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Who came up with an idea for "Remember The Time" music video?

Diana_Wellwashed

Diana_Wellwashed

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Does anybody know?🤔🤔🤔 All that Egyptian stuff... I mean it could be Michael, right? I'm curious is there any mentions about who came up with that idia about Ancient Egypt?
 
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Director John Singleton basically came up with the whole thing (including the Ancient Egypt concept).

Michael Jackson also contributed by wanting, for instance, the American basketball player Magic Johnson to appear on it.

In any case, the 'Remember The Time' music video should not have included the Ancient Egypt concept because that concept does not fit some of the song's lyrics.

For example, Michael Jackson at one point sings "you and me, in Spain", but Spain did not exist yet in the Ancient Egypt period.

Or, at another point, Michael Jackson sings "on the phone, you and me", but phones were not invented yet in the Ancient Egypt period.
 
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Diana_Wellwashed said:
Does anybody know?🤔🤔🤔 All that Egyptian stuff... I mean it could be Michael, right? I'm curious is there any mentions about who came up with that idia about Ancient Egypt?
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The lavish video for “Remember The Time” was directed by John Singleton and starred Eddie Murphy, Magic Johnson, and the Somali fashion model Iman, who married David Bowie in 1992. The video was set in ancient Egypt.
 
mj_frenzy said:
In any case, the 'Remember The Time' music video should not have included the Ancient Egypt concept because that concept does not fit some of the song's lyrics.

For example, Michael Jackson at one point sings "you and me, in Spain", but Spain did not exist yet in the Ancient Egypt period.

Or, at another point, Michael Jackson sings "on the phone, you and me", but phones were not invented yet in the Ancient Egypt period.
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Don't even get me started on the flashing disco pavement from Bille Jean, eating popcorn from Thriller, playing pool from Beat It, underground parking garage from Bad, Indians on horses from Black or White, golden business cards from Who Is It, every single frame from Leave Me Alone, every single frame from Liberian Girl, anthropomorphic rabbit on a jetpack from Speed Demon, movie theater from You Are Not Alone, live concert from Dirty Diana and Give In To Me and every single frame from Scream.
I mean, those also don't appear anywhere in the lyrics of those songs.
 
Maybe the inspiration came from the movie Harum Scarum starring Elvis? The special effects like MJ turning into sand and transforming from molten sand, came from Terminator 2? Just some ideas 🤷‍♂️
 
mj_frenzy said:
Director John Singleton basically came up with the whole thing (including the Ancient Egypt concept).

Michael Jackson also contributed by wanting, for instance, the American basketball player Magic Johnson to appear on it.

In any case, the 'Remember The Time' music video should not have included the Ancient Egypt concept because that concept does not fit some of the song's lyrics.

For example, Michael Jackson at one point sings "you and me, in Spain", but Spain did not exist yet in the Ancient Egypt period.

Or, at another point, Michael Jackson sings "on the phone, you and me", but phones were not invented yet in the Ancient Egypt period.
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I think this Spain and phone thing wasn't such a problem for the video.😁 Thanks for your answer.
 
flight85 said:
Gold Diggers of 1933? Interesting, looked at some clips and i'm not seeing the inspiration 🤷‍♂️
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Really? god, I'm totally seeing it. Gold Diggers (both versions) were films I loved to watch as a child and teenager but haven't seen either of them for years now. But I totally get the Busby Berkeley vibe showing up in RTT - although the video is obviously much more low key than the films. That said, I didn't think of Busby Berkeley's style until I watched this interview clip with John Singleton so maybe the influence isn't that clear. Previously, I saw a golden-era Hollywood influence in the dance routine but didn't specifically think of those two films.

flight85 said:
Still I learned something new about RTT. MJ really did love old Musicals that is for sure.
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oh, for sure. If someone had done an interview with him solely about his love for classic Hollywood musicals I would be so happy. Alas, journalists have a different agenda.
 
mj_frenzy said:
In any case, the 'Remember The Time' music video should not have included the Ancient Egypt concept because that concept does not fit some of the song's lyrics.
Click to expand...
Most music videos I've seen have nothing to do with the song lyrics. What does Loverboy by Billy Ocean have to do with alien creatures in a club or Don't Come Around Here No More by Tom Petty have to do with Alice In Wonderland? 🤣 There's other songs that have more than 1 video. Opportunities by Pet Shop Boys has 3 different music videos. A video is just a commercial for a record.
 
@flight85

This is one of the parts that reminds me of those Hollywood classic musicals. Approx 1m 3s - 1m 9s, the alternate lines of dancers, as they move in opposition to each other. And the way the camera moves. All of that is what I see as being inspired by the way Busby Berkeley staged his dance routines. It's not exact, of course. Michael's video set isn't a huge film set and he has a couple of dozen dancers rather than 30 or 40. But as an homage to that era, I can see it. Busby Berkeley really loved to create geometric patterns in his dance routines and that's one of the things we get in RTT although they are much simpler.

 
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