MJ Studies Today III (15-03-16)

Abstract: March 2016 discusses the screening of Spike Lee’s new documentary, ‘Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall’. Column by Elizabeth Amisu, MA, PGCE, editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies and author of The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Persona, and His Artistic Afterlife. REFERENCE AS: Amisu, Elizabeth. “MJ Studies Today III (15-03-16).” The […]

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Episode 4 – Michael Jackson and Monochromatic Cinematography

Abstract: In this episode Elizabeth and Karin talk about the function of black and white (monochrome/chiaroscuro) cinematography in the short films, Bad (dir. Martin Scorsese, 1987) and Stranger in Moscow (dir. Nicholas Brandt, 1996). Taking their academic essays on two of Jackson’s most monochromatic short films as source material, they consider how Jackson used cinema language to communicate […]

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An Interview with Willa Stillwater

Abstract: This interview is part of our ongoing coverage of unique and dynamic authors who have written compelling monographs about Michael Jackson. In it, Willa Stillwater, author of M Poetica: Michael Jackson’s Art of Connection and Defiance, discusses her process and her research. REFERENCE AS:  Stillwater, Willa. “An Interview with Willa Stillwater.” Interview, The Journal […]

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MJ Studies Today II (14-02-16)

Abstract: February 2016 discusses the recent news that the white actor Joseph Fiennes, was cast as Michael Jackson in an upcoming comedy program on Sky Arts. Column by Elizabeth Amisu, MA, PGCE, editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies and author of The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Persona, and His Artistic Afterlife. Amisu, Elizabeth. […]

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Episode 3 – What is Michael Jackson Studies?

Abstract: In this third episode, Karin and Elizabeth talk about what Michael Jackson Studies is. Going through a wide range of references, they explain how the simple act of ‘Michaeling’ became an area of academic study in its own right. The podcast also discusses the pioneers who started this academic conversation, and the future of the study of Michael Jackson, […]

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An Interview with Joseph Vogel

Abstract: This interview is part of our ongoing coverage of unique and dynamic authors who have written compelling monographs about Michael Jackson. In it, Joe Vogel, author of ‘Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson, discusses his process and his research. REFERENCE AS:  Vogel, Joseph. “An Interview with Joseph Vogel.” Interview, The Journal […]

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MJ Studies Today I (14-01-16)

Abstract: January 2016 discusses the cover-reveal of ‘The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Persona, and His Artistic Afterlife‘ by Elizabeth Amisu. Column by Elizabeth Amisu, MA, PGCE, editor of The Journal of Michael Jackson Academic Studies and author of The Dangerous Philosophies of Michael Jackson: His Music, His Persona, and His Artistic Afterlife. REFERENCE AS: Amisu, Elizabeth. “MJ […]

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Episode 2 – 2015 Recap: Past, Present and Future Book 1

Abstract: Where did the journal come from? Why is it here? And that all-important question, where is it going next? In the words of the King of Pop himself, ‘every day create your history, every path you take you’re leaving your legacy’. In this episode we talk about the past, the present and the future of […]

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From Throne to Wilderness: Michael Jackson’s ‘Stranger in Moscow’ and the Foucauldian Outlaw

In 1993, a horde of Californian ‘police and prosecutors spent millions of dollars to create a case whose foundation never existed’.1 Their fruitless efforts were to incriminate Michael Jackson, a black artist who was the most commercially successful in the world. Jackson, who was in Russia on his Dangerous tour, wrote the song, Stranger in Moscow, in response to the severity of his accusations, the eagerness of the media to sensationalise them and the willingness of the public to believe them. This essay examines how Michael Jackson’s Stranger in Moscow, relates to philosopher, Michel Foucault’s concept of ‘power’.

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Episode 1 – Was Michael Jackson an Artist?

Abstract: In this first ever episode of Michael Jackson’s Dream Lives On: An Academic Conversation, Karin and Elizabeth discuss Michael Jackson’s 1991 Black or White short film, directed by John Landis, who was also the director of the Thriller short film. The discussion of Jackson’s ‘Panther Dance’, also known as the ‘Coda’, leads into a conversation on whether or not the […]

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