one of the best moments in television. and one of the best tributes they ever did for Michael
The music video for “Scream”, directed by the talented Mark Romanek, was equally ambitious. With a $7 million budget, it was the most expensive music video ever made. It also became one of Jackson’s most critically acclaimed. Featuring Michael and Janet as anime androgynes trapped in an insulated spacecraft, the siblings alternately observe art, play games, dance, meditated, and go crazy in their isolated pop “pleasure-dome.” Its inspiration was part David Bowie, part 2001: A Space Odyssey, but perhaps most significantly, from Jackson’s complicated life as information age celebrity. “Michael and Janet’s isolation comes from the need to connect and is troubled by the need to escape,” observes film critic Armond White. “Romanek literalizes today’s high-tech lynching by linking it to the far edge of electronic communication and complicating it with references to Warhol, the internet and modern art.”
Throughout the video, the Jackson’s talent is full display, as they sing and dance with explosive energy while addressing their critics. Described as “innovative,” “exciting,” “electric,” and “cutting edge,” the video would continue Jackson’s success in representing his music visually, winning numerous awards, including an unprecedented eleven nominations at the MTV Music awards and a Grammy Award for Best video.
Man in the Music
Well I went from art blocked to….making this? I was listening to Backstreet Boys on spotify, and then I was thinking how much their stuff sounded like SCREAM (which had already been out a good four or so years before stuff like Larger Than Life came out), and then I listened to SCREAM on repeat 10….20….30 times.
Also therapeutic to do this because it’s about four years since I last drew SCREAM. I think I’ve improved just a liiiiittle bit, haha!
