Michael Jackson

=== Music videos and choreography ===
[[File:Michaeljacksonphoto drewcohen.JPG|thumb|upright|alt=A man is singing into a microphone under a spotlight. He wears a blue open-neck shirt over a white T-shirt, and dark pants. There are two colorfully-dressed men on either side of him.|Jackson (center) performing a dance sequence of "[[The Way You Make Me Feel]]" at the Bad World Tour in 1988]]
Jackson released "[[Michael Jackson's Thriller (music video)|Thriller]]", a 14-minute music video directed by [[John Landis]], in 1983.<ref name="Registry">{{cite press release |first=Alex |last=Dobuzinskis |title=Jackson "Thriller" film picked for U.S. registry |work=[[Reuters]] |date=December 30, 2009 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thriller-idUSTRE5BT43W20091230?type=musicNews}}</ref> The [[zombie]]-themed video "defined music videos and broke racial barriers" on [[MTV]], which had launched two years earlier.{{sfn|Young|2009|p=25}} Before ''Thriller'', Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean," directed by Steve Barron, produced by Simon Fields & Paul Flattery |date=October 2005 |magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]}}</ref> Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", which led to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, and helped other black music artists gain recognition.<ref name="Video">{{cite news |first=Edna |last=Gundersen |title=Music videos changing places |newspaper=USA Today |date=August 25, 2005 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-08-25-mtv_x.htm}}</ref> The popularity of his videos on MTV helped the relatively new channel's viewing figures, and MTV's focus shifted toward pop and R&B.<ref name="Video" /><ref>{{cite news |first=Bryan |last=Robinson |title=Why Are Michael Jackson's Fans So Devoted? |agency=ABC News |date=February 23, 2005 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/LegalCenter/story?id=464753&page=1}}</ref> His performance on ''Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever'' changed the scope of live stage shows, making it acceptable for artists to lip-sync to music video on stage.{{sfn|Inglis|2006|pp=119, 127|ps=: "That Jackson lip-synced 'Billie Jean' is, in itself, not extraordinary, but the fact that it did not change the impact of the performance is extraordinary; whether the performance was live or lip-synced made no difference to the audience."}} The choreography in ''Thriller'' has been copied in [[Cinema of India|Indian films]] and [[Thriller (viral video)|prisons in the Philippines]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Philippine jailhouse rocks to Thriller |agency=BBC News |date=July 26, 2007 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6917318.stm}}</ref> ''Thriller'' marked an increase in scale for music videos, and was named the most successful music video ever by the ''Guinness World Records''.<ref name="World Records" />

In "Bad"'s 19-minute video—directed by [[Martin Scorsese]]—Jackson used sexual imagery and choreography, and touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Winfrey in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he said it was spontaneously compelled by the music. ''Time'' magazine described the "Bad" video as "infamous". It featured [[Wesley Snipes]]; Jackson's later videos often featured famous cameo roles.{{sfn|Taraborrelli|2009|pp=370–373}}<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Richard |last=Corliss |author-link= Richard Corliss |title=Michael Jackson: Who's Bad? |magazine=Time |date=September 6, 1993 |access-date= April 23, 2008 |url=https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979177,00.html}}</ref> For the "Smooth Criminal" video, Jackson experimented with leaning forward at a 45 degree angle, beyond the performer's center of gravity. To accomplish this live, Jackson and designers developed a special shoe to lock the performer's feet to the stage, allowing them to lean forward. They were granted {{US patent|src=uspto|5255452}} for the device.<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=5255452 |invent1=Michael J. Jackson |invent2=Michael L. Bush |invent3=Dennis Tompkins |title=Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion |fdate=June 29, 1992 |gdate=October 26, 1993}}</ref> The video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, but in 1989 was nominated for three ''Billboard'' Music Video Awards{{sfn|Campbell|1993|p=273}} and won a Golden Lion Award for its special effects. It won a Grammy for [[Grammy Award for Best Music Video|Best Music Video, Short Form]].<ref name="grammy mj" />

He received the [[Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award|MTV Video Vanguard Award]] in 1988; in 2001 the award was renamed in his honor.<ref name="MTV2">{{cite news |first=Kyle |last=Anderson |title=Michael Jackson's Video Vanguard Award, in MJ's Top MTV Moments |publisher=MTV News |date=June 26, 2009 |access-date= April 14, 2019 |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1614838/michael-jacksons-video-vanguard-award-in-mjs-top-mtv-moments/}}</ref> The "Black or White" video simultaneously premiered on November 14, 1991, in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500{{nbsp}}million people, the largest audience ever for a music video at the time.<ref name="Achievements" /> Along with Jackson, it featured [[Macaulay Culkin]], [[Peggy Lipton]], and [[George Wendt]]. It helped introduce [[morphing]] to music videos.{{sfn|Campbell|1993|p=303}} It was controversial for scenes in which Jackson rubs his crotch, vandalizes cars, and throws a garbage can through a storefront. He apologized and removed the final scene of the video.<ref name="ew1991" />

"In the Closet" featured [[Naomi Campbell]] in a courtship dance with Jackson.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Michael Jackson Co-Directs Music Film, 'In the Closet' |magazine=Jet |page=56 |date=April 27, 1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wbkDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56}}</ref> "Remember the Time" was set in [[ancient Egypt]], and featured [[Eddie Murphy]], [[Iman (model)|Iman]], and [[Magic Johnson]].{{sfn|Campbell|1993|pp=313–314}} The video for "Scream", directed by [[Mark Romanek]] and production designer Tom Foden, gained a record 11 [[MTV Video Music Award]] Nominations, and won "Best Dance Video", "Best Choreography", and "Best Art Direction".{{sfn|Boepple|1995|p=52}} The song and its video are Jackson's response to being accused of child molestation in 1993.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ed |last=Bark |title=Michael Jackson Interview Raises Questions, Answers |newspaper=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |page=06E |date=June 26, 1995}}</ref> A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form. It has been reported as the [[List of most expensive music videos|most expensive music video ever made]], at $7{{nbsp}}million;<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Hugh |last=McIntyre |title=The 5 Most Expensive Music Videos of All Time |magazine=Forbes |date=August 24, 2014 |access-date= March 23, 2019 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2014/08/24/the-top-5-most-expensive-music-videos-of-all-time/}}</ref> Romanek has contradicted this.<ref>{{cite web |first=Steven |last=Gottlieb |title="Scream" Gets Named Most Expensive Video Ever; Director Mark Romanek Disagrees |website=VideoStatic |date=August 28, 2014 |access-date= March 23, 2019 |url=https://www.videostatic.com/blog/2014/08/28/scream-gets-named-most-expensive-video-ever-director-mark-romanek-disagrees}}</ref> The "Earth Song" video was nominated for the 1997 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.<ref>{{cite news |first=Greg |last=Kot |title=Pumpkins a Smash Hit with 7 Grammy Nominations |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 8, 1997 |access-date= April 14, 2019 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-01-08-9701080229-story.html}}</ref>

''[[Michael Jackson's Ghosts]],'' a short film written by Jackson and [[Stephen King]] and directed by [[Stan Winston]], premiered at the 1996 [[Cannes Film Festival]]. At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by the video for the [[Pharrell Williams]] song "[[Happy (Pharrell Williams song)|Happy]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=Longest music video |work=[[Guinness World Records]] |date=November 21, 2013 |access-date= March 23, 2019 |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/71833-longest-music-video}}</ref> The 2001 video for "[[You Rock My World]]" lasts over 13 minutes, was directed by [[Paul Hunter (director)|Paul Hunter]], and features [[Chris Tucker]] and [[Marlon Brando]].<ref>{{cite news |first=James |last=Montgomery |title=Michael Jackson's Video Co-Stars: From Eddie Murphy to Marlon Brando |publisher=MTV |date=June 26, 2009 |access-date= March 22, 2010 |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1614795/20090626/jackson_michael.jhtml}}</ref> It won an [[NAACP Image Award]] for Outstanding Music Video in 2002.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=NAACP Image Award Spotlight Black' Achievements |magazine=Jet |volume=101 |issue=13 |date=March 18, 2002 |page=36 |issn=0021-5996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L70DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58}}</ref>

In December 2009, the [[Library of Congress]] selected "Thriller" as the only music video to be preserved in the [[National Film Registry]], as a work of "enduring importance to American culture".<ref>{{cite web |title=Zorro, Nemo, Muppets & More: Wide Variety Tapped for 2009 Film Registry |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/10012/films.html}}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news |first=Dave |last=Itzkoff |title='Thriller' Video Added to U.S. Film Registry |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 30, 2009 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/arts/music/31arts-THRILLERVIDE_BRF.html}}</ref> Huey wrote that Jackson transformed the music video into an artform and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameos, while breaking down racial barriers.<ref name="allmusic" />