Bright Scene And Dark Scene in "Black or White"

       “Black or White” is the lead single of the album “Dangerous”, the fourth album of Michael Jackson. It was released in 1991 to promote racial harmony. Its music video is also the one that conveys a powerful message about against racial discrimination. 

       Through analyzing the music video, it can be divided into two parts. Ending with the morphing sequence, the first part shows some bright scenes. For example, Michael Jackson dances among people from different countries, or in the front of fire. The second part portrays the dark scene that Michael Jackson dances through darkness. 

       However, it seems like the music video is complete when it ends by the morphing sequence. So why does Michael Jackson choose to add another four-minute sequence (i.e. the second part) as its final scene?! In my view, the reason is that the first part (i.e. bright scene) is a little flat, which presents a mild Michael Jackson, who sincerely desires that all races in the world can be treated equally and racial prejudice will disappear someday. Besides, the symbol of racism in the first part is not remarkable. For instance, the first scene that Michael Jackson dances with different ethnicities. These people wear their national dressing, which seems to present diverse culture to the audience. Thus this series of images can easily lead a misunderstanding that the music video embodies multiculturalism more than racism. But the second part (i.e. dark scene), which is described as an “interpretation of the panther’s wild and animalistic behavior”, presents a wild Michael Jackson, who is struggling for against racism. In this part, Michael Jackson comes into the video as a black panther. Here, the black panther may refer to the Black Panther Party, which was a political revolutionary movement. Undeniably, it is an explicit symbol of racism in this video. When the panther turns into Michael Jackson, he begins to dance, and the atmosphere turns into dark. Here, the dance is an outpouring of pain and frustration, a desperate cry for racial discrimination. Thus, this part shows that Michael Jackson tries to wordlessly articulate his anger and rage to racism. It is easier to inspire the audience to consider what they can do for against racism.

       In a word, from the visual angle, in comparison to the bright scene, the dark scene can embody the theme that is about against racism more strongly and make the audience resonate more deeply with Michael Jackson’s emotion and thought towards racial prejudice.

       Below is the full version of "Black or White"