Home Movies

On Friday the jury in the Michael Jackson trial were forced to endure watching the equivalent of a ghastly home movie.

This was in fact a video of the Arvizo family, in which mummy Arvizo described Jackson in very warm terms; calling him an ideal father figure, who made them happier than they had ever been.

Quote:

"He spreads his wings. He makes sure my kids are safe and happy -- happiness they have never had..He's a true family man. He is an ideal family man, and I appreciate him with all my heart."

I commend the jury for not instinctively reaching for their sick bags at this juncture.

The saccharine coated video extolling the virtues of Jackson was recorded in the weeks following the February 2003 broadcast of a British documentary, "Living With Michael Jackson".

The prosecution allege that Jackson's advisors panicked, as the worldwide furor over the documentary by Martin Bashir threatened to sink Jackson's and his motley crew; the prosecution say that they coerced the Arvizo family into praising Jackson on the tape, they even supplied the script of what they should say.

Should the latter point about the script be true, then at the very least the Jackson team are guilty of creating a movie of nauseating hyperbole and should be punished accordingly

The videotape is in essence mummy Arvizo's testament to Jackson. In it she praises Jackson as a humble, giving man, who was important to her son's recovery from cancer and helped the family at a time when no-one else would.

Quote:

"Every door was closed to us, and Michael said, 'All of my doors are open'..".

She states that Jackson's involvement in their lives was "a wish come true."

Gavin also makes an appearance in the movie, saying that Jackson:

"treats me like he's my father..If you hear something bad about Michael, its not true, because Michael is such a loving man,".

After the tape, the jury then heard again from Davellin Arvizo, Gavin's sister, speaking of her brother she said:

"He didn't want to be hugged. He didn't want to be kissed..It just hurt because I'm his older sister."

She described how she had seen Jackson hugging her brother, and kissing him repeatedly on the head and the cheek.