Michael jackson rock with you

M ichael Jackson- Rock with you (1979)

“Rock with you is one of the songs from Michael Jackson debut album ‘Off the Wall’. He started working with Quincy Jones on his new motown collection after deciding to break away from the Jackson 5 and become a solo artist. This video has many of Andrew Goodwin’s convention of a music video as well as other theorist’s views.”

At the beginning of the video there is a sense of uncertainty. The close up of Michael Jackson’s face is coherent with Andrew Goodwin’s theory that an upcoming artist should advertise their face in order for the audience to become familiar with them. Although this is a close up it is also a black silhouette which is where the uncertainty comes in, however the audience may have been able to tell from the distinct facial features that the black silhouette is Michael Jackson. The effect of the flashing green and blue lights also accentuates the performers face as well as conforming to the iconography of the 70s.

As the music begins to start a flash of light beams behind Michael Jackson and then he appears in a silver jumpsuit that resembles a disco ball. Every single aspect of this shot is subliminally directing the audience to focus on Michael Jackson because naturally the human eyes will be tempted to look at something with loads of colour or lights. For instance the beam of light behind him which is shaped like a star implies that Michael Jackson is a new star in the making, that he will become the next big thing. It may have some how foreshadowed his success in the future. The fact that his outfit resembles a disco ball is highly significant because as well as the costume being aesthetically pleasing to the eye and conforming to the iconography of the 70s; it connotes that idea that Michael Jackson is the centre of attention and the life of the party, that his song will become a ‘party song’.

The effect of split screen editing reinforces Goodwin’s idea that upcoming artist especially solo artists want to be the main focus in the video. Wherever the audience look they will see Michael Jackson once again implanting his image into their head consequently meaning that the audience will commit the image of Michael Jackson’s image to their memory without realising it.

This shot from the song comes from the chorus where they use on beat editing to make the video more exciting. When the lyrics go “I wanna rock with you” *clap*, on the clap the wide shot changes to a close up of his feet and he performs some of his iconic feet movement. Little 1 second shots of his dance moves have aided him into establishing his star iconography from early. This meant then when he began to perform extensive dance routines in his later videos his fans were able to see him grow and develop into an experienced dancer. However theorist such as Richard Dyer may suggest that Michael Jackson was pressurised by his record company into incorporating his dance moves into all his video because that is what society wanted too see.

In the mid section of the video there are a number of close-ups of Michael Jackson smiling. This may be his record company attempting to portray Michael Jackson as a friendly, fun and joyful performer. It also reinforces Goodwin’s point that in videos there are usually close ups of the performer. He is also singing into the microphone as though he is performing this song on stage to a crowd once again highlighting his star quality and his ability to perform on stage. There is also a sense of voyeurism from his eyes, that he is ‘watching’ his audience.

The composition of Michael Jackson in this shot is pinnacle. While he is dancing around there is a spotlight shining directly on to him once again drawing the viewer’s attention to the performer. The pitch black background also accentuates Michael Jackson’s presence in this shot because it connotes the idea that in times of ‘darkness’ Michael Jackson will be your light, your knight in shining armour ( reference to his jumpsuit) consequently allowing him to make people happy with his music.

The editing of this shot is extremely stimulating because it shows a close up of Michael Jackson’s feet while he is dancing but the shot also has a wide shot of Michael Jackson dancing so that the audience is able to see his full body. This allows the audience to grasp how talented he is because they can see every aspect of his dancing.