Burroughs 1

Joshua Burroughs

Professor Freeland

English 1201-506

February 20, 2022

Smooth Criminal

Michael Jackson, the American singer, released the single “Smooth Criminal” in 1988.

Later that year, the music video premiered on MTV and became a hit (“Smooth Criminal”). The

popular song was then transformed by the nu metal band Alien Ant Farm when the band released

a cover to “Smooth Criminal” in 2001. The cover by Alien Ant Farm became a number one hit

on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. Alien Ant Farm’s cover of “Smooth Criminal” was

able to modernize and bring a different style to Michael Jackson’s original version of the song.

Even though both songs share a similar claim and rhetoric appeal to pathos, the cover by Alien

Ant Farm was able to appeal to a younger audience through the nu metal musical style and faster

pace of the song.

To begin, Michael Jackson wrote and performed the song “Smooth Criminal” for

entertainment purposes. The story told in the original song by Michael Jackson is about a crime

made by a smooth criminal. However, the story in the music video was that Michael Jackson

may have been this smooth criminal and was being chased down by a mysterious group of men.

This is seen through Michael Jackson being shot at or attacked by mysterious men in the music

video (Jackson). The main characters in this video include Michael Jackson himself, women in

the bar dancing, men in the bar dancing, men that Michael Jackson is fighting, and children on

the outside of the bar. The claim, or what the song makes the viewer think about, is that you

should always make sure people are okay. The main reason for this in the song is Jackson
 Burroughs 2

continues to ask “Annie are you okay?” in the lyrics (Jackson). The main reason in the video is

that no one asks what is happening to Jackson, even though he is being attacked by a mysterious

group (Jackson). The video and lyrics in the song do not provide any statistics, facts, or experts

to support the claim. Additionally, the video uses pathos to appeal to viewers' emotions. This is

seen through the lyrics that make viewers feel sorrow for the attack on “Annie” and the video

that is mysterious that makes viewers feel curious or puzzled (Jackson). This feeling allows

Jackson to keep viewers hooked in to watch the video and closely follow the lyrics of the song.

Based on all of this, the audience of the video is for an older generation because the song has a

musical style of the 1900s and because the video is set during the early-20th to mid-20th century.

In the cover, Alien Ant Farm performed the song for the purpose of entertaining a

different audience. The story told in “Smooth Criminal” by Alien Ant Farm is about a crime

made by a smooth criminal, but the story told in the music video was about a large house party.

This is seen through the large amount of people dancing and having fun in the yard of a house

(Alien Ant Farm). The main characters of the video are the members of the band Alien Ant

Farm, numerous other people at the house party, and even a monkey. The claim of the song, or

what the song makes a viewer think about, is that you should always make sure people are okay.

The main reason for this within the song is the constant questioning of “Annie are you okay”

within the lyrics (Alien Ant Farm). Another main reason for this claim is there are a lot of

random and strange occurrences in the video that make the viewer question if people are okay or

sane. There is no use of statistics or facts as evidence. Furthermore, the appeal used in the video

and song is pathos because the lyrics of the song make the viewers feel sad or depressed about

the assault on Annie, and the video makes the viewers feel happy about the house party (Alien

Ant Farm). These conflicting emotions allow Alien Ant Farm to keep the viewers interested and
 Burroughs 3

keep the viewers listening to the lyrics closely. The audience for this video is a younger

generation as the nu metal musical style, modern eclectic guitar, and house party setting all

appeal to a newer generation that may be more interested in this style.

Moreover, the songs themselves were similar in the claims made and rhetorical appeal

used, but, however, the songs and music videos had different styles and target audiences. The

original song by Michael Jackson and its cover by Alien Ant Farm both used an appeal to pathos,

or an appeal to emotions, within each video. Both songs also had stories about a crime

committed by a smooth criminal, but the music videos displayed this very differently. For

instance, the music video by Michael Jackson was set in a bar during a time around the mid-20th

century, but, on the other hand, the Alien Ant Farm video was set at a house party during modern

times. Also, the style of the music videos and songs allowed each to reach a different audience.

The version by Michael Jackson was directed at an older audience as a result of the old setting

and an older style of pop music. However, the cover by Alien Ant Farm was targeted at a

younger audience because the song is set during a more modern time period and the nu metal

style is more modern than classic pop.

Overall, the songs themselves do not differ very much, except for the difference in

musical style. However, the videos for each song are different in the aspect that they appeal to

different audiences and different emotions when using pathos. The modernized cover of

“Smooth Criminal” by Alien Ant Farm transformed Michael Jackson’s original version of the

song. The cover by Alien Ant Farm was able to appeal to a younger audience through the nu

metal musical style, but, however, both songs still share a similar claim and rhetoric appeal to

pathos.

(Word Count: 1000)

 Burroughs 4

Works Cited

Alien Ant Farm. “Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal (Official Music Video).” YouTube, 7 Oct.

2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDl9ZMfj6aE.

Jackson, Michael. “Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal (Official Video).” YouTube, 16 June

2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWu_htIxYtM. 2009,

“Smooth Criminal.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Feb. 2022,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth_Criminal.