While working on setting and scary elements, you've analyzed a part of Michael Jackson's song 'Thriller'. Now, you will watch and analyze the iconic music video, which first aired on MTV in 1983. Jackson invited director John Landis to direct it, because he liked his horror films.
'Thriller' is widely recognized as the most popular and influential music video of all time. It was the first time a music artist made a 14-minute short film to accompany one of their songs. In January 2009, the music video was the first music video named a national treasure in the National Film Registry of the American Library of Congress.
This music video changed the game: suddenly people realised that music video could be seen as a form of art as well, instead of just an accompaniment to a song. Besides this, journalist Phil Hebblethwaite says the video "dissolved racial barriers in MTV's treatment of music (though MTV has always denied they existed);" and it "spawned the "making of" genre of documentary" with the 'making of Thriller'.
While watching the video, make activity 1.
Then, makes activities 2 & 3. Rewatch (parts of) the video if you need to.
Activity 1 on 'Thriller': scary elements & setting
Write down the scary elements you notice in the video, that have to do with:
- sound
- smell
- sight
- other physical sensations
- setting
- the supernatural
Activity 2 on 'Thriller': narrative endings
- What type of narrative ending does 'Thriller' have?
Explain your answer in a couple sentences, you can do this in Dutch or English.
Tip: reread the text on the six narrative endings under the heading 'Narrative Endings' on this website.
Activity 3 on 'Thriller': structure
In 2 to 3 sentences per structural element, summarize the structure of the video 'Thriller'.
Describe what happens in the:
Michael Jackson - Thriller (Official 4K video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA