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Peter Garrison

Prof. Morean Rebecca

ENG 1201

16 February 2020

Metal is Just as Smooth

Both music videos for “Smooth Criminal” differ from one another in many ways but

contain essential similarities as well. Michael Jackson developed a short film to accompany his

song. At the same time, Alien Ant Farm pays tribute to Jackson’s career producing a live show

performance version yet still having a unique identity that differentiates itself. Alongside the

differences, Alien ant farm includes tributes to Jackson depicting similarities that attribute to the

original work. Focus by both groups are on the Bassline, and lyrical meaning is overlooked. Pop

and Nu-metal are colliding genres that, while different, make for a popular crossover. In this

essay, I will be comparing the performance and display of the two “Smooth Criminal” music

videos.

Michael Jackson’s music video was produced alongside a series of short films, created to

coincide with his album release of “Bad.” Jackson’s video starts with an orchestral introduction

giving the environment a magical setting before having Jackson enter a club with dubious

characters. The setting pauses while everyone looks to where Jackson stands. He flips a coin

across the room where it lands in a Jukebox, and the song and choreographed dancing begins.

The video plays out scenes of Jackson attacked by and him killing various gangsters in the club.

The display gives him heroic visuals while the lyrics of the song contradict that, giving Jackson a

dark backdrop. Visually the aesthetic the video has is a 1930s look with him wearing a fedora

and a suspended pinstripe suit (Michael Jackson Vision). The club was high class, and included
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with the choreography is a dance move iconic to Jacksons brand, the “anti-gravity lean.” Pathos

is used in the video to give the viewer an emotional connection to Jackson. The audience can see

him survive and push through acting as the hero in the visual part of the video.

In contrast to the original style and video of Michael Jackson’s song, the group Alien Ant

Farm performs “Smooth Criminal” quite differently in both tone, style, and performance. The

original form of Jackson’s song was in the genre of Pop. The instrumentation of the Bassline

played in a funky style, and its 1930s aesthetic gave the song a feeling of the past. The group

Alien Ant Farm chose to cover Jackson’s piece this time in a unique style. Performing in a Metal

or Nu Metal portrayal gave the piece a new identity while appreciating what the original

accomplished. The video begins with the band singing in a boxing ring placed on a residential

street. Instead of a short film as Jackson had done, the cover took on a live performance display.

The crowd ranges from younger audiences showing girl scouts to older people presented sitting

in lawn chairs in a front yard. The metal headbanging and hand waving audience outnumber the

young and old demographics giving the video a feel of being at a party. This makes use of pathos

portraying the environment in a way younger audiences may prefer. The group plays in a boxing

ring, giving a feeling of fighting or rebellious attitudes, making the video more inclusive to a

younger alternative audience.

While Jackson and Alien Ant Farm have two entirely different videos, both contain some

similarities. Each video contains the same lyrics while not accurately portraying the original

lyrical meaning. The lyrics begin describing the scene in which a criminal enters a women’s

apartment. The woman who is called Annie tries to hide but is ultimately struck down by whom

Jackson calls, a “smooth criminal.” Lyrics, in both videos, use pathos to give the listener an

emotional perspective of the victim. Michael Jackson’s music video has a club as a setting and a
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heroic character played by Jackson. In contrast, the lyrics describe a more nefarious character

who enters an apartment to murder a woman. Alien Ant Farm does not address the lyrical

meaning either. The group instead displays a live concert of people partying while playing off

various tributes to Jackson’s career. One of the tributes gives attention to the move “Anti-Gravity

Lean” that Jackson developed for his version of the music video. Jackson standing under

exploding glass is another tribute displayed in both videos. Jackson in under the exploding pane

of glass while Alien Ant Farms singer is atop a car while the glass explodes. More importantly,

the success of the song is the Bassline; both artists used to significant effect. Alien Ant Farm

focused the style of “Nu Metal” after playing the Bassline as a hard rock style. The use of

“Power cords” gave it an impressive sound (Grierson). The focus on the Bassline mirrors the

developments of Jackson’s original piece in which he, while rewriting, came up with the

Bassline searching for something “catchy” (Grierson).

Differences between both films are very apparent. Michael Jackson developed a story-

driven appeal to his music videos giving “Smooth Criminal,” a short film in which he is a

gangster invading a club. Alien Ant Farm, as mentioned before, takes on a live show approach.

While the performance is more basic in Alien Ant Farms music video, they include references to

Jackson’s other works. The singer holds a baby Chimpanzee with is referencing the pet

Chimpanzee that Jackson used to own (Oleksinski). A second reference to a different work of

Jackson is a mask worn by a woman in the video. While jumping into a pool, she wears a mask

of a Werewolf in tribute to another song with a short film by Jackson “Thriller” (Jackson

[“Thriller”]). Along with the visual styles of both works, the intended audience is different.

Jackson performs his music video is in the style of Pop and included some violence but is
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appealing to general audiences. Alien Ant Farm, instead performs the song in a Nu-Metal style

and with the partying shown in the video, is giving an appeal to a younger alternative audience.

In conclusion, Michael Jackson and Alien Ant Farm produced two different videos to

accompany the song “Smooth Criminal.” Jackson focuses on a short film to compliment the song

while Alien Ant Farm gives a live performance in a young partying environment. While each

video has differences, similarities such as the “Anti-gravity lean,” exploding glass, avoidance of

the lyrical meaning, and attention to the Bassline give the videos connection to one another.

While the audiences are different such as pop or Nu-metal genre fans, each song can be enjoyed

as a tribute or take on prominent musical styles. Pathos is used in Jackson’s video to give the

environment emotion and the character played by Jackson, a heroic portrayal. Alien Ant Farm

relies on pathos to give the audience an alternative genre appeal. The lyrics included in both

performances use pathos the same way, attaching the listener to the tragic fate of the woman.
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Works Cited

AlienAntFarmVEVO. “Alien Ant Farm-Smooth Criminal” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube,

7 October 2009. Web. 4 February 2020. https://youtu.be/CDl9ZMfj6aE

Grierson, Tim. “The Untold Story of Alien Ant Farm's 'Smooth Criminal.'” MEL Magazine, 21

Nov. 2019, melmagazine.com/en-us/story/alien-ant-farm-smooth-criminal-history.

Jackson, Michael. “Michael Jackson-Thriller (Offical Video).” Online video clip. Youtube.

Youtube, 3 October, 2009. Web. 7 February 2020. https://youtu.be/sOnqjkJTMaA

Johnny Oleksinski . "Jacko's Bubbles a chim'paint'zee". The New York Post, July 2, 2017

Sunday. https://advance-lexis-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/api/permalink/b138740f-c828-

4c83-bd4c-a159cc4c8955/?context=1516831. Accessed February 7, 2020.

Michael Jackson. “Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (Official Video)” Online video clip.

YouTube. Youtube, 19 November 2010. Web. 4 February 2020.

https://youtu.be/h_D3VFfhvs4

“Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson's Vision).” Michael Jackson Official Site, Sony Music

Entertainment, www.michaeljackson.com/video/smooth-criminal-michael-jackson039s-

vision-video/.