Keep Moving: Michael Jackson’s Video Art
At Walter Reade Theater, Nov. 22, 6 p.m.
Liz Taylor was right in her now famous Tweet
about Michael Jackson’s This Is It. My Lincoln center program about MJ’s
music videos (Keep Moving: Michael Jackson’s Video Art at the Walter
Reade Theater, Nov. 22) was planned before This Is It, but it ought to confirm Dame
Liz’s enthusiasm. It’s designed to show film enthusiasts who wonder: “What
happened to the movie musical?” or “Why wasn’t Michael a film star?” Despite
race, class and puritanical obstacles, Jackson advanced the movie-musical genre
his own way—working with the best, trusting his instinct and raising the promo
film to an art form every time out.
MJ’s taken-for-granted cinematic passion was
ahead of Hollywood in visualizing the complexities of sex (“In the Closet”) race (“Black or White”), ecology (“Earth Song”) and that aspect of our
cultural heritage that wrestles with mankind’s aggressive instincts (“Smooth Criminal”). Put MJ in proper
context with Singin’ in the Rain, Shall We Dance and The Band Wagon
as serious expression, not trivial daydreaming. Too busy finger-sapping to
consider “The Way You Make Me Feel” ’s exploration of courtship ritual? In This
Is It, MJ turns masculine drive into iconography that studies eroticism and
social custom—all of it beautifully sung and imaginatively choreographed.
MJ’s music video legacy shames contemporary
Hollywood’s inability to sustain the music video as an expression of mankind’s
dreams. He displayed rare understanding of how music and images can edify the
human condition. That’s why Liz’s all-out defense and confirmation matters. She
tweeted: “[This Is It] is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking
I have ever seen. It cements forever Michael’s genius in every aspect of
creativity. To say he was a genius seems so little…I truly believe this film
should be nominated in every category conceivable.”
Liz, of course, is totally right. She challenges
the Motion Picture Academy and the upcoming parade of Oscarheads to see past
tabloid demonization to the significance of MJ’s art; to make right the
mainstream’s neglect of a great artist.
Get Armond White’s new book Keep Moving: The
Michael Jackson Chronicles from resistanceworkswdc@yahoo.com
