After watching at least twenty 80’s music videos, I think it’s safe to say that Michael Jackson had some of the best videos of that decade. This is probably because all he wanted to do with his videos was entertain his audience. This is evident in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video.
The video begins with a gang assembling outside a bar followed by a different gang assembling outside of a different bar. They, as expected, look like typical 80’s gangsters with leather jackets, jeans, fedora hats, bandanas, and most of them are smoking. A lot of them are wearing sunglasses even though it’s nighttime. We then see a shot of Michael Jackson waking up and getting out of bed while singing the chorus to the song. As this happens, the two gangs are walking in formation through the city streets and picking up members along the way.
Finally, the two gangs, coming from two adjacent streets, meet up in an alley. Michael Jackson, dressed in a red jacket, dances his way to both of the bars only to find them empty. The two groups meet and have a stand-off while a guitar solo plays in the song. The leaders of both the gangs walk backwards to face their groups and run into each other backwards. They face each other and pull out their switchblades and begin to dance with each other while their gangs mimic them.
Michael Jackson, taking his time dancing through the streets, finally arrives at the scene and steps in between the two leaders and tells them “it doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right. Just beat it.” Both gangs, led by Michael Jackson, engage in a big group number doing the dance moves that Michael Jackson has been displaying throughout the video. Michael Jackson does a solo while everyone looks on in admiration.
There is no message in the video, it is solely for the viewer’s entertainment. Michael Jackson’s eccentric dancing coupled with the plot of the two gangs going into a dance battle is captivating. It’s a fun video where the audience doesn’t have to think about any sophisticated message, they can just enjoy the video.
Thanks Alanna. I appreciate that you write fairly well in this post. Unfortunately, your post reads more like a summary than an analysis. I agree that the primary purpose of the video might be to entertain, but I think there is more to this video, or song, than you suggest. It seems to me that any video for a song that features the lyrics, "It doesn't matter who's wrong or right" has a greater purpose than solely to entertain. You never address this. I interpret the video as an overt, but light-hearted, statement about gang warfare. Even if Jackson's purpose was just to entertain, as you write, you should have considered how this video entertains. I agree that this video might not have a "sophisticated message," but I definitely disagree that "the audience doesn't have to think...". There is always something to think about.
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