CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' music video is a violent depiction of 'intense hatred' between men and women, says a national television watchdog group that studied 900 videos.
The study by the National Coalition on Television Violence, found 46 percent of all music videos contained violent action or suggestions of violence and noted 'a strong association between the appearance of metal-spiked and studded leather and torn clothing and the use of violence in the rock videos,' the report said.
In Jackson's 'Thriller' video, the superstar turns into a werewolf, 'chases (his) girlfriend to kill her (and) brutally kills her off screen,' the coalition said Friday.
'It is the worst,' said Saleem Handal, managing director of the coalition. 'Yes, it surprises me because the Jacksons say they donate things to charity. They don't intend maybe to put this kind of theme there. We just put it out for them to think about it and what they are doing,' he said of the report.
The coalition reported 27 acts of violence in the 'Thriller' video, more than any other video monitored, and labeled the violence in 'Thriller' as sadistic.
Dr. Thomas Radecki, coalition chairman, said the group was not labeling any one video as most violent.
But he said Jackson's image as a clean-cut performer combined with the violence in his video 'gives a sort of sanction to violence. It sort of gives a sanction to male-female violence.'
The coalition is based in Champaign.
