When viewed as an Afrofuturist work, Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song” becomes much more than a warning about the potential destruction of deforestation. With the Afrofuturist element of the presentation of a dystopian future, Michael Jackson begins his music video as seemingly the only man, and thus also the only Black man, left alive on Earth. His lyrics mourn the loss of the former world. Throughout the video, Michael seems to underscore the importance of his Black minority status by aligning his concern for this new dystopian world with the accompaniment of mourning from other indigenous groups and apparent minorities. Not only does this Afrofuturist setting seem to allow space for a Black man to closely ally himself with the well-being of nature (normally a femininely defined entity) but it also seems to align the oppression of nature with the oppression of minority groups, such as Black people like Michael. What is most interesting about this video as it pertains to Afrofuturism is how it allows for even another alternate reality within its presentation of world destruction. By the end of the video, those who have been mourning the Earth, like Michael, seem to have made a powerful impact on the reversal of the apocalyptic destruction through their communion with Earth and each other through their similar feelings about the loss of the earth. Overall, not only does Michael’s use of Afrofuturist elements like that of dystopian/apocalyptic worlds allow for a new envisioning of the future filled almost entirely with minorities like Black people, but also enables the emergence of new ideas concerning Black masculinity, such as the aligning of Black men with concern and communion with nature (and also sustainability in this alternate reality) and their power to restore instead of masculinely destroy.
yousharknotpass
jacobvanloon
tangentwithtanner
