Star theory - celebrities are presented as untouchable and larger than life. Given a godlike quality.
1. What representations are shown?
homeless man
police
criminal / detective
2. whats the narrative?
Michael gives to a homeless man who then wears a suit, a criminal tries to rob Michael but he disappears and dances for a bit. Then Michael goes upstairs (the stairs light up) and a woman sees him, the criminal follows him and the lady calls the police. Michael gets in a bed and glows while the man tries to take a photo of him, the police capture the criminal.
3. how is Michael Jackson seen?
- he gives to charity - a good person, kind
- he is shown to have powers, presenting him as a powerful and larger than life man as he makes things glow wherever he walks.
eluding
The Billie jean video was one of the first music videos that were aired regularly from a black artist. It helped bring MTV into the mainstream media attention.
Billie Jean represents groupies he and his brothers encountered while part of the Jackson 5.
criminal /detective in video could represent the media always following Michael and trying to remind him of Billie Jean
Steve Barron directed the Billie Jean music video
Representations of ethnicity -
Alvarado 1987 identified 4 main types -
1. 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
Michael can be seen as the exotic in the video as he is the star and wears different clothing to everyone in the video.
the man following him can be seen as the dangerous as the lady calls the police on him
The homeless white man is the pitied
The man following him could represent the press always trying to get a story on him
Michael could also represent a repressed community that is monitored and controlled by the press
Michael Jackson as a young black male can be seen in a negative light -
he has been accused of doing something - creating a scandal- which is 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
Props - Star image is shown through
- the newspaper has an article on Billie jean so Michael is clearly given a star image as the media are running articles on his personal life
lowkey lighting - keeps the tension high throughout the video.
Michael wears a lot of black indicating that he cant be trusted or that he doesn't want to be seen by the press.quite stereotypical setting in a street. star power as the media follow him to the streets.
Tiger a metaphor for women/Billie Jean
white policemen - stereotypical ethnicity
detective wearing glasses to cover his identity
Michael facial expressions - deep in thought or looks very fed up at the attention
purple = mysterious
homeless man is below Michael - put in a position of weakness
things light up - Midas touch - star power
moderate - 117 beats per minute - upbeat even with quite sad lyrics
beat is quite urgent - simple
conflict - 'always think twice (dont think twice)'
billie jeans goal was to get pregnant to get money from michael
billie jean represents crazed fans or groupies
Editing -
Lots of jump cuts - sometimes it quickly flashes back to a previous scene
lots of editing effects like framing the eyes or having multiple versions of Michael dancing - the effects would have been impressive for that time
question - analyse how the Billie jean music video by Michael Jackson uses stereotypes to represent a varying representation of ethnicity.
The Billie Jean music video uses a variety of different techniques from costumes, setting, props and more to highlight a number of positive and negative representation of ethnicity.
The Billie Jean music video Billie Jean was released by Jackson in 1982 and has a lot of references to Michael's social and cultural life. There are a number of portrayals of characters in the video that link to Jackson and his social life. The 'detective' in the music video, seen following Michael, taking photos and annoying him could be a representation of the media and paparazzi constantly following Michael around and taking photos of him. The man in the video keeps trying to remind Jackson of 'Billie Jean', another social reference to groupies that Michael's brothers were followed by when they were the Jackson 5.
The setting of the music video could relate to Jacksons ethnicity, a street corner with alleyways was seen as a common stereotype for places where African Americans would hang out, possibly relating to how Michael just wants to be left alone and go wherever he wants without the media following him. A homeless man is also seen at the start of the video lying on the floor who is turned 'rich' when Michael drops a coin in his cup, this reverses the typical stereotype as a white man would usually be seen as the rich one. The man becoming 'rich' could also be a reference to Michael's star power as the man became 'rich' after being given something by Michael. Michael's costume could also relate to his ethnicity as it seems to be quite an unconventional look for most people, also presenting Michael's star power as his clothes look very high quality.
In conclusion the Billie jean music video uses different techniques like stereotypes and costume to present different ethnicity's throughout the video and help tell a story that people can better understand.
social historical and cultural
mise-en-scene and media language
sentence starters-
introduction - the music video 'Billie Jean' by Michael Jackson from 1982 highlights a number of positive and negative representation of ethnicity. It draws upon a number of ethnic stereotypes including...
social, historical and cultural - Billie jean was released by Jackson in 1982, at the time....the video was groundbreaking because....it holds a clear narrative considering.... which links to....
mise-en-scene and media language - 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.... it is also seen though the use of camera when.... stereotypes are evident in the use of costume when....
Conclusion - back up your points and remind the examiner how ethnicity is shown through the use of stereotypes.
Goodwins music video theory -
Andrew Goodwins theory of music videos states that music videos contain some or all of the following elements
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