POP CULTURE video analysis

For this task we were required to find a music video that proclaims a specific idea, a few of them being  feminism or racism ; however it portrays the exact opposite in the video, with irrelevant content that does not match the idea that the singer/s initially intended to convey. The video has to be analyzed and criticized in terms of what the lyrics are stating and what or how the singer/s chose to portray themselves in the video.

I chose Michael Jackson's "Black or White" as my pop culture video analysis, although its not the newest song, it certainly is still a part of popculture and very familiar to the audience that grew up with Michaels rise to fame. Prior to reading my analysis, I suggest anyone not being familiar with the video to watch it carefully and pay attention to how Michael chose to portray himself and others around him as that will be the key aspect of my critical analysis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2AitTPI5U0

What caught my attention with this video is that firstly , the it goes precisely with the lyrics. however there is a constant irony inherent with michael jackson dancing along different cultures, seemingly adopting their traditional dances, thus trying to convey the message of appreciation of different races and cultures. However the majority was heavily stereotyped with the national clothes and the way they acted, such as the black people dancing , all being half naked with paint and roaming around the lion infested Africa with agressively painted faces, or the russians dancing in their costumes in the snow. Eventhough he says that it doesnt matter if youre black or white, there are still the very pushy stereotypes all over the video , that dont cover the majority of them and their interactions. Another thing that stood out to me was his history with race itself in relation to the video. It is very well known that Michael despised being part of the black race and as soon as he rose to fame, bleaching his skin beyond recognition and surgical constructions on his face to make him appear as white as possible pretty much spoke for themselves. He didnt want to be associated with blacks, in fact he sought out strictly white blonde women in order to have white children which he achieved in the end. So putting out a song like that , seems pretty ironic. Taking a look at a slice of his lyrics that took up a lot of the song "I Said If You're Thinkin' of being my baby it don't matter if you're black or white." The reality of it is very different. He clearly states that to him it doesnt matter what you look like, being his "baby", his girlfriend or wife will not be related to her color. "Im not going to spend my life being a color." also appeared very ironic to me as that is what the majority of his life revolved around. Color. 

His entire song talks about racism, how he thinks it is an issue that shouldnt be one and that hes not afraid to accept any race regardless of color and step up for them. Perhaps this is not the most articulated way to carry out this task if one is not familiar with his issues around races, however it clearly stood out to me, especially how he chose to wear white on the top to always differentiate himself as much as possible and sort of keep on the "white image."