Black and White Song by Michael Jackson - Essay Example

“Black and White” Black and White was a lead single song composed and arranged by Michael Jackson. He was helped by Bill Bottrell to compose the rap lyrics (Otfinoski, 99). Bill Bottrell also sings the introductory part of the song and the main riff along with guitarist slash. The song is usually in his album named dangerous. The song was let out in November 11 1991. Black and White is a mix of dance-pop and rock (Borsboom, 12). The main purpose of the song was to promote racial harmony. He tried to bring people together. He wanted them to realize that they all had the same feelings irrespective of their race or their skin colors. In the video of Black and White Michael theme of stopping racism is clearly shown. Racism was the main problem people faced during the time Michael decided to sing about it. The video is an inspiration to people and an influence to encourage them to stop racism. In the lyrics of the song, Jackson explains that it does not matter if you are black or white as long as you want to be his friend you will be. He went to an extent of making the world aware; that he does not support Ku Klux Klan and that he was not afraid of him. This is on the line he says, “If you want to be my brother, it does not matter if you are black or white (Luzajic, 98). According to Michael Jackson, all races are the same and they determine nothing. The video of the song begins with an 11-year-old boy who decides to play loud music rather than sleep at night. He angers his father who later storms out. The loud music destroys the homestead and sends his father halfway in the world. The boys’ father later crashes in Africa. This is where Jackson’s song begins while a different culture surrounds him. There is the scene of African dancers who begins their moves with the West Africa dances (Macaulay, 132). The dancers are later followed by the traditional Thai dancers, plain Native Americans and an Indian woman. Jackson is seen to move through fire and he says that he is not scared of a sheet. This means he is not afraid of anybody. The last verse is sung by Jackson on a very large sculpted torch. This is to symbolize the statue of liberty. Different people, at the end of the song, dance as they morph into each other. They are much that the video portrays and that Michael never spoke it. This is like when men transform into women and vice versa. During the video, Michael is seen to break the windows to show that he is determined to destroy all that has brought about the discrimination of the blacks and their rights as individuals (martin 186). All Michael wanted to say is that racial discrimination is evil, and he did so without caring about what measures would follow him afterwards. (Luzajic, 211). He always sought for hope among small children who never differentiated between right or wrong, beautiful and ugly or even racism. His early twenty interviews show how he was a young kind man. He was later self-destructed due to his insecurities, fragile nature, and sensitivity. Michael Jackson was a talented genius man. Though he was a freedom fighter among the black he was very sensitive and insecure and that is why he tried to change his looks. A white man in the video is transferred to the typical American home from his urban hometown. He later is found in the African forest with lions who tries to attack him. The African warrior picks up their fighting equipment has and saves the white mans life. They show that they have a kind heart to the whites irrespective of their mistreatments. The faces of the warrior are painted in different color and they wore small pieces of clothing that was only tied in their wastes. The warrior is then seen in the middle of Michael Jackson, who was considered white. They all dance to the African styles joyfully (Martin 186). Michael was dancing in their style, but gaining some of the western styles along it (Martin, 193). The white man accepts the equality of the races after he is saved from his death. They all put their racial differences away and enjoy themselves as they dance along. Asian women join in to the dance too with their beautiful attire. Irrespective of their gender differences they all learn others dancing step and practice them together. They seem to be having fun as they embrace others cultural styles. They also seem to be in harmony and happiness among during their interactions (Otfinoski, 231). There is usually a major impact of the song with the viewer’s due to its beautiful heart touching rhythm. His amazing vocal style gives the song a spirited temperament. Michael Jackson uses the technique of vocal hiccup that makes the song attractive to the majority of people worldwide. Sounds interjection makes the song a unique character that Michael said to have learnt from Diana Ross in one of his interviews. Its outstanding video the fantastic music and choreography are also very attractive. This song usually has so many imaginative abilities. It, therefore, portrays a very strong message against antiracism and unfriendliness to judgment acts. It has never agreed to the act of people of judging others due to their skin color or their ethnicity. It portrays the fact that everybody was created by God in his own image and therefore we all are equal. Therefore, the main theme of the song is friendship, love, and peace among all people globally. The song has so many amazing techniques that do motivate us to repeatedly watch the song. The panther dance in the song that involves all dancing moves is a sign of unity amongst all people. Through the dance, he portrays his anger and contradiction towards the idea of discriminating people or racism. The majority of the people all over the world love the song due to his touching and emotional nature that it depicts. It is merciful songs that people are pleading for unity and peace amongst all other people in the world so as to develop their world (Macaulay, 132). Michael Jackson is also said to be a failure while he is trying to unite people from different races and at the same time bleaching his face. It was an ironical act that made people never understand him much. It was best known that Michael Jackson never changed his facial appearance to fit in the European group. Rather, he changed his appearance because he was suffering from a skin disease. However, he made it clear by writing a letter to his photographer saying that maybe he viewed the world through his colored glasses but he loved all people equally. That is why the story of racism disturbs him to an extent of singing about it to pass the message. He says that if rather it were never an issue then he would never make any effort towards it. He says that what he believed was what mattered most and in this case, he believed that all men were created equally. He says that he admires small children since they are very ignorant of their races and ethnicity. He says that irrespective of the race or ethnicity nakedness was the form that people come to this world and it is the same way that they would leave therefore no one was rather more special than another (Lunatic, 198). Michael Jackson is an inspiration, a hero and a role model due to his actions. This is because just like Obama, he managed to victorious manage to help Africans win the battle of racism. He has done victorious activities irrespective of his race and resulted to be a world icon. This song of black and white plea for racial tolerance. The song portrays Michael Jackson as a civil rights activist. He motivates children to dream and to follow their dreams just as he did. Works Cited Borsboom, Jos. Michael Jackson: The Icon. Raleigh, N.C.: Lulu.com, 2011. Print. Luzajic, Lorette. Goodbye, Billie Jean: The Meaning of Michael Jackson. LuLu.com, n.d. Print. Macaulay, David. Black and White. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Internet resource. Martin, Charles D. The White African American Body: A Cultural and Literary Exploration. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2002. Print. Otfinoski, Steven. African Americans in the Performing Arts. New York: Facts on File, 2010. Internet resource. . . Read More