Michael Jackson's Thriller - Legacy

Legacy

Following the success of the "Thriller" video, a Hollywood production company reportedly began serious work on trying to turn Jackson's song "Billie Jean", which is also featured on Jackson's Thriller album, into a feature film; to date no plans have ever been completed. Vinny Marino of ABC News commented that "Thriller"'s music video was being selected as the 'Greatest Video of All Time" was a "no-brainer" and remarked that, "Michael Jackson's "Thriller" continues to be considered the greatest video ever by just about everyone." Gil Kaufman of MTV described the "Thriller" video as being "iconic" and felt that it was one of Jackson's "most enduring legacies". Kaufman also noted that the music video was the "mini-movie that revolutionized music videos" and "cemented Jackson's status as one of the most ambitious, innovative pop stars of all time". Steve Peake, of About.com, listed "Thriller" as being Jackson's eighth best song of the 1980s. Patrick Kevin Day and Todd Martens, of The Los Angeles Times commented that,

"Thriller's" phenomenal success led to a breaking down of traditional racial barriers on FM radio at the time. New York's WPLJ, a "white" station, played Jackson's "Beat It" because of Eddie Van Halen's appearance on it. The song caused a wave of protests from some listeners who didn't want "black" music on their station. MTV also had a reputation for favoring white performers at the time, and its heavy rotation of Jackson videos helped alleviate the criticism.

In December 2009, the music video for "Thriller" was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, "Thriller" is the first music video to ever be inducted. The Registry explained, "because of the way the recording industry is evolving and changing, we thought it would be good to go back to the development of an earlier seismic shift, which was the development of the music video" and described the music video as being "the most famous music video of all time". The coordinator of the National Film Preservation Board, who decides upon candidates for inclusion in the National Film Registry, Steve Legett, noted that the music video was considered for induction for years, but was chosen mainly due to Jackson's death that year. In a poll conducted by Myspace in 2010, which asked over one thousand users on their site to name the most influential music video of all time from a list of twenty videos selected by music and entertainment critics, Michael Jackson's Thriller was voted the most influential video.

In 2002 Lexington, Kentucky, became the first city to launch a "Thriller" reenactment as a Halloween festivity. The video’s storyline and dance sequences were faithfully recreated, beginning outside the historic Kentucky Theater and featuring hundreds of zombies who attend rehearsals at nearby Mecca Live Studio in the weeks leading up to the parade. Lexington’s 10th annual Thriller Parade was sponsored by Lexington Parks and Recreation, Mecca, and WRFL FM 88.1, and took place on October 30, 2011 for an audience of thousands, with Albert Ignacio playing the role of Michael Jackson. Lexington’s March Madness Marching Band also performed in zombie attire.