Backgroud information The song "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson reflects his views on the social issues and encourages social change.Born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson became the lead singer of the popular group, the Jackson 5 at such a young age. He went on to a solo career of extraordinary success. The “ King of Pop” with ought a question reached the pinnacle of success when he delivered the best-selling album in history. Micheal had two awful short marriages but they lead him to have 3 beautiful children who were ususally hid from the public eye. Unfortunately, In the 1990’s the down fall of being a famous legend had caught up with Micheal. His physical appearance began to change drastically, and his behavior grew extremely bizarre, making him a perfect target for media. Sadly, on 25 June 2009, Jackson suffered cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home and passed away. The genre of the hit song is a mix between pop and soul. The song exhibts characterstics of pop because of it’s musical properties such as being catchy, short, simple and melodic. It’s also mixed with a bit of soul because soul songs are often loaded with passion and focus on what absolutely must be said because it 's deep inside and just aching to get out which this song cleary has with no doubt. The exceptional song writer behind the song is Siedah Garret who was a huge fan of Micheal and wanted to write a song for him. She wanted to write about something he wouldn’t be afraid
Pathos was represented in the music video through the lyrics of the song. Singing over and over again the hope of an alternative to the so called bump in the night. This can be found in verse two of the song where Michael sings: “You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination.” Leading me to believe that these hopes were the same hopes he held on to during his own eerie times. Therefore, singing and displaying his own personal accounts, shows an appeal to the emotions of the audience and gains the credibility of the crowd of
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
In this song "Man In The Mirror" sung by king of pop, Micheal Jackson published
One of the examples is when he questions himself: “who am I, to be blind?” because he might not be blind but he likens himself to one that is blind. This displays that it is maybe not the first time Jackson has seen the poor children outside on the streets. However, he has been unaware and caught up by his own life to “see their needs.” Therefore, it is only on that day that he gains an understanding of his selfishness as he kept all his money for himself. Although the question was written in first person view, it can also work as a rhetorical question that the audience can ask themselves. Therefore, the audience is left to wonder whether they too are “blind” to see those who are having difficult time. Lastly, the title of the song: “Man in the Mirror” puts the image of a person looking into the mirror and seeing themselves in the minds of the audience. Normally, when people look into the mirror, this represents a time for reflection of yourself and see what you can change to make your life better. Overall, these examples of figurative language likely helped Jackson to admit that he was wrong and now he was changed and he wanted us to do the same
Michael Jackson was known around the world as the “King of Pop.” He was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, which molded him into a shy and quiet person. Something he was opposite of on stage. It is well documented that his father became violent with him and his brothers in order to push them to become successful. Thus, missing out on his childhood. During his early life, Michael had an accident that resulted in burns on his head and face. After this incident he had plastic surgery, changing the shape of his nose. Although he was born an African American, it became apparent that he started to appear lighter and lighter, bleaching his skin and ultimately appearing white. He created his own amusement park called Neverland, where there were exotic
Psychological development is essential in shaping the personalities, behaviors, and morals of human’s. Many factors influence the development of an individual’s psychological makeup; including heredity and environment. Michael Jackson is quite possibly the most famous person to live during the 21st Century. Born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana to struggling middle-class parents, Michael learned all too quickly the reality and price of being famous. Although the world adored him from the moment he was a small child as a member of the Jackson Five and throughout the rest of his life, it was difficult to ignore the obvious changes to his physical
Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958. Born the eighth of 10 children, Michael grew up in a working class family in a small three bedroom home in Gary, Indiana. As a child, Michael struggled with his fame. He never lived a normal childhood and throughout his adulthood he tried to recapture his lost youth. Although labeled as an outstanding entertainer and humanitarian in the world, Michael became dependent on pain medications. Scandals of child molestation and Michael’s obsession with his appearance further fueled his addiction. Overdosing
My style is a cross between pop and adult contemporary. I’m often told that my music is catchy and my lyrics are easily relatable which is the main aim of the music I create.
"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.
Have you ever had to overcome obstacles? I know I have. Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29,1958 in Gary, Indiana. He lived in a small house with eight other siblings(Pratt,16). Growing up Michael’s family learned music through watching and hearing their father, but many things with their father took a big turn. As life continued, Joe Jackson took interest in his boys musical talent and started a band called, “The Jackson 5.”
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana to parents Katherine and Joseph Jackson. He was the eighth child born out of ten living in a two-bedroom home. Jackson 's father, Joseph Jackson, a former boxer, worked as a crane operator in the steel mill. His father also played the guitar in a rhythm and blues with a band called The Falcons to support the family. Michael 's mother worked part-time at Sears to also bring income into the household.
“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.
lives on, inspiring and touching people’s heart. I have always been a fan of Michael Jackson,
It is very rare to see a genre rather than pop, rap, hip-hop, or country that seems to draw as much attention as this song once did.