The music video for "Black or White" generated controversy. The video was first broadcast on MTV, BET, VH1, and the Fox Network on November 14, 1991. Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton, and George Wendt. It helped usher in morphing as an important technology in music videos. Like Jackson's equally successful music video, "Thriller", "Black or White" was directed by John Landis.
The first few minutes of the video featured an extended version of the song's intro, in which Macaulay Culkin is yelled at by his enraged father (George Wendt) over playing rock music too loud and too late at night. Culkin decides to forego his father's request to go to sleep by setting up large speaker cabinets behind his father's reclining chair, donning leather gloves and sunglasses, and playing an extremely loud power chord on an electric guitar. The sound shatters the house's windows and sends his father (seated in his chair) halfway around the world, where the actual song starts. Culkin's mother declares that his father will be "very upset" upon his return. The song from the CD does not use Culkin's nor Wendt's voice, but uses unknown voice actors (with similar voices) and a different intro.
The video proper, still shown regularly today, featured a montage of sequences in which Jackson is choreographed engaging in dances among people of different cultures of the world (African, South-East Asian, Native American, East Indian, Russian). Jackson walks through visual collages of fire (defiantly declaring "I ain't scared of no sheets; I ain't scared of nobody"), referring to KKK torch ceremonies before a mock rap scene shared with Culkin and other children. The group collectively states, "I'm not gonna spend my life being a color." At the end of the song, different people (including Tyra Banks and Cree Summer) dance as they morph into one another (shown as "talking heads") , which is reminiscent of the earlier music video for the Godley & Creme song Cry. This technique had only been previously used in films such as Willow and Terminator 2.
The controversy was related to the last four minutes (the silent "panther" scene) of the original eleven-minute music video, or "short film", as Jackson preferred to call it; since this part began with Michael being a panther, before exiting a studio a morphing into himself. Here, Jackson smashed car windows containing racist graffiti such as Nazi symbols and slander such as "wetbacks" written on the glass of the car windows and store windows, as well as a store window with "KKK RULES" emblazoned on it; Jackson then jumped on the car, grabbed his crotch and unzipped his fly slowly- which was what probably caused the key controversy- before rezipping, smashed a storefront window by throwing a garbage can at it, and began screaming in an enranged manner causing a building sign to collapse. This section caused such a negative reaction that Jackson was forced to announce a formal apology for its content. At the end of this short, Jackson stares on while "prejudice is ignorance" appears at the bottom of the screen in white text. The racist graffiti is not on the car or store windows in some versions of the video; it is blacked out because it is thought it may cause offense. After which, Michael turns back into a panther, and it is revealed that Bart Simpson is watching the video, and Homer (eating a banana) yells "Bart, turn off that noise."
A year later, MTV re-aired the original, uncut version of the video. To date, this version has generally only been seen in the United States on MTV2 between the hours of 01:00 and 04:00, as part of their special uncensored airing of the "Most Controversial Music Videos" of all time. The extended version is also available on Jackson's DVDs. The video was parodied by the sketch comedy TV show In Living Color, and by the band Genesis in their video for "I Can't Dance". It was still shown in its entirety for some years in Europe. Indeed, it was seen on VH1 in the UK as recently as 2004, though most recent airings have omitted the last portion of the video, which also included a brief cameo by Bart and Homer Simpson before the "prejudice is ignorance" image. The version available in the iTunes Music Store contains neither the panther scene nor the Simpsons cameo, and is cut after the morphing sequence.
2006-12-09 19:19:04
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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I don't know, ask the little boy...
haha just kidding. I'm actually with Jackson in that whole he didn't rape that boy thing, media always blows things out of proportion and Micheal's looks didn't help him either seeing as how people are quick to judge. I grew up listeneing to Jackson and I'll always like him.
You don't need to be ashamed of liking him. Ever. People are stupid and Micheal IS talented, that's a known fact. Reputation's are misleading...you should know that if you ever went to highschool..
Sorry that didnt answer ure question becauze I have no idea :-( You still rock tho and so does Micheal---
2006-12-09 19:16:15
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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If it was a big cat (like a puma) it was 'black or white'.
If it was like a pet cat it may have been 'remember the time'
I suggest looking them both up on youtube, make sure for black or white it is the extended version.
I am also obsessed with Michael Jacksons music and dancing, i love him sooooo much. ill see you at his next concert.
2006-12-12 18:43:45
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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That is the extended video version of "Black or White," which was banned from some television channels for being offensive.
I'm not sure where you can d/l it for free, but you can find it on the album "Dangerous."
2006-12-09 19:19:25
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answer #4
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answered by dino00digger 2
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That's the uncut version of Black or White! Great song!
♥♥We Love You Michael!!!!♥♥
2006-12-10 01:23:37
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answer #5
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answered by ♥Stranger In Maine™♥ (Thriller) 7
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Don't be ashamed of liking any music. I think the song you are thinking of is "Thriller".
Won more than awards. I'm not a fan of Mr. Jackson - but I do recognize his talent.
2006-12-09 19:26:58
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answer #6
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answered by Mitch 1
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no, i am really sorry that i cannot think of the song you have in mind. i am usually pretty good with this type of question but tonight i am drawing a blank. so sorry. maybe next time.
2006-12-09 19:18:50
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answer #7
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answered by sweetness #1 5
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Black or White
2006-12-10 10:41:05
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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Black or White. Sorry no freebes from me.
2006-12-09 19:16:44
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answer #9
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answered by Jusntyme21 3
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billie jean. possibly my favorite that or beat it.
2006-12-09 19:15:06
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answer #10
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answered by spiffo 3
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