Thriller 40th Anniversary


I welcome this comment from Nelson George but am slightly confused. Not sure how hard it was to understand Michael as a Black man very much invested in his community, his history, his committment to the story of Black people generally and Black / African Americans in particular. Certainly in his adult solo career there was no confusion as far as I could see. Michael was always very upfront about his many and various influences including Charlie Chaplin, Three Stooges, Walt Disney. He didn't hide his admiration for Marcel Marceau. But to be so surprised, as Nelson George seems to be, that Michael was so connected to his identity as a Black man is ... um, kinda weird, imo.

Anyway. Time stamp 15m 15s for brief comment on the doc which is specifically on the making of Thriller.

18m 23s for comment on Michael as a Black man:

 
He also believes MJ was a nonce and has been consistently trashing him for years so I'm not all that interested in what he's gotta say lol
oh, I know. Believe me, I have zero interest in Nelson George. But the man has made / is making the doc and this tweet just caught my attention. I thought people might be interested.

I kind of laughed, tbh. Nelson George realises that Michael was actually Black and didn't mind who knew it. Yay! Hold the front page, lol. His comment on wishing he had known this when he was younger ... I have MANY thoughts about that but don't wanna get into it.

I said I welcome the comment but that's bc I'm being polite and restrained, lol.
 
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oh, I know. Believe me, I have zero interest in Nelson George. But the man has made / is making the doc and this tweet just caught my attention. I thought people might be interested.

I kind of laughed, tbh. Nelson George realises that Michael was actually Black and didn't mind who knew it. Yay! Hold the front page, lol. His comment on wishing he had known this when he was younger ... I have MANY thoughts about that but don't wanna get into it.

Yeah, a lot to unpack there lol
 
I am not allowing post #4,880 to go unnoticed. this is a clear example of the anti blackness that exists on this very board (and the ‘fan’ community in general), towards michael prior to the late eighties.

@Hiker i’ve reported this post. I ask that the appropriate disciplinary actions are taken.
 
Michael is known for being a major reference to black people for having broke so many barriers and opening doors in a very segregated time and my man wants to know about how Walt Disney influenced MJ...

I need some tea lol
Michael Jackson HATED race barriers and talked about his diverse influences ALL the time, that was basically his whole mission. So to deliberately make it seem like his influences and legacy was merely 'black' is not right I would think..? Spike Lee is known for this. Lol I didn't expect anyone to disagree
 
I am not allowing post #4,880 to go unnoticed. this is a clear example of the anti blackness that exists on this very board (and the ‘fan’ community in general), towards michael prior to the late eighties.

@Hiker i’ve reported this post. I ask that the appropriate disciplinary actions are taken.
Anti-blackness?? You mean my post about Spike Lee? OMG
 
Michael Jackson HATED race barriers and talked about his diverse influences ALL the time, that was basically his whole mission. So to deliberately make it seem like his influences and legacy was merely 'black' is not right I would think..? Spike Lee is known for this. Lol I didn't expect anyone to disagree
They were not merely black, but his legacy is especially black. As I said, he opened doors to black people in the business.
 
I am not allowing post #4,880 to go unnoticed. this is a clear example of the anti blackness that exists on this very board (and the ‘fan’ community in general), towards michael prior to the late eighties.

@Hiker i’ve reported this post. I ask that the appropriate disciplinary actions are taken.
@Victorious @83magic let's stay respectful in our comments while keeping in mind everyone is entitled to their opinion.
 
Yes. I mean he was a good basketball player but still a basketball player. And that obviously doesn't justify him being in a Michael Jackson documentary
Kobe knew MJ personally and even spent time at neverland....
Does it really matter what his career was? Kobe learned so much from Michael. If he were here today he would fit right in the Thriller doc imo.
 
They were not merely black, but his legacy is especially black. As I said, he opened doors to black people in the business.
You are absolutely right that he opened doors for black people, mainly MTV, but how does this make his legacy escpecially black? He opened doors for so many different people. Michael Jackson was about bringing people together while Spike Lee and George Nelson divide people into colour
 
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Kobe knew MJ personally and even spent time at neverland....
Does it really matter what his career was? Kobe learned so much from Michael. If he were here today he would fit right in the Thriller doc imo.
I obviously know, I am a basketball player since 1992. He is absolutely welcome in a documentary on MJ but not if the people who were actually important to MJ's albums are ignored because of Spike Lee's ideology
 
Well but yeah what would you call it?
Not a stupid and ignoramus thing like woke or blackwashing.
Michael Jackson HATED race barriers and talked about his diverse influences ALL the time, that was basically his whole mission. So to deliberately make it seem like his influences and legacy was merely 'black' is not right I would think..? Spike Lee is known for this. Lol I didn't expect anyone to disagree
He hated race barriers but he did entirely love "black" music. He was a black man who loved his race and his influences that were black, James Brown, Nicholas Brothers, Jackie Wilson. He engaged in hip hop constantly and basically helped introduce it to all corners of the world. He wanted all people to ENJOY "black" sounds. That's what the hatred of race barriers is for.

Meanwhile, he could enjoy every genre, even the "white" ones. And there was no need to stigmatize that. And we don't need to talk about what most musical influences even are. So basically, yeah, this was a pretty non nuanced take. Probably not accurate either, I'm sure there was plenty of mention of Caucasian elements; Rod Temperton was at odds with the estate so there's your reason for lack of reference there.

And as for Kobe; he was one of MJs few friends. More than just "some ball player". Who would you think they should've gotten, Lionel Richie?
 
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Spike Lee did a bit too much 'blackwashing' in my opinion; giving so little attention to people like Rod Temperton and influences like Bee Gees, Carpenters, Walt Disney, etc. but instead putting some basketball player (!) in it.. smh
I believe George Nelson is even more 'woke' so not expecting an honest documentary from him too
bruh I can tell you are so virgin
 
You are absolutely right that he opened doors for black people, mainly MTV, but how does this make his legacy escpecially black?
You just said it yourself.
Before him, MTV refused to broadcast music videos from black artists. That's just one example of various situations MJ and other black artists had to deal with. He was the first (I know there were others before him, but not as strong) to be able to start breaking these walls and open the path for himself and others to come.
He is transcendent, yes, but he was a black artist who grew up within the segregated and racist industry and managed to break through all that. Elvis didn't have this issue, The Beatles didn't have this issue, Led Zeppelin didn't have this issue. That's my point. He is a staple to the black culture.

He opened doors for so many different people.
Yeah, most of them (if not all) being black. There were never closed doors to white acts, ever, and he didn't do much for the LGBT+ community as he wasn't inserted in their movement.
 
It makes no sense to release the thriller documentary at the end of the year the thriller40 hype is long gone
 
It makes no sense to release the thriller documentary at the end of the year the thriller40 hype is long gone
It's time for Thriller 41

With The Girl is Mine Demo still left off

But now you get the demo for Show You The Way To Go, Someone in the Dark, and For All Time!
 
It makes no sense to release the thriller documentary at the end of the year the thriller40 hype is long gone
The Thriller short film had premiered on December 2, 1983. Obviously, they're gonna release it around its 40th anniversary.

Maybe there'll be an accompanying physical release of the Making of Thriller, too.
 
I wasn't looking forward to the documentary that much anyway if I'm honest. We've probably seen all the new/rare footage in the recordings we hav
Same.

I have zero interest in the documentary. It will be mostly about the impact Thriller made. I have no interest in some contemporary artists talking about the impact Thriller had on their careers.

I want some in depth analysis behind the creation of each song. But sadly that won't happen, so truthfully, I am not bothered if this documentary never comes out.
 
It would still make sense to release the thriller documentary and making of Thriller Halloween is just a wish thought
 
I think every good documentary that comes out is a good thing. The fans (even the critical ones) gave positive reviews from the fan events. I am still interested in the reasons what caused the delay. But a documentary about the best-selling album of all time is timeless, and now tying it to the timing of the video's 40th anniversary makes sense. Maybe the video will hit the billion on YouTube by that time as well. No matter in each, there will also be a boost in the charts and generate new fans.
 
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