Analysis Of Man In The Mirror

The universe is created for society to cherish all God’s creations; it could be anything to admiring nature to loving all animals. The expectations for the world are difficult to maintain, so unfortunately, society often leads to major destruction. There is unnecessary homicides, animal cruelty, toxic waste in the rivers and many more heart-wrenching actions that deteriorates the world. As a society, we have to turn a negative into a positive, but firstly, we have to change ourselves before we help others. Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”, exposes all of the humanity issues and suggests that we should fix the world by recognizing our flaws first. The theme of the song is about self-improvement and imagery, tone and repetition are the poetic devices that are used in the song.

This paper primarily explores Michael Jackson’s song, "man in the mirror." The song "man in the mirror" is inspirational about making a positive impact and personal redemption in the world. It was released in 1988. This catchy song tries to explain that changing the world is possible (Wallerstein 2). Many sociological concepts are displayed by Michael Jackson in the context of song’s lyrics. The band of the song tries to express their concerns with the actions and views of the world of the present day. Basically, the band reflects upon the world's realism as their question the mentality. This song is surrounded by the

     Sure, some of us have this great confidence within ourselves about looking great, but that does not hold true for everyone. I understand the pain or disgust, or even disappointment one feels when they look in the mirror and say, “I wish I could change this or that about myself”. Although this piece is written about the author’s life, it holds meaning and connects with for many people; one only has to dig deep enough to find one. For me, it was to realize what is important in life can change, adapt and that we must explore our inner selves and find our own path in life.

Takaki’s book, A Different Mirror, offers the multicultural history of the United States. This book provides the reader with the American experience of Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Irish Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Jewish Americans. During this time, America demonstrated manifest destiny and the Master Narrative. They were led by the belief of “white purity,” which these ethnic groups threatened. America exhibited supremacy over all of these ethnic groups. Takaki’s work allows me to become aware of the history and the outcomes of manifest destiny and the Master Narrative.

Ronald Takaki, in his book, “A Different Mirror,” tackles the traditional narrative of American History. His concern lies in the diversified structure and inclusion of parts of their world, and their relation with daily interaction between people. The problem lies, however, in that the structure of American History, is heavily dependent on a Eurocentric idea of conquering the weak. With Takaki’s narrative experience, from the beginning of Chapter 1, he reveals how through history education, ordinary Americans, generally, are subsequently narrow minded and are ill prepared to adjust to the change in demographics throughout next decades, and thereof.

This week, I selected Michael Jackson’s famous song, “Man In The Mirror”. I selected Michael Jackson specifically because I knew that all of the students would know who he was and most likely knew this popular tune. The dynamics of the song going from soft and tender, to a bold and energetic melody, is heard not just in the music, but in his lyrics.

Throughout history, dominant ideologies have often clashed with other ideologies, causing contradictions. In Chapter 7 of A Different Mirror, Ronald Takaki writes about the contradictions found in ideologies in US history, especially those concerning the Mexicans in Texas and California. In the 1800s, the market revolution ran the country. As new inventions, such as the cotton gin, were introduced, Americans sought to make raw goods faster and cheaper. As a result, they looked for cheap labor and more land. Believing in the Manifest Destiny, they looked westward, where there was an abundance of land. In moving west, the Americans encountered Mexicans that had recently become Americans due to the change in the Mexican-American border. This

"Man in the Mirror" was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and co-produced by Michael Jackson, and released from the album Bad on August 31,1987 and released as a single January 16,1988 (YouTube). Siedah Garrett had an idea about a man looking in a mirror in her head for quite some time and took her ideas to her writing partner Glen Ballard. Once Garrett shared her lyric ideas, Ballard added some soulful vocals to help make the song become more powerful, which helped make the lyrics even stronger. The straightforward lyrics about making a change to yourself first caught Michael Jackson’s attention for his album Bad he was working on. “His chemistry with Garrett was so strong that he invited her to duet with him on another Bad single” (Yahoo! Music). The uplifting lyrics of making a change to yourself first, with the combination of Michael Jackson’s voice took off on the charts in no time. “Even though it wasn't a song he wrote himself, it was a message that was strongly identified with him and reflective of his own philosophies, as demonstrated through his actions and expressed in some of his own lyrics” (YouTube). “Man in the Mirror” became a world-wide hit in the late 80’s helping to inspire people to make a change within themselves and to help others.

In the second part, “High SchooI,” Anne starts becoming more politically active. She develops a new understanding of race in the south, something that is kicked into high gear with the murder of Emmett Till, supposedly for whistling at a white woman. His death becomes a defining moment for Moody. Her mother tells her that an evil spirit killed Till, but Moody realizes just how far white people in Mississippi will go to protect their way of life, and how powerless black people are. In Chapter 6 of “A Different Mirror” by Ronald Takaki, the account of the Irish migration to the United States is discussed. The beginning of the chapter tells of the horrid conditions that the people of Ireland faced when it became colonized by the British. Takaki describes how the people of Ireland were so poor that they lived in mud huts that were one room and wore rags for clothing. These hardships were the cause for many Irish to look for new opportunities in America.

Similarly, Michael Jackson has had many achievements besides in the music industry. His music really spoke to people besides a form of entertainment and it has changed many people's lives even if it is just music. It has impacted many others. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana to an average African American working class family. Jackson’s father had been a leading guitarist, but had to put that aside to raise Jackson and his other sons, so he stopped playing and received a job as a crane operator.

In the news there is never really a individual. The individual is twisted in a way where they always represent a certain group. Once they are in this group the news uses the master narrative to control the peoples thoughts and actions, making the viewers think a certain way. Just like the book A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki states being “different, inferior, and unassimilable” you will be designated as “other”(P.4 line 18). due to the fact that some men see woman as inferior beings, all woman get grouped up into that one category and

Michael Jackson, a man that changed the music world forever. Jackson made his professional singing debut in 1964 with his siblings in a band called the Jackson 5. Jackson made it big with Jackson 5 having many singles reach the top 100 in the United States. But, when Jackson decided to start his own solo career in 1971 we were seeing a side of Michael Jackson that we have never seen before. Most importantly Jackson 1982, mulit-platinum selling album Thriller. Michael Jackson broke music barriers and made a change for racial equality in the music industry.

Steven Gregory’s book entitled The Devil Behind The Mirror is an ethnographical study of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is in the Caribbean, it occupies the Western half of an island, while Haiti makes up the Eastern portion. Gregory attempts to study and analyze the political, social and cultural aspects of this nation by interviewing and observing both the tourists and locals of two towns Boca Chica and Andres. Gregory’s research centers on globalization and the transnational processes which affect the political and socio-economics of the Dominican Republic. He focuses on the social culture, gender roles, economy, individual and nation identity, also authority and power relations. Several of the major relevant issues

“Man in the Mirror” is about a man who believes that only by changing himself will he be able to change the world. The main focus of the song is a man’s struggle to improve himself morally after witnessing his inability to impact the lives of those in need. Michael Jackson reflects on how the world around him is suffering while he lives a life of comfort, and the guilt triggers his decision to change himself so that he can eventually help the world. . The song raises up questions such as,“What purpose does an individual serve in a community? How can we bring about positive changes to the world? How can one person make a major impact in the world? “Man in the Mirror” sends a very universal message, basically telling the world to improve themselves individually so that the whole improves as a result. The discussion will focus more on the symbolical lyrics because there is a lot of straightforward vocabulary in each verse.

I do believe that animals can communicate. Animals have an innate ability to communicate, though not in the same way as humans. I believe that animals ability to communicate and understand what is going on around them is essential for their survival. Because animals do not behave and talk like humans does not mean they cannot express themselves or figure things out.  Although we can’t understand what animals are saying, we know they are communicating with each other and the world around them.