Analysis ‘Man in the Mirror’ by Michael Jackson
The “man in the mirror” is a song that was written by Michael Jackson and released in the year 1988. The song talks about making a positive impact and personal redemption to the world. Besides, the writer of the song tries to explain that changing the world is possible, and it can start from a single individual who will then inspire others to spread it across the globe (Brinn). In the song, there are a lot of social issues that he refers to, but the one that stood out was poverty. This paper will describe the song and its social-cultural consideration as well as artists who have done an almost similar task in bringing change.
According to Michael Jackson, the values and norms in society are violated by individuals with no change being made at all. In the first verse, the singer states that “I am going to make a change,” which describes the need for the possibility that it is not too late, but the change is required to be made immediately. Besides, at the beginning of the song, it states, “I see the kids in the streets/with not enough to eat,” which indicates that there are homeless children in the streets that have nothing to eat because they cannot afford both of them (GradesFixer). This shows that the values of society and its norms are not being followed; that is why all of those things are happening. Besides, it indicates the level of poverty that is experienced by other individuals in society.
Furthermore, there is another verse that talks of “just lift yourself” and “I am going to make a change.” Even though society defies values and norms, the individuals affected should just lift themselves for real change. Such a change would bring to an end their sufferings. The verse “a widow deeply scared, the broken heart of somebody” also explains the way in which the society is failing to act coherently and sanely that was once viewed by the society to be correct. Such actions aimed at affirming the way people fail to live to the norms of society. In their article, Clennon and Boehm (8), notes that the rules of conduct are much similar to the norms. Besides, they give suggestions on the way individuals should be acting in a given society. In the song of Michael Jackson, such rules of conduct play a significant role in questioning some of the actions that violate certain norms in society. Additionally, an infringement of the norms and values of the society is also evident in verse, “it is the time that I realize.” Here, the song says that one should not pretend to be blind. The society is aware of how other individuals suffer. For this reason, everyone must act quickly, “starting with me” to save the situation.
The song symbolizes the fact that all individuals in the world are not the same, and life is hard for other members of society. The song shows a man is trying to alter his ways before embarking on the journey to make a change in the world. One thing that is clear in the song is that the writer had come across several factors that required to be addressed, but no one seemed to care about them (GradesFixer). For example, it was necessary to offer food and shelter to children in the streets, but nothing was being done. Due to that, he feels the need and desire to make the change by starting it himself.
The song “the man in the mirror” is a reflection of what individuals are struggling with to becoming better, upright together with upholding the morals in the society, which is significantly changing. Besides, the song raises issues such as the role of an individual in making a change in the world, and if changing oneself can consequentially alter the way the world is for better (Brinn). Additionally, the audience of the song is subjective, but one of the intentions of the song was to inspire others to help themselves before helping others. This is indicated by the lines where the writer says that he will start the change.
Furthermore, personification is used by the writer in “my mind is being blown by the wind.” Here, the wind is given some qualities of humans by the utilization of the word “blowing.” Besides, it serves as imagery for portraying his state of mind. Rhetorically, the writer questions himself, “he wonders who he is to be blind.” This sentence acts as a figurative language hence a metaphor. Even though the writer compares himself to the blind people, he is not blind himself. Probably, the writer has seen such street children on several occasions
Some of the artists that have used the same genre as Michael Jackson are Christina Aguilera in her song named “change” and Matthew West in his song “do something.” Their songs are also about making a change in the world to make it better for all individuals. Michael Jackson was a multi-talented musical entertainer who becomes the best American songwriter and dancer in the United States. He was born in a modest African-American family in 1958 and started his music career at the age of 5 years (History.com). Besides, his music projects such as Black or white, was full of inspirations and intrigue just as his life. Christina Aguilera, on the other hand, was born in 1980 to parents with a German origin. She lived together with her family, which she alleged that her father was abusive. Her parents later divorced. She aspired to be a singer and won her first talent show at the age of 8 years, and in her music, she stated that her music included portions of her personal life, something she did to inform others that they are not alone. Matthew West was born in 1977 and started as an independent musician late 1990s as a contemporary Christian singer. He played baseball and hoped to get a scholarship to Baseball College but ended up getting music scholarship.
In conclusion, the song by Michael Jackson carries a lot of social concepts, among others. Besides, it focuses more on the idea that concerns the reality of social construction. It shows that there are things that required to be changed, but it needed to start from each individual for it to be realized. Also, other artists such as Matthew West and Christina Aguilera have talked about the same issue of change in some of their songs. Therefore, the man in a mirror is a good song because it brings into attention the current society, and it aims to inspire others to bring change in the society.
Works cited
Brinn, Alan. “Michael Jackson: ‘Man in the Mirror’ Lyric Analysis.” Prezi.com, 8 Dec. 2016, https://prezi.com/nm2qpnmuoakr/michael-jackson-man-in-the-mirror-lyric-analysis/.
Clennon, Ornette, and Carola Boehm. "Young Musicians for Heritage Project: Can A Music-Based Heritage Project Have a Positive Effect on Well-Being?" Music Education Research, vol. 16, no. 3, 2014, pp. 7-9. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/14613808.2014.909395
GradesFixer. “A Critique of Man in the Mirror, a Song by Michael Jackson: [Essay Example], 1569 Words GradesFixer.” GradesFixer, 2018, https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/a-critique-of-man-in-the-mirror-a-song-by-michael-jackson/.
History.com. “Michael Jackson Is Born.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 4 Mar. 2010, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/michael-jackson-is-born.
