A Rat Song--1972

A reason that I got disconnected from Michael Jackson's music when I was young was that I found out the "Ben" song was about a rat! On the radio, it sounded like a beautiful song describing friendship; and I was disappointed--I thought, "Oh, it's about a rat!" It was apparently taken from a movie by the same name; and the movie was a sequel to another rat movie the year before. [These movies came out in 1971 and 1972.] *** The first movie, "Willard," was about a young adult man who lived at home with his ailing mother. Uh huh.... The Ben name is a common one, and it's Jewish, and it's connected to some prominent pioneer names in my home town! Well, rats...? I guess there are all kinds of them! Some are real, some are figurative. And I guess we have to determine when prejudice is justified--and we may not all agree!? [The rats in the films have also been compared to "Mickey Mouse" rats!] *** My computer time is limited and I don't have much time left, right now. *** For the record, would like to say Michael Jackson was very young, himself, when the Ben song was performed. [I don't think he came up with the entire concept on his own!]

NOTE, added in March 2023:  I believe some of these rats in film have been a reference to the special police project--it was like a joke, although sometimes truth is spoken in jest....