Are you nursing such a serious hangover that death or at the very least, coma is preferable to your current pounding headache? Never fear--your easy listening sunday is here. Today, it's Lionel Richie. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDZcqBgCS74]
I don't like to editorialize too much on the "Easy Listening Sunday" entries (it should be about the music...), but I think this video tops what I thought couldn't be topped--and that was Elton John's music video from last sunday ("Nikita"). Consequently, I'm compelled to jot a few words.
There's so much to be said about Lionel Richie's "Hello" music video--or should I say short movie? Is it a music video? Is it a short movie? I don't know!
Thesis: "Hello" is actually seminal because it created its own genre: the music video-short film-musical. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" gets a lot of the credit for reinventing the music video format (and Jay Z's "Big Pimpin" gets a nod in music video history primarily for the most gratuitous spillage of Cristal on curvy sun-bathing women), but I think "Hello" is a sleeper gem that music historians and Vh1 "I love the..." and "Top 101..." shows have unfairly overlooked.
In addition to its technical merits, Hello is also pioneering for the positive social message it broadcasts. The video and Lionel Richie sends (sings?) a powerful voice that addresses the public's misconceptions and prejudices about the blind: Blindness is not a disability nor a hinderance. It may prevent being able to tell the difference between a single and a hundred dollar bill (as Chris Rock said), but in matters of significance, consequence, and weight blindness is as much an obstacle as cake is to a fat, hungry kid. This is not to suggest that blindness is delicious.
This video humanizes the blind. It shows that a blind person can be a captivating actress, graceful ballerina, AND a master sculptor. A blind person can be beautiful, popular, intellectual, and posess a warm personality. A blind person can also make their acting teacher fall in love with them. The message is that a beautiful actress/dancer/sculptor who also happens to be blind can find love! Blind people love, too. What a powerful film. It's too bad the blind can't see it.
Lionel Richie, on the other hand, demonstrates how easy it is to stalk a blind person. Because they CAN'T SEE YOU--or so he thought! The ending is the coup that elevates this video from "good" into the pantheon of greats. I hope someone from VH1 sees this penetrating analysis and argument and devotes an entire marathon to Hello, like they do with Thriller...which doesn't have one iota of social redemption and if anything only generates and fosters fear mongering among the general dominant populace towards the much maligned zombie community.