The music video “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson is a compilation of many short video segments of various events in the world. The world has had horrific moments in history such as children dying, the Ku Klux Klan, the Holocaust, presidents being assassinated, unnecessary violence and more. These terrible times are something that cannot be ignored because they serve as a lesson for the future. Humans must strive to avoid repeating these failures and grow from them to better ourselves. Issues are still present even after going through hard times, but improvements have been made and are continuously being made. It is apparent that the world changes daily and while humans may never be perfect, there is a desire to learn from the mistakes in the past and develop for future generations. By looking at the video’s representation of poverty, racism and war, the viewer realizes the world is a broken place. Then the music video shifts to images of reconciliation, love and healing and this drastic change is important because it allows the viewer to appreciate that this world is full of goodness and even the darkest times have a light at the end of the tunnel. 

The beginning of the video pans through various starving children and people. They are physically decrepit and it is incredibly gut wrenching to see. The ribs of these children are showing through their skin and this level of malnutrition is unacceptable. Most of the video segments seem to take place in Africa where wide scale poverty is rampant. The very real images of starving humans creates an emotional attachment and the viewer feels an undeniable sense of guilt. This sense of attachment stems from the slowness of the frame when the camera pans over hungry kids. The viewer sees the kids in a long, drawn out manner and allows the viewer to connect on an intimate level. There is more than enough food on earth to sustain the individuals present so the fact that deaths occur due to hunger is a huge issue, which Michael Jackson is highlighting in these excerpts. The lyrics “Who am I to be blind pretending not to see their need?” is crucial to this specific scenario because humans cannot just be self-absorbed and ignore that other people in the world are suffering. The world is an amazingly connected place and when one person is suffering it affects a vast network of individuals. Hungry children are not the only images of suffering people because there are also homeless people who have similar issues. In the United States specifically, being homeless is an enormous problem. In the video, the viewer sees a homeless individual pushing a cart on the sidewalk and it can be inferred that this is the entirety of their belongings, which is quite miserable. No one should go without a home and this amount of anguish in the world is not how the world should continue. 

Racism is another issue that is captured in the excerpts throughout the music video. There are multiple instances where African American individuals are being subjected to unwarranted violence. There is a specific instance where a bus drives through the scene and it says “WE HATE RACE-MIXING” on the side. This is followed by a Ku Klux Klan ceremony, which is obviously an attack on non-white individuals. Martin Luther King Jr. is a key character in the music video and because of his obvious historical background, the viewer knows that there is a correlation between images of his speech and racial discrimination. Martin Luther King Jr. serves as a symbol for African Americans gaining civil rights and because he was a figurehead in the movement, he adds a lot of meaning to the video. African Americans are not the only ones in the video that are targeted and that is apparent with the images of Hitler and the Holocaust. Hitler was an awful person who thought that there is an “ideal” race and anyone who does not fit in that category was worthless. This destructive mentality caused the deaths of many, many people and everyone currently knows that that was the wrong mentality to have. These wars on racism are not the only images of war in the video. War is heavily prevalent in the music video through various parts of different wars that were going on and the viewer sees the destruction with air strikes, explosions and violent acts with guns. There was a scene of Chernobyl and an explosion, which is symbolic of the state of the world at this point. 

As the song progresses, there is a key change that signifies a large shift in the material being presented. This shift in thinking is apparent when there is a clip of a woman helping a child that is hungry in Africa. She is supplying the child with clothes and then there is another child who is chewing, which means that he is finally getting something to eat. When the world reaches out and assists one another, amazing things are accomplished and suffering is lessened immensely. The issue of racism has decreased in prevalence because there are images interracial children hugging and complete integration is the direction that the world is moving towards. White men and African American men are shaking hands and because shaking hands is a symbol of courtesy and respect, the viewer can see that the world is becoming more inclusive of race, which hopefully leads to a diminishing of the barrier for respect so there is more of it. A handshake shows that they are amicable and compromising and working towards a healthier future for the relationship. Along with the kids hugging, there is also a clip of children holding up peace signs. Initially this may seem superficial, but there is a large amount of meaning behind children advocating for peace. Children have such innocent minds, but they are not ignorant to times of war in our world. They understand and acknowledge when the world is finally in peace and blissful again. Mother Teresa is also a huge advocate for peace and images of her on mission trips and with other people is a clear representation that even if there was war, there is always hope and there is always someone who is selfless enough to devote their life to the betterment of others. She is referenced in the video as an icon for selflessness, which is something that everyone can learn from. The world does have issues and the issues are never going to go away completely, but at the same time it is very important to strive to heal the wounds and maintain these healthy habits as to prevent further damage from being made. 

In Michael Jackson’s music video “Man in the Mirror,” he uses segments of real life events to capture a larger meaning behind their compilation. This compilation shows two very different worlds. The first is full of despair and hatred while the other is a reconciled world full of love and healing. These contrasting views of the world prove that even the darkest moments of history can be a learning experience that serves to teach, enlighten, and motivate the viewer to improve the current state of the world. The genuine sincerity and real people in his music video creates an undeniable sense of connection and this allows the viewer to think about the world in an insightful manner. His use of realism, symbols, and perspective add great depth to the underlying messages of hunger, racism, war, which then become love, hope, and healing. 
