I'm a bit late getting to this one, but I really feel this should be in the 90s blog.
20 years ago, in October 1992, the Romanian capital, Bucharest, the late Michael Jackson would start the tour for his new album, Dangerous. It was quite a night on October 1, 1992, with sold out crowds at Stadionul Național. Being 6 years old, I never heard of a place called Bucharest. I never heard of Romania until 1996, when I moved to the Atlanta area and met my first Romanian classmate. For me, the Dangerous album was like an album ushering in new change, a new era.
I don't know so much about the concert itself, but this is what the concert means to me, as a person who has a "citizen of the world" outlook on things.
In order to understand what the Dangerous tour means and why I'm mentioning Bucharest, Romania, you have to understand the history of Romania.
At the end of World War II, Romania was occupied by Soviet troops. King Michael I was forced to abdicate. Romania was directly occupied and exploited into the 1950s. When Nicolae Ceausescu took over in 1967, he started gathering ideas from nations like North Korea. He started to emulate the way things were being done North Korea. He had ideas to get rid of the national debt, and the cost of doing so was lack of freedom, and many other horrors. He also wanted to build a palace for himself. In 1980, he started austerity measures, where nearly everything was set for export. What did this mean? This meant a shortage of resources, and alot of problems. There were food and fuel shortages, people waiting in queues for very little food. Ceausescu also tore down several churches and synagogues to build this palace, now called the Palace of the Parliament. This building is the world's largest civilian building.
What happened for all of this? People freezing, going hungry, and authoritarian government that was essentially a police state. People were living in fear of the Securitate, they were hungry, and cold. And a Bucharest winter can be brutal. Where did this all lead to?
1989!! In 1989, former President Reagan told Gorbachev of the USSR "Tear down this wall"!! He was referring to the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall came down, and Communist governments in many parts of Europe were coming down in their own way.
In Romania, Ceausescu was still ruling with an iron fist. He began giving a speech in the city of Timisoara, and the crowds began booing at him and shouting at him.Ceausescu was reaching the end. The revolution began to spread like wildfire. In Bucharest, he gave another speech condemning the revolt. Well, it was too late. People were hungry, cold, and most all ANRGY. Even with Ceausescu ordered troops to shoot at troops, it was too late. Eventually, the army sided with the people, and Nicolae Ceausescu, along with his wife, were executed on Christmas Day 1989.
October 1992, Michael Jackson comes to Bucharest, amidst crowds cheering him on, in a festive mood. Even with the hard times in Romania, Michael Jackson having his concert in Bucharest, in many ways, symbolizes the changes of the 1990s. For Romania, I believe it is like this: After the hard times, Romania was getting something nice, something it deserved. Romania deserved to have good things happen. There was also another symbolism. The Dangerous concert, in my opinion, symbolized the Iron Curtain coming down, and Eastern Europe entering a new era.
Michael Jackson, Live in Bucharest. To me, this concert is like a metaphor for a new era, a time where things were changing. Michael Jackson's entertainment style was changing, his album had a different style to it. The winds of change were upon the world.
20 years ago, in October 1992, the Romanian capital, Bucharest, the late Michael Jackson would start the tour for his new album, Dangerous. It was quite a night on October 1, 1992, with sold out crowds at Stadionul Național. Being 6 years old, I never heard of a place called Bucharest. I never heard of Romania until 1996, when I moved to the Atlanta area and met my first Romanian classmate. For me, the Dangerous album was like an album ushering in new change, a new era.
I don't know so much about the concert itself, but this is what the concert means to me, as a person who has a "citizen of the world" outlook on things.
In order to understand what the Dangerous tour means and why I'm mentioning Bucharest, Romania, you have to understand the history of Romania.
At the end of World War II, Romania was occupied by Soviet troops. King Michael I was forced to abdicate. Romania was directly occupied and exploited into the 1950s. When Nicolae Ceausescu took over in 1967, he started gathering ideas from nations like North Korea. He started to emulate the way things were being done North Korea. He had ideas to get rid of the national debt, and the cost of doing so was lack of freedom, and many other horrors. He also wanted to build a palace for himself. In 1980, he started austerity measures, where nearly everything was set for export. What did this mean? This meant a shortage of resources, and alot of problems. There were food and fuel shortages, people waiting in queues for very little food. Ceausescu also tore down several churches and synagogues to build this palace, now called the Palace of the Parliament. This building is the world's largest civilian building.
What happened for all of this? People freezing, going hungry, and authoritarian government that was essentially a police state. People were living in fear of the Securitate, they were hungry, and cold. And a Bucharest winter can be brutal. Where did this all lead to?
1989!! In 1989, former President Reagan told Gorbachev of the USSR "Tear down this wall"!! He was referring to the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall came down, and Communist governments in many parts of Europe were coming down in their own way.
In Romania, Ceausescu was still ruling with an iron fist. He began giving a speech in the city of Timisoara, and the crowds began booing at him and shouting at him.Ceausescu was reaching the end. The revolution began to spread like wildfire. In Bucharest, he gave another speech condemning the revolt. Well, it was too late. People were hungry, cold, and most all ANRGY. Even with Ceausescu ordered troops to shoot at troops, it was too late. Eventually, the army sided with the people, and Nicolae Ceausescu, along with his wife, were executed on Christmas Day 1989.
October 1992, Michael Jackson comes to Bucharest, amidst crowds cheering him on, in a festive mood. Even with the hard times in Romania, Michael Jackson having his concert in Bucharest, in many ways, symbolizes the changes of the 1990s. For Romania, I believe it is like this: After the hard times, Romania was getting something nice, something it deserved. Romania deserved to have good things happen. There was also another symbolism. The Dangerous concert, in my opinion, symbolized the Iron Curtain coming down, and Eastern Europe entering a new era.
Michael Jackson, Live in Bucharest. To me, this concert is like a metaphor for a new era, a time where things were changing. Michael Jackson's entertainment style was changing, his album had a different style to it. The winds of change were upon the world.
Hola, estoy haciendo un trabajo de investigación sobre Lady Gaga, Madonna y Michael Jackson. Podríais entrar en mi blog y hacer algún comentario? MUCHAS GRACIAS
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That's so to the point! I was a Romanian kid at that time watching the concert on television some km away from Bucharest. That concert still symbolizes the true democratic and capitalist Romania and it definitely changed my life - heck, I am now writing in English because of his influence :)
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