Black or White (Short Film)

The lead single from Dangerous carried a message of racial unity, and the video built its whole design around that theme. Michael reunited with John Landis, his Thriller director, for a global travelogue in which he dances across continents and cultures, from an African plain to a Native American setting to India and Russia. The famous ending uses digital morphing to melt one face into another, people of every race and gender flowing into one another to make the point that the differences are surface. A comic opening with a boy blasting his father through the roof sets a playful tone before the message lands.

John Landis directed the video in 1991, and the closing morph sequence used then-cutting-edge computer effects from a Hollywood visual-effects house to blend faces seamlessly. Culkin, then a child star, appears in the opening. The dance segments were filmed against composited backdrops representing different world cultures. A controversial final section, in which Michael dances alone and violently smashes windows, was cut from later broadcasts after complaints, though it was defended as a statement against racism and prejudice.

A boy cranks his guitar amp to deafening volume, launching his father off the couch and around the world. The song then carries Michael through a montage of cultures and dances. In the extended coda, released from the montage, he dances solo on a rain-slicked street, transforms from a black panther, and confronts his anger before the morphing faces bring the piece to its unifying close.

The video mixes styles drawn from the cultures it visits with Michael's own vocabulary. The extended panther sequence is a raw solo of spins, kicks, and percussive movement, more aggressive and unguarded than his group numbers. The world-tour segments blend folk forms with pop choreography, matching the theme of many peoples, one dance.

The premiere was a worldwide television event, broadcast simultaneously in dozens of countries to an enormous audience. The morphing finale popularized a visual effect that spread quickly through advertising and film. The cut panther coda sparked debate about art, anger, and censorship. The video stands as one of the boldest message clips of its era and a showcase of early digital effects.