Michael Jackson - Billie Jean blog tasks
Media Magazine reading: Billie Jean, birth of an icon-MM62
1) The budget for Billie Jean was $300,000. This compares with later Michael Jackson videos because for Thriller, the budget was $2million. It was only with these bigger budgets that we started to seethe mass troupe of dancers flanking Jackson that became a feature of so many of his videos.
2) The video was rejected by MTV because they argued that it didn't fit on with their middle America audience. The president of his record label, Walter Yetnikoff, threatened MTV saying: "I’m pulling everything we have off the air, all our product... And I’m going to go public and fucking tell them about the fact you don’t want to play music by a black guy".
3) Goodwin’s music video theory:
Andrew Goodwin’s theory of music videos states that music videos contain some or all of the following elements:
4) The visuals reflect the lyrics of Billie Jean because The song is apparently based on Jackson’s experience of fan-girls claiming he or his brothers were the parents of their babies, mixed in with a missing persons story that Jackson had purportedly read in the news at the time. There are images of other females in the video, but we are not actually introduced to the Billie Jean character, we just get references to her, like the lyrics or the bed. Also, when MJ says some lyrics it matches his dance moves or the editing. For example when he refers to a baby having eyes like his, the frame freezes on his eyes. Also, when he sings 'in a round', he spins.
5) The reason the video features fewer close ups tan other pop videos is because MJ is a dancer, so his selling point is dancing, therefore he needs more long shots.
6) Intertextual references that can be found in the video are:
8)Representations that can be found in the video are:
1) Mise-en-scene & Intertextuality
3) Characters are used to create narrative through binary opposition in this video. First we can see Rich Vs Poor. We can see how MJ throws some money in the poor mans cup and this makes him turn into something more presentable. Another binary opposition would be between MJ and the detective, highlighting Hero Vs Villain. The detective is never able to catch MJ.
4) The significance of the freeze-frames and split-screen visual effects is ambiguous. The framing looks like a newspaper picture, which links to the idea of a scandal. The slow motion of the eyes match the lyrics. The billboard suggests the them of looking. There is a recurring motif of a picture within pictures- the newspaper theme.
5) The recurring motif of 'picture within pictures creates meanings for the audiences. This is because it links to the theme of newspapers and how the media is everywhere. Also, how the detective is always watching Jackson.
6) The video reinforces and subverts theories of race and ethnicity. We can see that it reinforces the stereotype of black people, in particular men as people who have secret relationships with other women. A negative representation of them in the media. Also, the isolated setting links to Gilroy's diasporic identity as it shows he is marginalised as a result of the scandal. The fake background in the distance implies how he is far away from the other people, so doesn't belong.
7) I think that this video reflects Steve Neale's theory of 'repetition and difference' to an extent. This is because he still uses conventional codes a music video would use. It uses intertextuality, like other music videos.
8) The 'picture-in-picture' recurring motif create a postmodern reading by having a clear difference between media and reality. Nowadays, we live in a society where media dominates and what we see we think is real. However, reality has collapsed, because the media reconstructs the images to make us think a certain way. This is hyper-reality.
1) The budget for Billie Jean was $300,000. This compares with later Michael Jackson videos because for Thriller, the budget was $2million. It was only with these bigger budgets that we started to seethe mass troupe of dancers flanking Jackson that became a feature of so many of his videos.
2) The video was rejected by MTV because they argued that it didn't fit on with their middle America audience. The president of his record label, Walter Yetnikoff, threatened MTV saying: "I’m pulling everything we have off the air, all our product... And I’m going to go public and fucking tell them about the fact you don’t want to play music by a black guy".
3) Goodwin’s music video theory:
Andrew Goodwin’s theory of music videos states that music videos contain some or all of the following elements:
- A link between the visuals & lyrics (compliment, contradict or amplify)
- Genre characteristics (heavy metal in industrialised settings; rap music in urban street contexts etc.)
- Contain intertextual references (references to popular culture)
- Contain notions of looking (e.g. screens within screens)
- Include objectification of females (e.g. male gaze)
- Include demands of the record label (close ups of lead singer, symbols or motifs associated with the band / performer etc.)
- Video will be performance, narrative or concept based.
4) The visuals reflect the lyrics of Billie Jean because The song is apparently based on Jackson’s experience of fan-girls claiming he or his brothers were the parents of their babies, mixed in with a missing persons story that Jackson had purportedly read in the news at the time. There are images of other females in the video, but we are not actually introduced to the Billie Jean character, we just get references to her, like the lyrics or the bed. Also, when MJ says some lyrics it matches his dance moves or the editing. For example when he refers to a baby having eyes like his, the frame freezes on his eyes. Also, when he sings 'in a round', he spins.
5) The reason the video features fewer close ups tan other pop videos is because MJ is a dancer, so his selling point is dancing, therefore he needs more long shots.
6) Intertextual references that can be found in the video are:
- The setting- you can see that the background is fake and they have tried to create an alley and isolated streets to convey danger, crime, gangs etc. This is further reinforced through the night time setting as it makes the video seem ominous.
- The detective is a refence to a film Noir genre.
8)Representations that can be found in the video are:
- Rich and Poor
1) Mise-en-scene & Intertextuality
- Setting: isolated setting/downgraded, fake background, film set.- Hollywood sound stage- 1940s/50s Hollywood musicals.
- Lighting: low key lighting, gives the video a thriller feel/film noir as shadows are created. Makes it seem ominous- detective costume.
- Use of black and white and colour: the video opens with black and white, parallels with a 1950s Hollywood movie (intertextual reference). The newspaper headline- 'Bille Jean Scandal'.
3) Characters are used to create narrative through binary opposition in this video. First we can see Rich Vs Poor. We can see how MJ throws some money in the poor mans cup and this makes him turn into something more presentable. Another binary opposition would be between MJ and the detective, highlighting Hero Vs Villain. The detective is never able to catch MJ.
4) The significance of the freeze-frames and split-screen visual effects is ambiguous. The framing looks like a newspaper picture, which links to the idea of a scandal. The slow motion of the eyes match the lyrics. The billboard suggests the them of looking. There is a recurring motif of a picture within pictures- the newspaper theme.
5) The recurring motif of 'picture within pictures creates meanings for the audiences. This is because it links to the theme of newspapers and how the media is everywhere. Also, how the detective is always watching Jackson.
6) The video reinforces and subverts theories of race and ethnicity. We can see that it reinforces the stereotype of black people, in particular men as people who have secret relationships with other women. A negative representation of them in the media. Also, the isolated setting links to Gilroy's diasporic identity as it shows he is marginalised as a result of the scandal. The fake background in the distance implies how he is far away from the other people, so doesn't belong.
7) I think that this video reflects Steve Neale's theory of 'repetition and difference' to an extent. This is because he still uses conventional codes a music video would use. It uses intertextuality, like other music videos.
8) The 'picture-in-picture' recurring motif create a postmodern reading by having a clear difference between media and reality. Nowadays, we live in a society where media dominates and what we see we think is real. However, reality has collapsed, because the media reconstructs the images to make us think a certain way. This is hyper-reality.
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