Visual narratives of racism
a racial reading of Michael Jackson's They Don't Care About Us clips
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15448/2178-5694.2025.1.48508Keywords:
Michael Jackson, Cultural Analysis, Racism, Visual Culture, Police ViolenceAbstract
This article presents a critical analysis of the two versions of Michael Jackson’s 1996 music video “They Don’t Care About Us” — one filmed in Brazil and the other set in a U.S. prison. With a racial and political focus, the study adopts an interdisciplinary approach based on cultural studies and critical race theory to examine how both versions construct visual narratives of police violence, structural racism, and the marginalization of Black bodies. Drawing on theorists such as Fanon, Mbembe, Hall, Hooks, and Davis, the videos are interpreted as audiovisual forms of resistance and protest. The argument is that Jackson uses the music video as a tool to articulate transnational solidarity among racialized communities, challenging the divide between the Global North and South.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Gabriella Maria von Flebbe do Amaral
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