Michael Jackson’s Thriller: Deep Thoughts about Undead Backup Singers, a Dead Pop Star and the “Death of the Author” (Reprise Ep 29)

Send us a message! Include how to reach you if you want a response. It smells like the funk of 40,000 years in here!In today’s episode, Tracie shares her deep thoughts about the iconic and groundbreaking 1983 music video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller. From the way the mini film subverts expectations to the meaning behind the horror tropes it relies on to how to contextualize Jackson’s immense talent with the troubled and abusive life he led, the Guy girls explore what it means that a novelty song featuring a zombie flash mob and Vincent Price saying “y’all’s” helped make MJ king of the world.Throw on your headphones and listen…before darkness falls across the land!Content warning:Oblique references to the allegations against Michael Jackson and the childhood abuse he endured.Mentioned in this episode:Our TikTok about HorrorDeep Thoughts about ClueInflation Calculator The full Thriller videoEpisode 29 was released March 26, 2024.Tags:deep thoughts about stupid sh*t, pop culture, horror, comedy, storytelling, cultural commentary, feminism, pop music, mtv, gen x childhood, gen x nostalgia, music video, thriller, michael jackson, john landisOur theme music is "Professor Umlaut" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Learn more about Tracie and Emily (including our other projects), join the Guy Girls' family, secure exclusive access to bonus content, live zooms with Tracie & Emily, discounts on merch, and early access to Deep Thou​​ghts by visiting us on Patreon or find us on ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/guygirlsWe are the sister podcasters Tracie Guy-Decker and Emily Guy Birken, known to our extended family as the Guy Girls.We're hella smart and completely unashamed of our overthinking prowess. We love 80s and 90s movies and tv, science fiction, comedy, and murder mysteries, good storytelling with lots of dramatic irony, analyzing film tropes with a side of feminism, and examining the pop culture of our Gen X childhood for gender dynamics, psychology, sociology, religious allegory, and whatever else we find. We have super-serious day jobs. For the bona fides, visit our individual websites: tracieguydecker.com and emilyguybirken.com. For our work together, visit guygirlsmedia.com We are on socials! Find us on Facebook at fb.com/dtasspodcast and on Insta at instagram.com/guygirlsmedia. You can also email us at guygirlsmedia at gmail dot com. We would love to hear from you!