Following the video’s release, an additional one million copies of Thriller were sold, which to this day is the best-selling album of all time.659 At the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, Michael Jackson’s Thriller was honored in the categories of audience choice, best overall performance, and best choreography, in addition to being nominated for best concept video, best male video, and video of the year.60 The success transformed Jackson into a dominant figure in popular culture around the world and cemented his status as the “king of pop. “61011 For Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times, the singer was making “miniature musicals” that provided “the perfect showcase for his talents. “61
Newspapers of the time published mixed reviews. Journalist Anthony Violanti wrote: “The plot of Thriller is trite and predictable, and Jackson’s performance is only acceptable. When he sings and dances, however, he single-handedly turns the whole production into a special art form. “62 Tom Shales of The Washington Post called it “disappointing as a film,” even if it is “a delight” as a “Jacksonian artifact. “5 According to him, “the crucial disappointment of the video is that [Jackson] falls victim to the hackneyed concepts of director John Landis, whose goal here seems to be to recycle outdated material from his film An American Werewolf in London. “5
Similarly, journalist Ken Tucker opined that “Landis seems to have been so busy supervising the special effects that he didn’t bother to come up with an original visual style. “63 John Rockwell of The New York Times also found it unstylized and “not very scary. “64 Meanwhile, Jeff Guinn of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram called it “a moment of genius” that is “more than just a rock video,” capable of shuddering and delivering more laughs than other feature-length films.65 In addition, Time magazine ranked it as one of the twenty best music videos of 1983, alongside “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” as “the collected works of soul’s youngest master. “66
According to Shales, Michael Jackson’s Thriller “elevated music videos to a new level of adventurism and respectability” by being perhaps “the most anticipated and most talked about short film ever made” since The Great Train Robbery (1930).5 Violanti also claimed that Jackson was “leading the revolution” that would turn rock music into a visual medium, something “ironic considering the problems black artists had getting on MTV when this music channel started. “62
Michael London of the Los Angeles Times considered the line between status as a short film and music video blurred in light of the potential Oscar nomination.48 Filmmaker Tamar Simon Hoffs expressed, “When I saw the [Thriller] announcement, I thought, “Wow, the big boys are finally making short films.
The Anglo-Saxon media echoed the dissatisfaction felt by Jehovah’s Witnesses about Jackson’s “worldly” activities, and the possibility that he might be excommunicated.67 6869 In September 1984, journalist Barbara Zigli wrote of the singer, “Despite his wholesome image and abstinence from drugs, alcohol, and sex, his superstar aura is contrary to the image that Witnesses, who oppose rock music, sensual dancing, and idolatry, seek to embody. “68
According to Ari L. Goldman of The New York Times, Jackson was the most famous Jehovah’s Witness practitioner at the time, although “fundamentalist preachers of all religions have long warned about the evils of contemporary culture,” including music videos.67 Consistent with the latter was the stance “against demons, devils and magic,” intrinsic elements of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.67
By September 1984, Jackson had stopped performing “Thriller” during the Victory tour and in a statement to Awake! magazine (published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania) asserted that he would never again make a video like the one for that song: “I realize it was a bad idea […] All kinds of promotional things have been produced for “Thriller,” but I tell you “No, no, no.” I don’t want to do anything with ‘Thriller.’ No more ‘Thriller.'”69 Furthermore, he vowed to block distribution of the short film wherever he could, in view of the fact that “a lot of people were offended. “70
By June 1987, the singer had officially resigned from Jehovah’s Witnesses, an act that for the organization is “worse than being disfellowshipped,” according to writer and practitioner Gary Botting.70 A representative of the Woodland Hills congregation gave no reason for the resignation, as did Jackson’s manager, Frank DiLeo.70 Landis, who claims to have written the disclaimer with the singer’s signature, noted that the controversy had a positive effect in generating conversation around the short film.