Michael Jackson - Scream
The Michael Jackson video featuring his sister Janet Jackson In 'Scream' is the most expensive music video ever produced costing up to a whopping $7 million. The production was released in May 1995 and directed by Mark Romanek who has now directed many popular song videos including Madonna and Jay-Z. The timing of the video acted as a response to the critics after Michael Jackson's backlash in 1993, meaning Jackson had to regain his fans with a massive record and a video that matched the situation. The video highlighted sexuality in a very exceptional way by using different aspects of mise-en-scene which creates the audiences' feelings with visual effects.
The theme of the video is a futuristic space ship travelling through space with the two characters on board far away from Earth, with possible inspiration from Star Trek or Star Wars. Clips are then shown of them dancing, almost competing against each other with great enthusiasm and a wide variety of different shots with fast camera cuts. The amount of money spent on the video is very evident to the audience.
Firstly, the make up used in the video is very similar between both artists, which emphasises the way that the production is trying to make the genders appear as equal. However, Janet has very darkened eyes which gives her a more tougher look to the audience. The makers of the video may have tried to make this with idea that the female character has a darker side to her giving her more personality. This also stops any stereotypes which usually try to represent women as innocent and sweet. Also making her hair messier gives her a wilder look that could be more vulnerable to a man, especially in this case where she is seen to be competing against Michael Jackson. Michael also has these features in a less extreme way so he looks a bit calmer than Janet with less eye make-up and straighter hair.
The costumes of the characters also match each other which in an interesting way shows hardly any difference between the sexualities. The costume used seems too masculine for a typical woman and too feminine for a typical man which shows that the style of the video aims at audiences of both audiences. Again it emphasises the point that men and women are shown as equal. There are certain clips in the video where Janet Jackson is more revealing than others. The shots which focus on her bikini top underneath her coat gives the video a sexual element and certainly her own attractiveness. During this scene she is wearing white instead of black which shows a change of rhythm of the video.
The different props shown in the video highlights the theme of the video being futuristic and also the props matches the colours and surroundings in the scenes. Although there is one important prop that is used throughout the video which portrays the artist's sexuality, the chair. It is the same scene which is shown with the two characters switching and they both reveal sexual actions to make them more appealing to the audience. The shot of Michael Jackson shown in front of the planet Earth almost looks like he is standing on top of the world which gives us the impression that he is overshadowing his sister vocally in the video. This is probably what the video makers were trying to achieve because he is the more successful artist and the video was made for the response of his own personal disaster.
The percentage of camera shots are zoomed in on Michael Jackson which also highlights the point the video is about him. We gain the feeling that Michael is competing against his sister but is overshadowing in ability which in a way is in favour of the male dominance in the video.
By Taslima Begum
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