@filmandmusic you successfully lured me in! Congratulations!
@SilverFiner first, I feel like you're getting some harsh responses and I'm not entirely sure why. The wonderful thing about Michael having such a strong legacy is that it means his art will live on and continue to be evaluated and reevaluated with the changing contexts of culture. So, to me, it's perfectly valid to bring this up, because it really just reaffirms what we all hope is true - Michael's art lives on in new contexts, with new audiences, and will continue to provoke response. Much preferable to being forgotten I would say!
Anyway, let me dive into your message because I have so many thoughts! TWYMMF happens to be one of my favorite music videos too!
I am also a feminist! Read feminist literature, support women, and deeply understand rape culture.
In fact, I am a survivor myself.
Second in fact - I also have studied rape culture and feminism on the doctoral level and wrote a dissertation and a book about both! haha. It feels funny to bring this up here, but I do think it's valuable context, because I want you to know that when I respond to your thread I am doing so coming from a mindset that very much understands your values! And supports them too.
I feel like this is all understandable and, honestly, I watch lots of reaction videos and frequently see this response from people. Not necessarily being sick, but sort of being like..."hmmm, I'm not sure about this." I think it's fair, because with today's cultural context, this video would likely not be made this way, let alone take place in a grungy place that reinforces some of those fearful elements we (stereotypically) associate with rape culture. So even though I don't personally share your view, I do understand how you arrived at it.
This is also fair. And in real life, I absolutely agree with you.
So first, let me just say this - I think it's fair for you to read it however you want to. In that, not all pieces are going to work for every person. If this made you feel
physically sick to watch, that's an extreme reaction, but it is your reaction, and it doesn't mean you are wrong. I am glad that you are actually wanting some other perspectives, though, because I would hate if you or anyone totally wrote off this video without at least pursuing some other takes.
So with everything I have said, let me share my view of this short film.
As f&m mentioned in his reply to you, there is a longer version of this film that shows an introduction that gives more context to the "world" this story takes place in. I do want to address that, but I'm going to focus first on the original video itself since it is what most people know and see.
In my opinion, TWYMMF exists in a world of fantasy for
every person involved. Intentionally so. Let's look at the beginning...
The setting is grungy - dark streets, a little dirty, not much lighting. A classic setting for violence and fear. As the video opens we see Tatianna walking around the streets alone at night - confidently strutting, unafraid, no air of self consciousness, generally comfortable, etc. This in itself is not reality, right? No woman I can think of would confidently walk alone at night through a grungy area. But Tatianna does and she doesn't even flinch.
As she walks, we overhear some conversation. Guys giving each other shit about trying to get girls, etc. We see Michael appear and Tatianna barely even notices. She is entirely confident, unthreatened, powerful. Him popping into the street doesn't knock her off balance as it would in real life. She's free of such fear. As Michael appears, we overhear the guys talking - "what is he doing? we told him to go home." They are all preparing to watch the embarrassment of a lifetime. He is clearly not a guy they see as the one who would get her attention, especially when the others couldn't. This introduces a second layer of fantasy - a world in which the shy guy, whose not really like the other guys, can and does get the girl, simply by being himself. More on that in a bit.
After Tatianna passes him up, he of course shouts and she turns around. She's startled, obviously, but as she watches him walk toward her, she doesn't flinch. Again, no anxiety, no fear. This is where I begin to believe (in my head canon) that Tatianna and Michael know each other. They are from the same neighborhood. Maybe they even grew up together. Maybe he has been seeing her, watching her, crushing on her hard, and she's always passed him up. In reality, a total stranger yelling at you would make you flinch, but Tatianna doesn't. She stands back and looks at him as if to say, unimpressed, "well, now what?" and that is when, of course, he breaks into song.
This, to me, is where the flirtation sort of begins. She walks off, unamused, but the guys encourage him, and so she stops in her tracks and starts to pay attention. He's asserting himself as someone viable for her - trying to show her what he can offer - not only literally as he does in the song lyrics ("I'll pick you up in my car and we'll paint the town"/"I'll be workin' from nine to five, To buy you things to keep you by my side"/"I swear I'm keeping you satisfied") but as an alternative to the other guys around him.
Let me explain.
While yes, MJ follows her around a bit in these opening moments, and she seems a bit annoyed by it, he doesn't demonstrate a threat. When she walks away from him and the guys crowd around behind him, it isn't to threaten her, but to implore her "give the guy a chance, he's trying." But she's over it, right? So she takes off and sprints down the alley. And here is where the fantasy really ramps up. And you may even notice, this is where Tatianna's attitude officially changes.
The most stereotypically frightening image women have of rape is in a dark alley. I mean that is quite literally the scenario that is constantly referred to when we talk about rape. The idea of a woman running down an alley and being followed by a man, or group of men, is legitimately terrifying. But what happens here? No one follows her. MJ doesn't even step toward the alley. He stays exactly where he is. Singing, flirting, trying to entice her back. The guys stay there too, signifying there is no threat. He's not trying to stalk her, or scare her. He's flirting. He wants to seduce. He doesn't want to hurt her.
At this point, Tatianna comes back out of the alley - again, unafraid, unwavering - and only at this point does MJ approach her again. From here forward, there is a new understanding between them. This is play. This is flirtation. This is harmless. And yes, it is fantasy.
From here forward, Tatianna is a part of the game. Our expectations of the worst that could happen are subverted. MJ is not the monster and maybe those guys aren't either. Maybe in this world, the beautiful girl can be her confident hot self without the threat of violence and the guys just want to impress her. Maybe in this world, the guy no one believes in, could make her fall for him too.
For the rest of the video, MJ chases Tatianna around and we see her visibly laughing, mocking him, playing into the silliness of it all. We see her approach a group of girlfriends, who we previously didn't even know where around. This is a subtle reminder that this situation isn't necessarily what we may have thought. There are things happening off frame. There is an entire community here. And yes, they likely know each other already.
Toward the end of the video, Tatianna is taunting MJ. Leaning against her car, inviting him to come in and kiss her, but he doesn't. He teases her right back. In fact, he's not done trying to convince her to give him a chance. He performs for her - not with aggression, or force. His method works. He's friendly, he's flirting, and he even gets the guys (who made fun of him) to join in with the performance. Then, of course, Tatianna is convinced. She wants him right back. They come together in silhouette and even in that moment, all they do is hug. He doesn't even push a boundary to kiss her. There is nothing to fear. There never was.
This is a ****** fantasy lol. Let's be honest, right? This is not how this stuff plays out in real life. But in a fantasy world, wouldn't it? In a fantasy world, wouldn't a woman be able to strut through the streets at night and feel safe, and only get hit on by a guy she finds attractive, but who she never really noticed before? Who doesn't at any point make her feel unsafe but, instead, successfully seduces her? Let's be clear - the fantasy of being seduced is not the same as the reality of catcalling. And I don't think it has to be viewed as such. In my opinion, this is why we see MJ offering an alternative to being catcalled. He's not trying to look powerful, or dominant, or cool. He's just trying to win her over.
This is where I think the context of the full length short film matters. If you haven't watched it, I highly recommend it. While some of it may contradict some of my points, it overall reinforces what I'm saying.
In the original opening of the short film, we get a greater view of this setting. There are people all around, it is dark, feels a little dangerous. We see guys busting each other, bothering the other women on the street, being aggressive and combative. We might think of it as your traditional "toxic masculinity." Michael gets caught up in the middle of it - sort of being made fun, singled out as not fitting in, not belonging, with them telling him to just go home. He walks away sad and eventually sits on the stoop with the older man we later see give him a thumbs up in the video. As they sit together, the old man gives him a pep talk. "You're not like those guys and you don't want to be like those guys. Just be yourself." We see Michael smiling and internalizing this. "Be yourself," he whispers. Almost like it never occurred to him before this moment. Almost like he didn't know there even was an alternative to trying to "fit in." He doesn't have to be the stereotypical guy. He doesn't have to be aggressive, or combative, or toxic. He can "just be himself."
And this is where the video as we know it begins. MJ embraces being himself. He approaches the woman he has a crush on and he performs. He doesn't catcall in the way the other guys did, he doesn't get in her face, or back her into a corner. But he does put it all out there. He literally sings and dances and jumps on cars and (if he were anyone other than Michael Jackson) showed that he was willing to make a fool of himself just to win her over.
That is part of the fantasy. He isn't like the other guys. He is an alternative. And the situation doesn't have to go down like it might in reality. We can exist here, as viewers, in a suspended reality where the beautiful girl and the gorgeous guy end up happily together after some playful flirtation. Nothing scary, nothing dark. Just the pure fantasy of an alternate reality where such a thing is possible.
And, let's be honest, part of what MJ is doing here is teasing his female fans just the same. No, we don't want some random guy to follow us around or catcall us. But Michael Jackson singing to us about how beautiful we are and how he wants to please us? Girl. Kill me now. It's all I want and need in the world lol.
Phew... that was a lot!
So look, with all of this said, I completely get if your take on this video is that it's problematic. If my theory of MJ offering an alternative fantasy doesn't sit right with you, that's ok. You could question if it is harmful to pretend this is possible... if it encourages bad behavior, etc. But, in my opinion, that's putting a nefarious lens over a situation that actually represents both people in the end getting what they want. Though some of this may be problematic in reality, I'm not sure if it really helps anyone to say that a video depicting a woman visibly laughing and enjoying herself with a guy she obviously is attracted to is perpetrating rape culture. I understand the reasons why and I'm sure there's an argument for it. But wouldn't it also be nice to argue for a reality in which something like this is even possible?
I hope all of this makes sense! This ended up being 10,000x longer than I intended so I'm very sorry about that. But I did forewarn. I have A LOT to say
I can’t recall how often I started laughing out loud with posts of yours.