Writings in the Sand

The thrill of the '80s

Ah, the ‘80s. I didn’t appreciate how special that decade was when I was living through it. The movies, the music, the fashion - everything was exaggerated, shiny, new and flashy. Michael Jackson was the perfect musical artist for the era that saw the rise of MTV and the transformation of music video into short art film. And Thriller was one of the first and possibly the best of these highly produced story films that kept us in front of our TVs, watching music. I could go into a long discussion of the sad disintegration of MTV as it has devolved into reality television but that’s a rant for another day.

Thriller hit our television screens in late 1983 and nothing has ever been the same. It is the most iconic music video ever made. What other bit of filmed choreography has been duplicated and performed by so many groups, flash mobs, marching bands and even prison inmate populations over the years?

If anything will make you miss the entertainment value of music videos, Thriller will. It’s a story within a story, fear and horror that is alternately instilled in the viewer and then relieved with “it’s just a movie”. The inclusion of horror movie genre giant Vincent Price as voice over narrator brilliantly creates the atmosphere of fear and danger while also keeping us caught between the security of fiction and the concern that it might all be real.

While a fourteen minute video with long instrumental sections risks losing the attention of viewers who are used to short, snappy, bouncy music videos, Thriller is riveting throughout.

That said, the track is also highly listenable. It’s Michael Jackson. It’s from the ‘80s. The beat, the vibe, the irresistible invitation that it sends to your feet to move- it’s all there and it’s timeless.

Michael’s voice and his punctuation of the music with his squeals, grunts and other guttural expressions speak to a more ancient part of our brains where we understand the experience in deeper ways, way back in our genetic memory formed when our ancestors faced a dark and dangerous world filled with superstition, fear and shadow.

Thriller.