The document analyzes Michael Jackson's 1991 music video for "Black or White" and discusses how it conveyed deeper messages about race in America at the time. It notes that the video was released during debates around the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Rodney King beating. While portraying a message of racial unity on the surface, an analysis of the lyrics and imagery suggests Jackson intended to pass commentary on ongoing social and political issues regarding race. Certain scenes and symbols, like the appearance of black panthers, represented resistance and empowerment for black communities. The video demonstrated that artistic works could communicate an artist's views on important social and political issues of the day.

1. Document to get students thinking and formulate own response
Belinda Raji 1
Music videos reflect the context in which they are made through visual codes,
technology and representation
Lesson PowerPoint will help https://www.slideshare.net/belair1981/michael-jackson-black-or-white-analysis
The Black or White video was released in 1991 the same year as The Civil Rights act of 1991.
Also 7 months before the video debuted video footage of Rodney King (a black man) came to
light where we witness King being brutally beaten by police officers – the case lead to the LA
Race Riots of 1992. On the surface the video can be interpreted as a message of unity amongst
races and ethnicities and a celebration of cultures and differences. When you deconstruct the
lyrics of the song along with the accompanying images you are able to connote that Michael
Jackson is passing commentary on historical social and political issues to do with race in
America and that the music video has a far more deeper message than just racial harmony.
The key refrain from the song is “it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white” therefore most
images used set about to reflect these words or get the audience thinking about the
representation of race. Alvarado’s representation theory of ethnicity has 4 key themes:
The video for Black or White can be said to employ two of these representations; The Exotic –
the traditional Thai dancers and the Odissi dancer from India, and The Dangerous – the
African tribal men and Native Americans. The nature of these representations can be argued.
The Thai and Odissi dancers can be seen as a celebration of culture and difference. Each of the
scenes featuring “others” are deliberately staged dioramic scenes, overtly constructed,
therefore Jackson ‘is simultaneously celebrating cosmopolitanism, while exposing these
constructed images as just surface stereotypes’1 Even the Russians can be viewed as “other”
to the US in the aftermath of the Cold War. The interpretation of these images may not be the
same for all and that would need further exploration through the application of Hall’s
encoding/decoding model.
Linking back to the context of The 1991 Civil Rights Act and issue of race in America we can
point to the use of impactful and iconic imagery.

2. Document to get students thinking and formulate own response
Belinda Raji 2
• black and white baby sitting on top of Earth
• Michael Jackson walking through flames
• Burning crosses
• Statue of Liberty
Consider why these images were used and what message is being communicated.
Towards the end of the shortened version of the music video CGI is used in a morphing
sequence. In 1991 this was seen as cutting edge technology and Michael Jackson was seen as a
trendsetter when it came to using special effects in music videos. Men and women of various
ethnicities morph into each other – displaying the beauty of difference the “techno-
metamorphosis” shows “there is no privileged race or gender: all are literally a part of each
other.”2
In the extended version of the music video there is a “Panther Coda” which can be explored in
much the same way as contemporary videos such as Childish Gambino’s This is America
(2018) and Beyoncé’s Formation (2016) – both of these videos set about to pass commentary
on social political issues in America forcing the watching audience to have uncomfortable
conversations. Michael Jackson says “I want[ed] to do a dance number where I [could] let out
my frustration about injustice and prejudice and racism and bigotry”
The presence of the black panther can be interpreted as radical symbolic representation,
lining to the Black Panther Party founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, made the
black panther an icon of resistance, revolution, and black empowerment. Among its Ten Point
Program was a demand for freedom, full employment, decent housing, fair trials, and an end
to police brutality.
The Panther Coda continues the journey of race issues in America that started earlier in the
video but this times on Michael Jackson’s own terms and in a much more forthright way.
Images that can be explored:
• Intertextual use of Singing in the Rain (Kelly & Donen, 1952)
• Use of aggressive sexuality - linking to ‘The Brute Caricature”
• Rubbish bin through the window – intertextual reference to Do The Right Thing (Spike
Lee, 1989)
What messages are being communicated through the use of the above?
The video Black or White is more than a message of unity and harmony – the lyrics and
visuals mediate deeper messages liked to the contexts of its production (I have only touched
on a few). The mere fact the original ending was cut and censored shows that music videos
are more than entertainment they carry messages that can reflect how an artist feels and they
can pass commentary on social and political zeitgeist.
1 Joseph Vogel’s essay “I Ain’t Scared of No Sheets”: Re-Screening Black Masculinity in Michael
Jackson’s Black or White
2 Joseph Vogel’s essay “I Ain’t Scared of No Sheets”: Re-Screening Black Masculinity in Michael
Jackson’s Black or White