music videos - billie jean

Billy Jean - Michael Jackson
Component 1 - Media Theoretical Framework

Michael Jackson - 1982
What representations are being shown here? Are there any other stereotypes?
homeless man on side of the street all dirty sleeping
old granny directing policemen upstairs
cats walking round empty street
detective wearing long beige coat and glasses
Michael Jackson a young black man


What is the narrative?
set on street corner
Michael Jackson disappears on someones bed


How is Michael Jackson seen? Star image? 
supernatural - his surroundings light up as he walks through the street

Billy Jean - Historical Information
-an example of a historically significant music video
-the video was one of the very first videos on MTV to feature a black artist and be aired on regular rotation of the channel.
-the videos immense popularity helped bring MTV into the mainstream and breakthrough racial barriers on TV networks and helped propel the album 'Thriller' to the bestselling album of all time.
-'Billy Jean' is considered the video that brought MTV, until then a fairly new and unknown music channel, into mainstream attention. It was one of the first videos by a black artist to be aired

How is Jackson as a young black male represented?
-Positive representation - he gives homeless man money which magically changes his appearance. suggests hes changing the mans life.
-Negative representation - running away from the police. hes being followed by authority.

How does it show the hounding/obsession by the groupies as mentioned by Jackson?


The Inspiration
Based on the idea for a Joan Armatrading video the Midas touch thing. So everywhere Michael went, everything would glow and turn to light. They faxed it to Michael and he said he liked it and he 'wants it to feel like a Peter Pan'.

Social, Cultural and Historical Context
The reporter would represent Michael Jackson being hounded by the press.
They also represent a repressed community that is monitored and controlled by the press.

How does Michael Jackson demonstrate control over the situation?


What could the cat changing into a tiger represent?


What does the tiger print material represent?
showing evidence suggesting the kid is there


Billie Jean came out in 1982 but can be linked to life beyond the year of its production. can you make

Interpretation of the Narrative

Shows a man struggling with a problem. Going back to the lyrics, the problem is obviously whether he had fathered a child with a woman obsessed with him.
So the first part is him walking down the street thinking about what he should do.





What may be confusing is the reporter that starts creeping around in the shadows. This issue isn't really addressed in the song itself but it is about deception and what is more deceiving than a hack paparazzi sneaking around writing rumors. If you remember, the reporter drops that newspaper with the headline about Billie Jean.






In this part, Jackson is trying to show how these issues can get so out of hand in the media. He not only has to worry about it personally but now has to dodge people trying to make the situation

even worse.

Then, the video goes into the section where hes thinking about the picture Billie Jean had shown him where the babies eyes were like his own. He uses "artistic license". This means that the artist can interpret thoughts, feelings and actions in any way possible even if it goes into a somewhat unreal realm. In this part that is exhibited with dance. So even though the dances a lot while singing about such a serious subject, he ends up enhancing the power of the feelings and words.

The last post of the film is him going back to him trying to escape the paparazzi. He goes up the stairs to the motel and by putting his fingers to his lips, he signals to the old woman to call the police on the creepy reporter. The reporter gets arrested for violating the mans privacy. You see Michael looking at the person sleeping in the bed still with so much confusion and pain about the situation, that he makes himself disappear after pulling the sheet o top of him. This could be his way of saying he just cant deal with the problem , and wants to vanish. It also represents vanishing from the paparazzi.

Representations of Ethnicity
Alvarado (1987) identified four main types
1. The humorous, providing comic relief
2. The exotic; other cultures presented as unusual and exotic in their traditions and ways of living
3. The pitied; objects of pity and vulnerability
4. The dangerous, criminal, gangster and usually coupled with a binary opposition such as the respectable white character.

A few positive representations of ethnicity
- Michael Jackson as a young black male can be seen in a positive light
-He gives money to poor and transforms their life
-Voyeurism is used (the notion of looking)
-He is seen as the star-light up floor, light up bed, screen time

Negative Representations
-Michael Jackson as a young black male can be seen in a negative light
-He has been accused of doing something - creating a scandal - why he is being chased by the press
-Being deceitful - telling people to keep quiet
-Disappearing when the reporter tries to catch up with him



How is ethnicity and star image shown through mise-en-scene?
Setting - pavement on the side of the street with Sunset and city in the background
Facial expressions - passionate but aggressive
Costume - smart and formal, stage costume
Positioning - close up of his face showing his facial expression, a full body shot showing costume and dance moves, mid body shot







Exam question
Analyse how the Billie Jean by Michael Jackson uses stereotypes to represent a varying representation of ethnicity

The music video 'Billie Jean' by Michael  Jackson from 1982 highlights a number of positive and negative representations of ethnicity. Its draws upon a number of ethnic stereotypes including a negative representation such as being accused of creating a scandal as well as positive representation of Michael giving money to the poor and transforming their life.

Billie Jean was released by Jackson in 1982, at the time where no famous black artists where being aired on TV or played on the radio. The video was groundbreaking because it was the first released video of a young black male being shown on MTV and be aired on regular rotation of the channel.
It holds a clear narrative considering the music video is very confusing how it has been presented by showing a fan believes Michael Jackson is the father of their son.

The media language of the video highlights a number of stereotypes used, for example as Michael Jackson walks down the street the paving slabs light up. This has connotations of power and fame but also shows Michael wants to have a superhero image and he said he 'wants to feel like peter pan'. It is also seen through the use of camera when he dances through the street as though he is invicable. Stereotypes are evident in the use of costume when trying to identify someone. We judge their outfit to tell ourselves what roll they are playing and gives us an idea of what to expect.

Overall, ethnicity in shown in both positive and negative representations as context and mise-en-scene reveals the good and bad side....


The reporter would represent Michael Jackson being hounded by the press.
They also represent a repressed community that is monitored and controlled by the press.


Social
Historical
Cultural
Mise-en-sene
Media Language