Black or White

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Black or White
Michael Jackson
publication	November 8, 1991
length	4:16 (album version) 3:19 (single version)
Genre (s)	Pop , pop-rock
Author (s)	Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell
Producer (s)	Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell
Label	Epic Records
album	Dangerous

Black or White is a song by Michael Jackson . It was the first single from his album Dangerous and was released on November 8, 1991. Black or White conveys the message that people of all skin colors are the same ("I said if you're thinkin 'of being my brother, it don't matter if you're black or white.") He also appeals for tolerance between people different skin colors. The single became a number one hit in many countries around the world and is one of the best-selling singles ever with over five million copies sold worldwide.

The song was composed and written by Michael Jackson. The short rap part of the song was interpreted and texted by Bill Bottrell .

Music video

Summary

The music video of Black or White generated strong controversy . The video was first broadcast on US TV stations MTV , BET , VH1 and FOX (based on an episode of The Simpsons ) on November 14, 1991. It ran simultaneously in 27 countries and was seen by around 500 million people - the most viewers who have ever seen a music video. Actors Macaulay Culkin , George Wendt and Peggy Lipton have guest appearances in the video . It was directed by John Landis , the same director as Thriller . The production costs were very high, which was mainly due to the morphing effects used in the video . Morphing effects were even earlier in the music video Cry by Godley & Creme uses.

The video begins with a tracking shot that begins above the clouds and leads across the nocturnal streets of a city into the room of a young person (Macaulay Culkin) who is listening to loud rock music. After his father (George Wendt) forbids him to do so, he sets up an oversized stereo system in the living room and plays a loud power chord on the electric guitar, which transports the father and the armchair vertically through the roof. He ends up on the steppe where Michael Jackson dances with the locals. He continues this in numerous fades with people from different places and cultures (including those of the indigenous peoples of Africa , Asia , North America , South America and Russia ). After a rap performance by Bill Bottrell , the morphing sequence follows , in which people of different origins, skin color and appearance transform into one another. Among others they also Glen Chin , Tyra Banks and Cree Summer (as the last person) there.

In the uncut version of the music video, the panther dance follows: Michael Jackson leaves the recording studio in the form of a black panther. On the street he transforms himself back into his human form and shows a sequence of demanding dance steps in the nocturnal streets without background music. He smashes window panes, destroys a car and causes the illuminated sign of a hotel (the “Royal Arms”) to explode. Eventually he turns back into the black panther.

In a short, cartoon-style ending, Bart Simpson is shown watching the music video. Homer Simpson joins them. Homer: "Bart, turn out the noise" ("Bart, turn out that noise"). Bart: "Relax, buddy" ("Chill out, homeboy"). Finally Homer turns off the television with the remote control.

The video ends with a fade-in of the text prejudice is ignorance ( prejudice is ignorance ).

Controversy

The controversies concern the last four minutes of the video, the Panther Dance (see above). In addition to the destruction scenes described above, Michael Jackson grabs his crotch several times and then zips his pants. Jackson later apologized, saying the violence and sexual innuendo were an interpretation of the animal urges of a black panther. These four minutes were not broadcast in the US on MTV and many other music networks.

To date, the uncut version has only been broadcast in the US on MTV 2 between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. in a special program called The Most Controversial Music Videos. The uncut version is also available on Jackson's DVDs . After the video was broadcast for the first time, racist graffiti (including a swastika and the phrase “ KKK RULES!”) Was added to the panes of glass that Jackson smashed in the Panther Dance . This was intended to show that the video is directed against racist associations such as the National Socialists or the Ku Klux Klan; the aftertaste of vandalism should be dispelled. The original version (without graffiti) is only available on the video cassette HIStory - The Video Greatest Hits (the DVD of the same name only contains the graffiti version) and the DVD Michael Jackson's Vision . The unabridged original version without the racist graffiti can also be found on YouTube.

The full video was shown in Europe for several years. In the UK , VH1 did not air the full music video until 2004. The most recent broadcasts of the video are mostly severely shortened there.

The version available in the iTunes Store ends after the morphing scene.

Nocturne Video Productions played the Panther Dance as opening act for Jackson's Dangerous and HIStory world tours. The version shown there is 20 seconds shorter than the original, and the scenes in which Jackson smashes windows and holds his crotch while dancing (but not the scene in which he zips up) have been removed.

Clivillés & Cole Remixes

Black or White (The Clivillés & Cole (C&C) Remixes) (or simply Black or White (Remixes) is a single with remixes by Black or White . The song was remixed by Robert Clivillés and David Cole . The single reached # 14 in the UK Top 40 , # 11 in the Irish charts, # 18 in the Australian charts and # 3 in the Austrian charts.

Chart placements

Charts	Top ranking	Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK)	2 (34 weeks)	34
Austria (Ö3)	2 (22 weeks)	22nd
Switzerland (IFPI)	1 (29 weeks)	29
United Kingdom (OCC)	1 (18 weeks)	18th
United States (Billboard)	1 (20 weeks)	20th

Parodies

• The band Genesis parodied the Panther Dance at the end of their music video I Can't Dance by mimicking the Choreography of the Panther Dance with the then Genesis singer Phil Collins wearing a fedora .
• The Hessian comedian duo Badesalz parodied Black or White . There is also a music video on it. The text is the same, just pronounced with a German accent . Instead of the electric guitar, a brass orchestra , the "Spessart Brassköpp", can be heard in the background .
• Weird Al Yankovic showed a parody of Black or White on his TV show Al TV . He has the black-or-white -Video with scenes of the music video We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister mixed.
• Otto Waalkes parodies the electric guitar scene of Culkin (“Eat this”) in Otto - The Love Film at the beginning .

Web links

• Official music video for Black or White (abridged version) on YouTube
• Official music video for Black or White (uncut version) on YouTube

Individual evidence

1. ↑ release date
2. ↑ Michael Jackson - Black or White Chart Placement Germany. GfK Entertainment , accessed on September 15, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Michael Jackson - Black or White Chart Placement Austria. In: Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien, accessed September 15, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Michael Jackson - Black or White Chart Placement Switzerland. In: Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien, accessed September 15, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Michael Jackson - Black or White Charthistory United Kingdom. Official Charts Company , accessed September 15, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Michael Jackson - Black or White Chart Placement United States. Billboard , accessed September 15, 2019 .