Black or White; Color Adjustments

Black or White; Color Adjustments

African-American, documentary

Dub for teaching. Marlon's work was critical for my teaching on race and racism in media. In those days, I also loved to teach Black or White by Michael Jackson ... when it first came out. Both works made arguments about the mutability of race. Jackson made use of media in new ways (morphing) that I was interested in talking about with my students in line with Rigg's historical approach. So long ago, it still made me seem cool to show music videos in a cinema studies classroom. Of course, my thinking about teaching this has changed as we came to learn more about Jackson's life.

1991; 1992

The release of “Black or White” as the first single from the album Dangerous marked another step in Michael Jackson’s artistic evolution. The song combined Michael’s message of racial harmony with a measure of defiance, as the lyrics noted “we’re one and the same,” while expressing exasperation with continued racial injustice and his lack of fear of anyone not willing to accept his message, a statement that still resonates. Written by Michael Jackson with rap lyrics by Bill Bottrell, “Black or White” found a receptive audience, driving the song to the top of the singles charts across most of the world. In the United States, the single remained at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks, making Michael Jackson the first artist to have #1 Hot 100 singles in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. --MichaelJackson.com

Brilliantly weaving clips from classic TV shows with commentary from TV producers, black actors and scholars, Marlon Riggs blends humor, insight, and thoughtful analysis to explore the evolution of black/white relations as reflected by America’s favorite addiction. (PBS)

6:30 mins; 1:27:00 mins

PBS

Michael Jackson; Marlon Riggs

For research, teaching, and educational use please use CONTACT US in About section to make a request for access.