Reviving the Power of Music Television: Embracing God's Vision for Diversity and Self-Expression through the Lens of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
The reason MTV was so impactful in the early 1980s, '90s, and 2000s was that it inspired America's youth with creativity and unified our nation across ethnicities. Regardless of whether you leaned toward rap, rock, or alternative R&B, MTV was a platform that played it all, all at the same time, establishing a progressive culture where kids of all colors and preferences could come together from inside their respective homes to share music, dance moves, fashion tips, and stories that helped us relate to one another and develop eclectic, unique senses of style.
Growing up, I remember waking up every morning to watch shows like MTV Jams religiously before going to school, where I would then discuss the latest songs and trends with my classmates. Engaging with music television became a sacred communal practice for teens worldwide. It was where I was introduced to art forms beyond my cultural norms. It was also how I freely and visually connected the pieces of my identity. Thus, music television can hold the same power to positively influence the youth today by helping them tap into the gift of self-expression and teaching them the value of acceptance. Therefore, in this paper, I argue that we should revive archival platforms for music video culture, as music videos, through fair representation, allow people to bear witness to God's beautifully diverse vision for creation, build self-confidence, and cultivate authentic participation in our communities.
Michael Jackson, Thriller, and the Breaking of Barriers
Do you remember how you felt when you first saw one of Michael Jackson's music videos, sorry, musical short films on MTV? I still get chills when I think about Vincent Price's haunting voiceover in "Thriller," in addition to Michael Jackson's iconic red leather zombie look with the jheri curls.
Michael Jackson's Thriller album was monumental in breaking down ethnic barriers. In a recent Forbes article, Ime Ekpo notes that in 1983, Jackson became the first Black artist whose music videos received constant replay on MTV. At the time, the platform was predominantly focused on hard rock, new wave, and heavy metal, and only played videos by Black artists if they had a "crossover charm." It was not until "Billie Jean" off the Thriller album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that MTV began placing a Black artist in heavy rotation.
Thriller was revolutionary in how it placed a Black artist at the cinematic and cultural forefront, while centering a horror theme, no less, which historically carried complicated associations in the Black community. MTV's platform asserted that Black artists could not merely survive in the media; they could own it, inspiring a generation of young people of color to embrace creative expression and celebrate their cultural identities.
As Robin R. Means Coleman observes in The Black Guy Dies First, "even in horror, where Black characters have been known more for dying than anything else, Black people were taking their turn in the spotlight" (p. 183). In the same way, music television illustrated that marginalized communities could fight for inclusion in popular culture on their way to achieving dominant success and insurmountable progress for others.
According to Time, Quincy Jones and Jackson understood that combining music and cinematic visuals could create significant cultural moments. They invested heavily in distinctive, movie-quality productions that showcased Jackson's charisma. As a result, the Thriller video secured MTV ten times their usual ratings and permanently shifted the network's programming toward more equal representation. That shift was not only a victory for Black artists but a cultural turning point for viewers of every background, who suddenly had access to a broader range of narratives and styles.
Theological Implications of Representation
The story of Thriller's cultural impact parallels biblical narratives in which God's people defy oppressive norms to step into their purpose and level the playing field for others. Moses confronted Pharaoh to liberate the Israelites from slavery. Esther risked her life to save her people from impending genocide. Jesus reached out to the marginalized and spoke truth to power to save his people from eternal damnation. In each case, God used these leaders to reveal a vision of purpose of healing and redemption through authenticity, justice, and shared community.
Anthony Pinn observes this idea in Creating Ourselves. Pinn states that "creating theological visions appropriate for the redemption of bodies is a crucial step toward liberation" (p.84). This statement means that if we want to bear witness to God's beautifully diverse vision of creation, build confidence, and cultivate authentic participation in our communities, we must be able to visualize God's grand plan for redemption and our unique roles in facilitating that vision. Just as Michael Jackson used his creative gifts to shatter glass ceilings at MTV, we, too, have unique gifts that can significantly benefit the kingdom of God.
As 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 affirms, "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit." Scriptures like these affirm the importance of truly knowing ourselves so that we may live in perfect harmony with others. Holding the tension between maintaining our individuality and celebrating our diversity is the pathway toward spiritual and communal formation. This work is how we achieve our purpose of reconciling the body of Christ; by adhering to our divine call to love God and our neighbors as ourselves.
Richard Goodwin, in Seeing Is Believing: The Revelation of God Through Film, puts it this way: "While private spiritual practices occupy an important place in Christian piety, and hermits that lived solitary lives in isolation from human community are counted among the church's most revered figures, as a whole, the Christian tradition conceives of human identity as irreducibly bound up in our relation to God, humanity, and the whole of the created order" (Goodwin 2022, 212). In this context, music television becomes more than entertainment, but a visual liturgy, affirming the sacred worth of every body and every story. By showcasing diverse styles, cultures, and perspectives, music videos resist narrow cultural scripts and help us imagine a world more aligned with God's liberating vision for complete human flourishing.
Contemporary Application
The legacy of music television reminds us that revival is possible. While platforms like MTV have shifted mainly to reality programming, society can benefit from the reimagination of shared music video spaces in today's digital era. Streaming services and social media platforms like VEVO already host millions of videos, but these platforms separate music by genre, which segregates their audience. A dedicated, intentionally diverse platform could serve as a modern equivalent of MTV's golden years, inviting people to gather across cultural boundaries to share in artistry and inspiration.
Such a revival could also reclaim the formative potential of music videos for spiritual growth. If churches and Christian creators embraced the medium, they could craft visual narratives that embody biblical truths while celebrating the beauty of cultural variety. In doing so, they would follow in the footsteps of Thriller, using art to break barriers and proclaim God's inclusive vision.
Conclusion
From Thriller's cultural breakthrough to the personal formation it fostered for millions of young viewers, music television has proven to be a medium capable of inspiring purpose, building confidence, and cultivating community. Young people who see their cultural heritage, personal struggles, and creative aspirations reflected in media are more likely to believe that their gifts matter. They can then channel that conviction into serving their communities, advocating for justice, and living out their faith with confidence.
By reviving archival platforms for music video culture, we can continue to witness God's beautifully diverse vision, encouraging a new generation to embrace their identity and contribute authentically to the body of Christ.
Bibliography
Coleman, Robin R. Means. The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2023.
Ekpo, Ime. "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' at 40: How the Album Changed MTV Forever." Forbes, November 30, 2022.
Goodwin, Richard. Seeing Is Believing: The Revelation of God Through Film. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2022.
Pinn, Anthony. Creating Ourselves: African Americans and Hispanic Americans on Popular Culture and Religious Expression. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
