Top Rated Interpretation
mc_ripper
November 29th, 2005 09:18PM
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I have been a Michael Jackson fan since I was three and I still am and know most of his songs. The song Black or White is about racism, as you can see in the 11 minute version on the video he preforms a dance to interpret a panther. In his so-called wreckless behaviour, he throws items at things spray painted on glass like "niggers go home", "kkk rules" and "no more wet backs".
He is basically saying your a person, not a colour.
anonymous
September 15th, 2009 09:07PM
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Michael Jackson was an American entertainer that was widely beloved and, one of the most influential artists of all time. Through his career he had "sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." (MichaelJackson.com) On June 25, 2009 Michael Jackson, known as the "King of Pop", passed away. (mtv.com) His death is still a controversy but, it is known that drugs were involved.
In 1991, described by Jackson's record company as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony", Black Or White was one of the biggest radio hits of the 1990s. (news.bbc.co.uk) The song includes instruments such as a guitar, possibly electric and bass, drums and even a keyboard. A listener is focused more on the vocals of the song, even though the instrumentals and the words seem to be at the same volume. The tempo of the song is fast, I do believe, to catch the listener's attention.
As one listens to this song, they will realize that Jackson was expecting his audience to be both white or of color ethnicities. The common problem between many ethnicities is racism. These lyrics describe his opinion on racism and how they have affected him and the world around him. The first lyrics that caught my attention were "They printed my message, In the Saturday Sun, I had to tell them, I ain't second to none." Here he states that he is not no one, that he is a person, with equalities. Next, Jackson wrote " I told about Equality , An It's True, Either You're Wrong or you're right ." In these few lines Jackson is trying to say that everyone has their own opinion on what equality is. If someone has a different opinion on equality, each person is right. Later in the song, Jackson states "I am tired of this devil, I am tired of this stuff, I am tired of this business, So when the going gets rough, I ain't scared of your brother, I ain't Scared of No sheets, I ain't scare of nobody, Girl when the goin' gets mean." Jackson is stating that he is tired of the racism, which is described as a Devil . Also, he states that he is not scared of anyone when things get bad and will not let the racism, that another person has for a different ethnicity, affect him.
In the song Black Or White, Jackson incorporates a rap. Within this rap he mentions how gangs, clubs and nations are protected for their beliefs even though it's "causing grief in human relations." Racism is a war of races, land or "turf" as Jackson describes it and he would "rather hear both sides" of people's opinions. Michael describes that racism in about "places, faces, where your blood comes from and where your space is". He also states that he's "not going to spend my life being a color." Jackson does not want the label of a different race, he wants people to see him for his artistic abilities. His features changed, and the color of his skin lightened significantly over the last two decades of his life. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jackson stated, "I have a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin. It's something I cannot help. When people make up stories that I don't like who I am, it hurts me." (cnn.com) Many people question if he had this skin disorder, or if Jackson used a process of chemical peels to change the pigment of his skin.
One of the last few verses of Jackson's song Black or White, he stated "I said if you're thinking of being my brother, it don't matter if you're back or white." Jackson was a very open minded person and was willing to accept many people. One's race didn’t matter to this man. Through his song Michael Jackson opened up gates from many people to realize that no matter what one's skin to tone is. Everyone one was equal, but if one was racist it was okay because that was their choice as a human being. Even though he has passed away, Jackson's music has been some of the most successful and known work produced by an artist. Some of his words were for entertainment but others were to get a point or belief across to his fans.
Grace Dossert
