Michael Jackson, Elvis, and Tony Shalhoub:

To judge from the deluge of reader e-mail we've received, Michael Jackson still is a remarkably potent touchstone of popular culture "especially for a star on the downhill side of his career."

This was true of Elvis. For many years his significance as a musical icon never waned, despite a career that tanked.

But Jackson's importance these days has more to do with his touchy, self-proclaimed role as a victim of racial discrimination than with his talents as an entertainer.

For instance, Drewdawg writes from the Virgin Islands:

As a black man from birth, with no induced whitening or lightening (that probably has to be said in this day and age), I am offended by MJ's claim of racism on two fronts.
1) It has been many years since MJ could look at the Man in the Mirror" and tell whether he was black or white" and 2) After making hundreds of millions of dollars, MJ now claims racism because his album was more Invisible" than Invincible".
Racism exists in all areas of society, that is just the way it is, but do I want MJ championing the end racism in the music industry" struggle on my behalf? I think not.

Another e-mail,from a self-described 28-year-old actor of Middle Eastern decent living in Los Angeles, highlights the fact that racial discrimination against blacks in the entertainment world should not dominate our focus to the exclusion of other minorities:
It would be great if you would write about the exclusion of Middle Eastern actors. Let me mention that Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans are at a disadvantage as well. ... Unfortunately, African Americans tend to be considered the only minority in the USA.
I think it's great that black Americans, through years of lobbying and hard work, have achieved more recognition and employment in this town. However, let's not forget that there are more Latinos living in this country than blacks.

And where are the roles for Native Americans? And last, God help you if you are a Middle Eastern actor. You are lucky if you go to one audition a month to play a terrorist, cab driver or a 7-11 employee. ... Network, studio and production executives have underestimated the diversity ... of the American people.

Which brings us to Tony Shalhoub, an actor of Lebanese-American descent who has often played ethnic types, like Italians and Jews. Still, he has long been among Hollywood's more valued actors in films (Men in Black, Spy Kids) and television (Wings). And now he moves further up the ranks, breaking out of the supporting-actor mold, as the star of Monk, the new, sparkling detective series that premieres tonight.
Go, Tony! (We know one success does not redress all the injustices.)