Taking Thriller Further: Michael Jackson’s Career as Mask & Screen
New research by Andrew Broertjes, published in Popular Music and Society, draws on Kobena Mercer’s article “Monster Metaphor: Notes on Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’”, in which he describes Michael Jackson’s face as a mask on which society marks its own preoccupations. Broertjes takes this theory further, applying it to Jackson’s career as a whole.
Focusing on two high-profile, controversial African American leaders; civil rights campaigner Reverend Al Sharpton and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Andrew Broertjes argues that sections of the black community used Jackson as a screen onto which various fears and anxieties could be projected.
Through his examination, Broertjes also reveals a particular insight into how Sharpton, Farrakhan, and elements of the black press viewed African-American history, seeing Jackson as one in a long line of persecuted black bodies.
The examination of Jackson’s relationship to the black community is an important subject, one that deserves detailed consideration when it comes to assessing his complex and multi-faceted legacy.
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS
When referencing the article: Please include Journal title, Author, published by Taylor & Francis and the following statement:
* Read the full article online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03007766.2012.745336
Visit our newsroom at: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/press-releases
Follow us on Twitter @Routledge_Music
For more information please contact:
Jenny Ellis, Marketing Co-Ordinator, Education
Email: Jennifer.Ellis@tandf.co.uk
-----------------------------------------
About Taylor & Francis Group
-----------------------------------------
Taylor & Francis Group partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide to bring knowledge to life. As one of the world’s leading publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works our content spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Science, and Technology and Medicine.
From our network of offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi and Johannesburg, Taylor & Francis staff provide local expertise and support to our editors, societies and authors and tailored, efficient customer service to our library colleagues.
Tags: