michael jackson billie jean

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to create a comprehensive case study for Michael Jackson's Billie Jean music video.

Media Magazine reading: Billie Jean, birth of an icon

Go to our Media Magazine archive and read the case study on Billie Jean - birth of an icon (MM62 - page 20). Answer the following questions:

1) What was the budget for Billie Jean? How did this compare with later Michael Jackson videos?
The budget for the video was $50,000, not small, but as it turned out not big enough to accommodate Jackson’s idea that mannequins in a shop window.whereas his other music videos were very massive like thriller.

2) Why was the video rejected by MTV?

The video was rejected by MTV because mtv  thought  it didn’t suit their ‘middle America’ audience.

3) Applying Goodwin's theory of music video, how does Billie Jean reflect the genre characteristics of pop music video?

The video contains many conventions of the pop genre: lip- synching, performance interwoven with narrative, dance routines, high-fashion costume. Regarding Goodwin's theory of music video, Billie Jean includes many of this theories conventions such as:

•  relationship between lyrics and visuals 
•  links between audio and visuals 
•  star construction  performance 
• the notion of looking.

4) How do the visuals reflect the lyrics in Billie Jean?

The visuals reflect the lyrics because they go with the story of how papparazi has affected big celebrities to do their things.

5) Why does the video feature fewer close-up shots than in most pop videos?

They want to be different and show michel jacksons's dancing skills in this musci video.

6) What intertextual references can be found in the video?

film noir is a intertexuatlity which can link to this video.

7) How does the video use the notion of looking as a recurring motif?

This is because at the start we see the detective looking at him and trying to capture him in the cameras then the polarid cameras are also trying to focus on him.

8) What representations can be found in the video?

representation of michael jackson and celebrities being affected by the papparazi.
Close-textual analysis of the music video

1) How is mise-en-scene used to create intertextuality - reference to other media products or genres? E.g. colour/black and white; light/lighting.

Mise en scene is used to create intertexuality to the noir genre - this is created through the use of black and white and loads of low key lighting. The crime/mystery genre is created through the use of the music video's narrative including a detective and Michael who is being searched but manages to escape each time. 

2) How does the video use narrative theory of equilibrium?

equlibrium michael jackson getting away from being arrested

disequilibrium the detective following michale jackson and how michael is trying to stay away from him.

3) How are characters used to create narrative through binary opposition?

michael jackson is shown as a rich man and he sees poor people in the tsreet which need help.

poor and rich

4) What is the significance of the freeze-frames and split-screen visual effects?

This is to make it seem interesting for the audience by making it seem like someoene is laways watching michael jackson.

5) What meanings could the recurring motif of 'pictures-within-pictures' create for the audience?

These are visual effects which make it seem like it is a newspaper.

6) Does the video reinforce or subvert theories of race and ethnicity - such as Gilroy's diaspora or Hall's black characterisations in American media?

billy jean shows gilroy disapor theory's black theory of the clown which si is to entertain the poeple which he is doing by dancing.

7) Does this video reflect Steve Neale's genre theory of 'repetition and difference'? Does it reflect other music videos or does it innovate?

The performance element is the repetition and the freeze frames are seen as the difference.

 8) Analyse the video using postmodern theory (e.g. Baudrillard's hyper-reality; Strinati's five definitions of postmodernism). How does the 'picture-in-picture' recurring motif create a postmodern reading?

The 'picture in picture' recurring motif can be interpreted as a postmodern reading as it can be seen as reinforcing the idea that the distinction between media and reality has collapsed, and we now live in a 'reality' defined by images and representations. Images refer to each other and represent each other as reality rather than some 'pure' reality that exists before the image represents it - this is the state of hyper reality.