If we're going to analyze a music video, we may as well tackle the best one ever made, Thriller, by Michael Jackson. The title track for the blockbuster album of the same name, the video for Thriller debuted in December of 1983. The early 80's marked the start of the music video era which heralded a completely new genre for experiencing, interpreting and promoting of pop music. Michael Jackson was ever the innovator. If there was something new to be done, he was going to be the best and find a way to take it to the next level.
Michael Jackson's purpose in making Thriller was clear, it was the same as everyone else's in making a video, he wanted to sell records. Singing into a lens was not going to make the impact that Michael was looking for. So, what does make impact? What makes hearts beat faster, gets adrenaline pumping, and excites the fight or flight reflex? FEAR. There is no way we can know if the song was the first written, but it was chosen as the title track, the first song released AND a chosen for a ground-breaking video. It had the right subject matter to inspire a production that would frighten on one level and EXCITE it's audience on another level.
The video, which as received more awards that I can list here, was the first to approach a music video in the fashion of a feature-length film and is a lengthy thirteen minutes. Like any horror film worth watching, it features a werewolf, lurching zombies, an abandoned house, and a beautiful girl screaming her head off. Alone, these scenes may seem campy and a bit ridiculous. When combined with the catchy pop beat, an extremely well choreographed and perfectly executed horror-inspired group dance, and a rap from the famously sinister Vincent Price, the effect is pop-music based horror short film that has 150,000,000 views on YouTube 30 years later.
I admit, I watched the video two or three times more than I needed to complete this assignment, it's that good. However, I did take more notice of the lyrics with each viewing. The lyrics seem to mean more than the horror theme the video would indicate. Lines like "they will possess you, unless you change the number on the dial", "I'll make you see", "No one is going to save you from the beast about to strike" seem to be double entendres with Michael talking about the impact he plans to have on the public with his work in Thriller the album. Maybe it is the implied meaning of these lyrics, the introductory threat of what Michael Jackson was planning to do to our world, that led to this song being chosen as first album release. Whether this was a conscious foreshadowing or not, it was certainly accurate. The success of the video certainly played a large role in launching Thriller toward becoming the best-selling album of all time.
Thanks Keith. You are an interesting writer. You write complex and very engaging sentences. Unfortunately, there are several proof-reading errors in this post that compromise the quality of the writing - which would be very sophisticated otherwise. In addition to several instances when you accidentally leave out critical short words (this happens on at least three occasions), you have some rough sentences. Look at these:
ReplyDelete"Michael Jackson's purpose in making Thriller was clear, it was the same as everyone else's in making a video, he wanted to sell records." This is a run-on sentence. You need to separate these clauses with periods or semi-colons.
"The video, which as received more awards that I can list here, was the first to approach a music video in the fashion of a feature-length film and is a lengthy thirteen minutes." Essentially, when you take out the subordinate clause from this sentence, you are left with, "The video...was the first to approach a music video..." What does this mean?
Despite these technical issues, I still enjoyed reading your post. I like the analysis you do about Michael Jackson's attempt to elicit "fear" and "excitement." I agree, this is probably his primary intent. I also like the conventional horror story recipe that you include. I think you are spot-on, especially with the analysis that this could come across as "campy." Finally, I appreciate that you have conducted some analysis of the lyrics. This is important, and I confess that I had never before actually considered the lyrics.
I think your analysis of the lyrics is the only part of your interpretation that I struggle with. What do you think is the relationship between the horror story and the romance story in the video? The lyrics could apply equally well to a relationship. The lyrics could serve as an admonition to an unsuspecting girl. There seems to be three things going on. First, the horror story; Second, the revolutionary nature of the video itself; Third, the relationship between the girl and the boy. Your analysis does not address this third aspect.