Panel at NYU about the King of Pop

Members of the pop music community gathered last night at NYU to talk about Michael Jackson's life and career, almost three months after the King of Pop's death.

The event, held at NYU's Cantor Film Center, was sponsored by the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music — which has churned out recent pop star Lady Gaga — as a part of a larger series titled "The Record Label Series."

The discussion was heated as panelists, including Spike Lee, argued about Jackson's success as an artist.

The trouble started when one panelist denied Jackson's de facto title of "King of Pop," saying that if someone had claimed that in the '90s, they would have been ridiculed.

Armond White, a New York Press cultural critic and author of a Jackson biography, disagreed. He said the media constructed his fall from fame.

"The Michael Jackson bashers are the problem," he said.

Lee said there was a larger problem in Jackson's life.

"I think that in a lot of ways he felt that everything else was sub-par because he didn't get the sales and, for me, that's the tragedy because of his great work," Lee said. "Sometimes you have to go do your best work. That should be the goal instead of 'I've got to win an award. I've got to win a Grammy.' "

Lee's point was met with applause from the audience, which was composed of many Steinhardt and Tisch students.

Jody Rosen, a culture journalist who has written for Slate and The Nation, was met with interruptions from an audience member when he proposed that Jackson did not respond to the hip-hop era.

"He didn't resonate with a lot of young listeners after the advent of hip-hop," Rosen said.

Through sound clips, slide shows and letters directed to Jackson himself, the panelists shared their own thoughts and memories about pop icon.

The next event in the series is Oct. 9 with guest Maxine Powell, an influential figure in 1960s Motown.

Berenice Garcia is a contributing writer.