Music Video AnalysisGenre: Blues/Gospel

Release Date: November 27th,1995

This is not only one of the most iconic videos of the late 90s, but also one of the last music videos that Michael Jackson produced and Co-directed. The director of this music video was the fine art photographer Nick Brandt. The music video was expensive and well received at a global level, won several awards, even was nominated for a Grammy and received a positive response from various animal and environmental rights organizations.

The video starts from an ant eye view angle of the Amazon Rainforest. It shows various shots of trees, waterfalls, monkeys,

and butterflies to give a representation of the wildlife and nature.

It follows up to a shot where a girl is seen to be exploring the forest as she plays with butterflies and flowers. By the close up shots of her expressions we can tell that she is amazed by the beauty of mother nature.

She decides to sleep in the forest, only to wake up and find out that all the trees get cut down when a tank runs over them, and the place becomes a war zone.

After a fade out shot, All the green of the former image is gone, the dominating colors are dark, and the sky is red. This contrasts the lyrics, in which Michael Jackson sings about sunrises and rain. And though there is a red sky, it is not due to a natural event but because of fire.

Then a dead elephant without its tusks is shown. As Michael Jackson talks about killing fields, the idea comes up that the killing field refers to places where animals are killed or trees are logged. The animal is watched by African people in traditional clothing, in the same way as indigenous people helplessly and shocked have to see the logging of the forest.

In contrast to this, the next sequence shows people, probably from Eastern Europe, who have to leave their cities destroyed by a war. The buildings are only ruins, and the streets are full of debris, and the air is dusty. One motive that is constantly

repeated is how people around the world fall to their knees, as in an act of praying, and start digging into the earth with their hands. This represents the humans trying to get back in contact with mother nature. All the natives shown in the video were not actors, but actual native people living in that area.

One thing very common in this as well as all the other Michael Jackson music videos is the cut to beat shift in scenes .The moment the music changes the key, there is a moment in the video: a strong wind starts blowing, and the facial expressions of the people show that this must be something good. From now on, time goes backwards. The killed elephant stands up, the shot man opens his eye, and the logged tree is again connected to its trump. The wind is so strong that everyone has to cling to something. This was done through special air effects provided at the set with proper lightning.

The video closes with an image of a slightly foggy valley. By including this backward movement, this shift in time The video thus presents a solution, the possibility to take history into reverse and get more in contact with the roots of life in mother nature.

The video ends with a peaceful view through a long shot of the rainforest, followed by a request for the donations of Heal The World Foundation.