In 1995, Michael Jackson released the single Scream in direct response to tabloid media. Leading up to that year, numerous forms of media villainized Jackson as a perpetrator of child sexual abuse, even though the singer was never charged with a crime. Scream addressed the allegations with statements such as “Stop pressuring me,” and “With such delusions don’t it make you wanna scream.” In my sound project, I used Michael Jackson’s Scream as a commentary on how Black people are portrayed in modern media.
This project is set up in three main components: Michael Jackson’s Scream, sound effects that feign the tuning of a radio, and media news clips. The channeling of the radio metaphorically represents the flippant representations of Black people in modern media (like in tabloids, news, film, and so on). I used four real news clips showcasing a reporter who mistakes Samuel L. Jackson for another Black actor, a guest on CNN who uses the word “slaves” to reference Black people as a whole, a man who justifies his opinion by saying his father lost his job coming to the aid of a Black woman, and Toni Lahren stating she doesn’t see color. Finally, I used Scream as an ironic commentary to tie all of the components together.
Jackson, despite allegations, is considered one of the most iconic artists in history. However, regardless of how talented or how impactful Jackson was, he was and is still reduced to what media makes of him. He is still viewed as an image that my four clips represent- Black before anything else. Media channels between the idealization and the villainization of Black people. Jackson can only be idealized for his fame or only be villainized for his allegations, with no in between. It is the difference between, say, Beyoncé and O.J. Simpson. Beyoncé is virtually perfection and that is all media portrays of her. Simpson is a villain without redemption and that is all media portrays of him. This begs the question, in modern media, can we only be villainized or idealized when there’s so much more to being Black?
