Thriller (viral video)
Thriller is a
Garcia posted the prisoners' dance regimes onto the internet in April 2007. The most popular of the presentations was their Thriller performance. The video showed over 1,500 male inmates emulating Michael Jackson's dance moves from the original Thriller short film. Jackson fan Crisanto Nierre played the role of the pop star, with the
The prisoners have performed numerous other songs, including "Radio Ga Ga", "Together in Electric Dreams", "Holding Out for a Hero", and several songs from Sister Act. One of their performances involves the inmates holding portraits of figures such as the Dalai Lama, Pope John Paul II and Mahatma Gandhi. As a result of the prisoners' internet fame, many visitors come to CPDRC to view the monthly performances held by the convicts. Their presentations are seen from viewing platforms surrounding the exercise yard. At the jail, visitors can have their pictures taken with the inmates. They can also buy souvenir prison shirts.
Background
I hope that all the people who see us will be happy in knowing that we, despite being prisoners, we were able to do this. Before the dancing, our problems were really heavy to bear. Dancing takes our minds away from our problems. Our bodies became more healthy. As for the judges, they may be impressed with us, seeing that we are being rehabilitated and this could help our case. We are being rehabilitated in a good way.
—Crisanto Nierre, inmate who played Michael Jackson[1]
Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center is a maximum security prison in
For
Video and response
In 2007, Garcia posted several videos of his inmates' performances on YouTube in hopes of inspiring other prisons to learn from the experience.[3] The clips became some of the most talked about in cyberspace.[3] The most popular of the videos was uploaded in April 2007. It showed over 1,500 male inmates imitating the zombie dance featured in the music video of Michael Jackson's "Thriller".[2][5] The prisoners wore their orange jail-issue jumpsuits during the performance in the jail's exercise yard.[6] The Los Angeles Times later commented that the dance moves were not lifted directly from the video, "but they are performed with such precision it somehow seems that they must have been".[7] Inmate Crisanto Nierre played the role of Michael Jackson. Nierre, who at the time was awaiting trial on drug charges, has been a fan of Jackson since he was in a dance troupe at high school. USA Today noted that his favorite Jackson tracks were "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal".[1] Former pizza chef Wenjiel Resane, who is gay, played the part of Jackson's girlfriend. At the time, Resane had already been at the prison for three years, also awaiting trial on drug charges.[1]
Forty-eight hours after being uploaded onto YouTube, the video had been viewed 266,000 times. After a week, the number of hits had risen to over one million.[8] Within two weeks of the Thriller video being uploaded, it had been viewed by some three million YouTube users.[3] The following week, the number had almost doubled, coming close to six million hits.[9] On average, the clip received 300,000 views per day at its peak.[1] The video generated mixed reviews, with some critics claiming that Garcia forced the inmates to perform, an accusation the prisoners refuted. Several of the inmates showed devotion towards their prison chief, with as many as 20 prisoners bearing tattoos with Garcia's name.[1] Garcia's concept of having prisoners dance as part of a rehabilitation program has been copied by several prisons, including jails in Quezon province and Muntinlupa. Garcia commented that the movie showed that dancing is not a cruel or unusual punishment. He claimed that his prison showed that negative inmates could be turned into positive individuals, through the concept of a "revolutionized penology".[10] Following Garcia's presentation of an inmate performance at the province's Founding Day celebrations, a donation of $35,000 was given to the prison. Each inmate received $22 of the gift, deposited into a prison passbook account. The remaining money went to the Cebu province and its employees, to defray the costs of incarceration.[1][11]
The prison inmates Thriller performance made it to the pages of Time on the international magazine’s list of the most watchable Internet videos for 2007. The inmates' interpretation of the Thriller music video was ranked the fifth of 10 "most popular viral videos" of the year, or the "Web clips we couldn’t stop watching".[8] Time described the convicts as "orange-jumpsuited accused murderers, rapists and drug dealers", and noted that their performance was made in "homage" to Jackson's Thriller.[8] The magazine stated that the viral video had been downloaded more than nine million times.[8] (As of January 18, 2008, the reported views of the video have reached almost 15 million).[12]
Edward Latessa, professor and head of division of criminal justice at the University of Cincinnati, declared that the prisoners who are dancing are not being rehabilitated. Latessa stated that the prisoners may think that they are getting something out of the performances, when, in reality, they are not. He described it as having a potentially harmful effect. The professor insisted that more appropriate rehabilitation programs, like substance abuse or family reunification programs, should be implemented with as much coordination and vigor.[2] The detention workers disagreed with the assessment, deeming the activities to be an integral part of rehabilitation. "It combines the need for physical exercise and their love to sing and dance", Thomeczeck argued. "In more ways than one, it contributes to their rehabilitation and eventual reintegration. It's a way to put themselves together physically and probably spiritually. That's good, isn't it?".[2] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Now that's a 'breakout' hit: The clip of inmates at a high-security prison in the Philippines performing an intricately choreographed dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" has nabbed more than 42 million views since 2007."[13]
Aftermath
In late 2007,
The CPDRC inmates have performed numerous other songs, including
In January 2008, Garcia requested that the prisoners perform their Thriller routine at the annual
As a result of the prisoners' internet fame, many visitors come to CPDRC to view the monthly performances held by the convicts. Their presentations are seen from viewing platforms surrounding the exercise yard. At the jail, visitors can have their pictures taken with the inmates. They can also buy souvenir prison shirts.[12] A research student from The Netherlands, Anne Yzerman, attended one of the two-hour shows and praised the convicts. "They are so good at dancing all the time. I was really impressed."[12] The CPDRC inmates dance numbers include a rendition of Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero". The performance involves the inmates holding portraits of figures such as the Dalai Lama, Pope John Paul II and Mahatma Gandhi.[12]
After Michael Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, Cebu prison officials announced that the prison inmates would be recreating the Thriller routine on the following Saturday, June 27, 2009.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Alexander, Paul (August 9, 2007). "Inmate 'Thriller' video is Web hit". USA Today. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ferran, Lee (August 14, 2007). "Boogie Behind Bars: Inmates Dance the Days Away". ABC News. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Prisoners dance to Thriller". Channel 4. August 2, 2007. Retrieved May 14, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Philippine jailhouse rocks to Thriller". BBC. July 26, 2007. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "What's Online". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. July 28, 2007. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ^ a b c d MacKinnon, Ian (July 27, 2007). "Jailhouse rocks: Philippine inmates' Thriller routine an internet hit". The Guardian. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- ^ Netburn, Deborah. "Philippino prisoners' 'Thriller'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Pedroso, Katie V. (December 21, 2007). "Cebu inmates' 'Thriller' in Time most-watched list". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ^ Lai, Tim (August 12, 2007). "When it rains, it pours". Toronto Star. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ^ "A time to dance". Philippine Daily Inquirer. December 21, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ^ Salva-Alueta, Suzzane (August 7, 2007). "Dancing prisoners, bonuses mark Cebu's 438th birthday". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Philippines' dancing jail — everyone wants to go inside". Daily Times. April 29, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
- ^ Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "The 100 Greatest Movies, TV Shows, Albums, Books, Characters, Scenes, Episodes, Songs, Dresses, Music Videos, and Trends that Entertained Us over the Past 10 Years". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84
- ^ a b c Salva Alueta, Suzzane (November 9, 2007). "Housemates to dance with CPDRC inmates". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ^ Alexander, Paul (August 10, 2007). "Filipino prison captures YouTube audience with dance". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Coonan, Clifford (January 18, 2008). "YouTube's dancing prisoners denied new licence to thrill". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Mayor not keen on inmates joining 'Sinulog'". The Manila Times. January 3, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
- ^ "Michael Jackson is dead: prisoners to recreate dance tribute". The Daily Telegraph. 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
External links
- Thriller performance on YouTube