I hope the above video is viral; some people may never have seen it, but a fairly good indicator of widespread knowledge is when a major news station decides to jump on board and investigate the origins of a YouTube video.
Often titled “Prison Thriller,” this video is a four-and-a-half minute long aerial shot of dancers at Cebu Provisional Detention and Rehabilitation Center, located on an island in the Philippines. According to Al Jazeera’s reporting, the prison decided to pursue an alternative physical fitness program, and it came in the form of blasting Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” from the prison courtyard’s loudspeakers and having the prisoners engage in choreographed dance. Apparently, the prisoners are responding particularly well to the program; one even dresses up as the girl that freaks out in the beginning of the original music video (there’s nothing quite as awesome as a middle-aged convict in a skimpy tanktop and hip huggers). But the real appeal of the video is the fact that the first-time viewer is left completely unaware of the facts.
The first reaction: shock. “Is this fake?” you wonder aloud, as you watch the drama unfold. How could this many people be dancing so well to a Michael Jackson classic? And how do I reconcile this with my notion of prison life? Puzzling is how any prison could be willing to shed it’s tough, strident image and allow such a hilarious ’80s staple to form the test run of a prison program.
Next: “No, this can’t be faked. It’s too good.” The prisoners look human, not computer generated. They’ve got better moves than I do on the dance floor. The person filming it makes all the classic amateur mistakes–shaky camera work, weird zooms, and other oversights that give the video a realistic feel.
But the real magic sets in when you think about the concept. Was this done to embarrass the murderers, the rapists, and the drug dealers? Are they aware of how ridiculous (and hilarious) the concept seems? Or is this actually a genuine effort by a prison system–it takes perhaps more planning and coordination to get a performance of this magnitude to be flawless than it does to get convicts marching rank and file. But inevitably, before all this, you’ll be laughing in disbelief–the joy the video brings, sans explanation is what really counts.
Just think: Years ago, without the internet, Filipino usage of unusual punishment would have gone unexplained and possibly frowned upon. But exporting our pop tunes for the physical benefit of prisoners abroad improves an otherwise dreary lifestyle for those involved in the dancing, and brightens our day between getting Rickrolled and watching that woman from Britain blow Simon Cowell away.
There’s an underlying menace to this video that stops me short. It’s genuinely scary. But I get the joy, too. A confused, nervous, wary joy, which isn’t really joy at all.
And the other day on the radio, as I’m driving down Sheridan road, Michael Jackson comes on the radio and no longer do I picture his grounbreaking video from the mid-eighties: I picture this. The orange prison fatigues in a Filipino detention hall.
Yeah, I did mention that shock was my first reaction, and probably downplayed that too much. I also probably confused joy with nervous laughter–it took me a few seconds to realize the humor in it, and even now I still have mixed emotions about the piece. The joy for me just came from reveling in the irony–this video definitely shows that we’re all connected, but is this the way we want to enjoy foreign ties? I’m not sure; it’s certainly a provocative video though.
Hooray for careful diction!