted woman vs the sainted woman. It's all in his music- the woman is usually the temptress. Psychologically, I always attributed it to his childhood and his exposure to sexuality vs seeing what went on in strip clubs, seeing women throwing themselves at his brothers, his father using women, etc- while he saw his mother as the very image of sainthood.
The color imagery (red vs blue) was fascinating. I noticed Katherine usually wears that bright blue (innocent, holy woman) as well as pearl (which are a symbol of purity- they also come from water- the pure female). Lisa wore purple in the interview- it is a royal color and it is also the merging of blue and red. We all know the red bracelets Michael wore- recently (actually, at the Harry Potter premiere) Lisa wore a very similar BLUE lace bracelet (which many fans immidiately pointed out as looking so close to what Michael usually wears- and not anything she has been seen with). Also, she is not wearing a wedding ring and "her" Michael (as her husband Michael Lockwood) just basically was emasculated on national TV as his wife sang the praises of MJ,- (her greatest high). It will be interesting to see how this plays out. As a side note: I wonder how Scientolgoy plays in. Was she sent to turn Michael who in turn turned her (so many turns, I know)?
I have to think more about the Jack the Ripper aspect before I can comment in a logical manner.
One thing I do have problems with: I find it so hard to believe that Michael would have set up everything pre-trial. His pain and suffering just seemed too real. But- At this point, I put everthing into question.
I totally agree that LMP is a part of it and has been from Hoax day 1, how long before that did she get involved and what her current relationship with Michael is, I really do not know. The video below from TMP (From 3:30) is interested as it looks at a previous Oprah interview of Priscilla and Lisa-Marie. Clearly everything is a real tangled web with lies coming from all over the place! I wonder who is hiding what?
[youtube:19mkvq6w]
The above TMP video also makes some good parallels between the Oprah interview in 1993 and the Bashir documentary - It also provides an interesting perspective on Oprah --> Can Oprah be trusted?
With L.O.V.E
PS: The "codes" as posted recently by TMP:
THE CODE:
Red, yellow, gold and orange = female
Black, blue, grey = male
white = purity or light
green = earth = female
sun and earth = mother/child
universe and moon = father
water = female
land = male
blue sky = male
Comments
At 5:50, Michael talks about adopting 2 kids from each continent around the World and this juggled my memory of the Rainbow Tribe. Josephine Baker and her fourth husband Jo Bouillon created a family of adopted children from the 4 corners of the earth, they called it the Rainbow Tribe
No doubt that there are many other parallels between Michael and Josephine Baker:
- She died making her come back to the stage ---> Hoax Story: Michael dies Making his come back to the stage
- She supported the French resistance and other fights for Freedom ---> Performance Art/MJ AIR
- She was a terrific entertainer---> Michael is the greatest
and I am sure there is much more.
With L.O.V.E
I totally agree that LMP is a part of it and has been from Hoax day 1, how long before that did she get involved and what her current relationship with Michael is, I really do not know. The video below from TMP (From 3:30) is interested as it looks at a previous Oprah interview of Priscilla and Lisa-Marie. Clearly everything is a real tangled web with lies coming from all over the place! I wonder who is hiding what?
[youtube:19mkvq6w]
The above TMP video also makes some good parallels between the Oprah interview in 1993 and the Bashir documentary - It also provides an interesting perspective on Oprah --> Can Oprah be trusted?
With L.O.V.E
PS: The "codes" as posted recently by TMP:
THE CODE:
Red, yellow, gold and orange = female
Black, blue, grey = male
white = purity or light
green = earth = female
sun and earth = mother/child
universe and moon = father
water = female
land = male
blue sky = male