History Film / MichaelJacksonsGhosts

* Allegory

* TakeThat: The Mayor is, as the Wikipedia article puts it, "a comically arrogant, plump [and white] man who bears more than a passing resemblance to Thomas Sneddon", the Santa Barbara district attorney who tried to prosecute Jackson on child molestation charges in 1993-94, and actually did over 2003-05 when another accuser came forward with similar claims.

* TheCameo: A young Mos Def is part of the angry mob that wants to run Maestro out of town.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Though leading an angry mob ''is'' an overreaction, it's not hard to sympathize with the Mayor for being concerned that a strange person is not only meeting with kids but ''telling them to keep their meetings a secret'', and to see Maestro's behavior as unnecessarily cruel. That the deck is clearly stacked in Maestro's favor -- the Mayor is just a lot of talk, with no evidence that he could back it up with action (given how reluctant the mob is) even if the Maestro didn't have magical powers -- doesn't help.

* ActingForTwo: Jackson plays Maestro and the Mayor, as well as three transformed versions of them (which are listed as separate characters).

* MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: The filmmakers' intention was to play this straight with Maestro, though it's arguably subverted in practice.

* TrueBeautyIsOnTheInside: The intended moral, according to WordOfGod. Arguably a BrokenAesop given the Maestro's behavior and the Mayor being presented as an AcceptableTarget (fat middle-aged white guy = ugly ''and'' a bigot!).

* TheCameo: A young Mos Def is part of the angry mob that wants to run Maestro out of town. (He's also an example, unfortunately, of UncleTomfoolery -- think Richard Pryor in his "scared" mode.)

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Though leading an angry mob is an overreaction, it's not hard to sympathize with the Mayor for being concerned that a strange person is not only meeting with kids but ''telling them to keep their meetings a secret'', and to see Maestro's behavior as unnecessarily cruel. That the deck is clearly stacked in Maestro's favor -- the Mayor is just a lot of talk, with no evidence that he could back it up with action (given how reluctant the mob is) even if the Maestro didn't have magical powers -- doesn't help.

* BigBad: The Mayor.

* DisneyVillainDeath: Seeing that the Maestro isn't dead after all (and has reassumed his Superghoul form to boot) sends the Mayor fleeing through a window, possibly to this. No one seems to care either way.

* TrueBeautyIsOnTheInside: The intended moral, according to WordOfGod. Arguably a BrokenAesop given the Maestro's behavior and the Mayor being presented as an AcceptibleTarget (fat middle-aged white guy = bigot!).

--> The dialogue in "Ghosts" is elemental to a perverse degree: No one ever obfuscates when they can communicate what they're feeling in the bluntest, most primitive manner possible. So we learn that The Mayor thinks Maestro is weird and strange and doesn't like him when The Mayor says, "You're weird. You're strange. [And] I don't like you.

* Creator/NathanRabin [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/spooktastic-case-file-174-michael-jacksons-ghosts,46847/ points out]] the use of this trope in his write-up:

* DarkIsNotEvil: Maestro.

''Michael Jackson's Ghosts'' is a 1997 ShortFilm (at 38 minutes, the longest music video to date according to the ''Guiness Book of World Records'') directed by Creator/StanWinston, produced by Music/MichaelJackson, Stan Winston and David Nicksay. Mick Garris's screenplay is based on a story hashed out by Jackson and Creator/StephenKing.

''Michael Jackson's Ghosts'' is a 1997 ShortFilm directed by Stan Winston, produced by Music/MichaelJackson, Stan Winston and David Nicksay; Mick Garris's screenplay is based on a story hashed out by Jackson and Creator/StephenKing.

This film tells the story of a scary Maestro with supernatural powers, who is being forced out of a small town by its mayor, pictured ). The movie includes a series of dance routines performed by Michael Jackson and his "family" of ghouls. Every song from the film was taken from Michael Jackson's albums: ''HIStory: Past'', ''Present and Future - Book I'' and ''Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix''. It currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest music video of all time, clocking in at nearly 40 minutes.

''Michael Jackson's Ghosts'' is a 1997 ShortFilm directed by Stan Winston, produced by Music/MichaelJackson, Stan Winston and David Nicksay, as well as written by Michael Jackson and Creator/StephenKing. It stars Michael Jackson as five characters named Maestro, Mayor, Mayor Ghoul, Super Ghoul, and Skeleton, Pat Dade as Pat, and Amy Smallman as Amy.

This film tells the story of a scary Maestro with supernatural powers, who is being forced out of a small town by its mayor, pictured as a comically arrogant, plump man who bears more than a passing resemblance to Thomas Sneddon (the main prosecutor in Jackson's infamous child sexual abuse case from three years earlier). The movie includes a series of dance routines performed by Michael Jackson and his "family" of ghouls. Every song from the film was taken from Michael Jackson's albums: ''HIStory: Past'', ''Present and Future - Book I'' and ''Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix''. It currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest music video of all time, clocking in at nearly 40 minutes.

* ActingForTwo: More like Acting For Five. Jackson played as the Maestro, a dancing skeleton via MotionCapture, the mayor, and two of the dancing ghouls.
* BadassBaritone: Michael Jackson uses his actual, deep-register voice when playing as the mayor, making ''Ghosts'' the only known recording that showcases him using his true voice.
* BigBad: Mayor. He is the one who is trying to get rid of Maestro.
* BookEnds: The Maestro is introduced by pulling a prank on the town residents. At the end of the film, a group of kids pull a similar trick on the Maestro.
* TheCameo: A young Mos Def can be seen as part of the crowd that wants to run the Maestro out of town.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Maestro looks pretty creepy. However, he is not evil at all.
* TakeThat: Mayor is set up to be towards Thomas Sneddon, the main prosecutor in Jackson's infamous child sexual abuse case from three years earlier.
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This film tells the story of a scary Maestro with supernatural powers, who is being forced out of a small town by its mayor, pictured as a comically arrogant, plump man who bears more than a passing resemblance to Thomas Sneddon (the main prosecutor in Jackson's infamous child sexual abuse case from three years earlier). The movie includes a series of dance routines performed by Michael Jackson and his "family" of ghouls. Every song from the film was taken from Michael Jackson's albums: ''HIStory: Past'', ''Present and Future - Book I'' and ''Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix''.