Smooth Criminal: Michael Jackson - Case Study Example

? Smooth criminal Michael Jackson is arguably the greatest pop artist to tread on planet earth. “Smooth criminal” Music video comes from Michael’s 1987 “Bad” album seventh track single, “Smooth criminal”. The song is about a woman, Annie, whom a hitman attacks in her apartment. The music video is an extended video rendition from the Moonwalker film, starring Michael. It setting of the video, is 1930s in a night club at night and directed by award winning director, Michael Chilvers. However, just like any other music video it has its strengths and weaknesses. An evaluation of this strengths and weaknesses involves check listing if the video meets three criteria for analysis. The first criterion is if the music video has a connection with the lyrics of the song. Is it possible to get the meaning of the song while muting the audio? Does it should complement the lyrics? A music video is merely a visual interpretation of the words in the lyrics. Therefore, there should be congruence between the meaning in the lyrics and the music video. In “Smooth criminal”, the lyrics tell a story of Annie who is under attack from a “Smooth criminal”. The criminal comes to her apartment and leaves bloodstains on the carpet; meanwhile, Annie runs under the table. When she sees the assailant is not aware she runs to the bedroom and meets her doom. Comparing the lyrics with the music video, they seem incoherent. There is no clear message that relates to the lyrics. One would expect a display of the whole scenario how the altercation between Annie and the assailant unfolds. Instead, the whole time we see Michael Jackson telling a story to a club full of swing dancers. Annie remains a mystery to everyone; the video does not acquaint the viewer with any image of Annie. It is disputable if Annie is a young girl or an old woman since there is no indication of that neither in the lyrics nor in the music video. Michael moves from one corner of the club to the other, with men trying attack him, but he defeats them all, one would argue that in fact, , Michael himself is the “Smooth criminal”. However, the depiction of the nightclub scene would befit Michael’s “Bad” lyrics rather than “Smooth criminal”. Nevertheless, the title “Smooth criminal” blends in quite well with the act in the video. However, listening to the song without the video brings out another mental picture, a physical conflict between a woman and her attacker. Therefore, the director failed to capture the audience imagination in the video clip. The second criterion for analyzing the music video is good choreography and dancing. Michael Jackson as a legend is the King of Pop. His legend precedes him through history, perhaps one of the most amusing talents is his inventive dancing skills. Tell a man Michael Jackson, the first thing that comes to mind is the moonwalk and the lean. The moonwalk was invented as early as the 1930s, Cab Calloway referred to it as the buzz. Many mime artists such as the French man, Marcel Marceau, included it in its routines in the 1940s. The Buzz gained global popularity in the 1980s when Michael Jackson debut it as the Moonwalk in his performance of Billie Jean. Similarly, the Lean, one of Michael’s invention that debut in “Smooth criminal” remains one of the controversial gimmicks that contributed to Michaels success. “Smooth criminal” music video is a purely dance video. The first scenes of the video, we are introduced to Michael entering a nightclub. The music video is based on a film noir concept, where narrations are focused on a dark underworld. Therefore, when Michael first enters the nightclub activities comes to a standstill and all focus is on him. Michael puts his hand into his pocket to fetch something, and everyone is alert with suspicion. Everyone expects that he will pull out a weapon, so the mood is tense. Ironically, he pulls out a coin instead, and flips it towards the jukebox and “Smooth criminal” music starts playing. From that point on, continuous dancing, with synchronized movements displays events of a typical gangster film. The dancing the music video is very organized and that they constitute a flow that tells a story. Although the story implied by the choreography presents a mismatch from the concept in the lyrics; the dancing tell a different story that gives the audience an idea of Michaels character. Michael walks in every corner of the room in an amazing rhythmical manner; he starts by walking around the room and jumps on to the stage. While maintain the rhythm and moving to the beat, he rescues a woman in a red dress from two men harassing her on the dance floor. Then proceeds to dance with her in a seductive sensual dance then leaves her. Michael moves to another scene where he seizes money from a group of men having a bet, he puts the money in his pocket after flipping one of the men. Another woman in the staircase picks the money from his pocket while seducing him. Throughout the video Michael is the point of focus, overcoming rough looking men try to hurt him. It is important to consider the complexity of the dance moves and how Michael and the actors make it look so easy. A music video with Michael on would not be complete without his trademark moonwalk and his wild spin. In the music video, Michael climbs on to the raised stage severally and holds the microphone while doing the moonwalk and spinning. He also does the move again in the middle of the dancing floor when he is among a group of men just before the little peeks through the back door. At this point, Michael introduces the lean, where he and several other men at the dance floor lean at an impossible angle. The lean is arguably a special effect more than a dance move, but it is equally entertaining. The third criterion for analysis is special effects. This music video most certainly meets the criteria for special effects. “Smooth criminal” video tries to retell the story of Mickey Spillane’s Girl Hunt Ballet novel and Michael uses the hard-edged film Noir detective to further the appeal. Having won an Oscar for best special effects for superman films, Michael Chilvers directs “Smooth criminal” with such prowess that makes him the undisputed king of effects. In its entirety, “Smooth criminal” has more than 200 special effects shots (Halstead and Cadman 2003). The most spectacular special effects in the music video are in the beginning of the video. As Michael opens the nightclub door, a gasp of air blows towards him with a brilliant white light. Inside the nightclub, Michael takes out a coin and throws it into the Jukebox; the coin flies the entire length of the floor of the nightclub and lands accurately into the coin slot and instantaneously the music starts. It is an amazing effect since it prepares one for an interesting fictional video. Another amazing special effects scene is at the point where Michael rushes into a room with a pool table, he picks a billiard ball and smashes it into smithereens and throws the dust to a built male who in turn breaks up a cue stick into two. After that, he climbs a staircase and shoots a man creeping behind him while holding a dagger, the impact of the shot throws the man through a wall. The scenes are well executed and seem somehow believable. The smooth criminal music video does meet the expectation of an interesting and exciting pop video. However, the gross disconnect between the main message from the lyrics and the music video may provide a misleading precedence to the preceding pop music videos. Nevertheless, a special recognition should be given to the accomplishments of the director. Excellent special effects and flawless dancing make this video beat thousands video produced in the new millennia. Reverence Halstead, C., & Cadman, C. (2003). Michael Jackson ... the solo years. Hertford: Authors Online. Jackson, M (1988).“Smooth Criminal”. Viewed on 18 June 2013, from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFvENQBc-F8 Read More