The Analysis Of Man In The Mirror
Today, music is such an effective way for singer/songwriters to convey messages to their audiences. Music isn't just something we can enjoy but a way for people to express their creativity. A well-known example of this is one of Michael Jackson's songs Man in the Mirror. Michael Jackson correctly uses a range of structural and language devices, such as metaphors, repetition and imagery to communicate his important message that change starts not with other people, but you.
The song talks about making a change and realizing change should start with you, the authors' strong use of imagery in the song helps to show this. In the very first verse, the writer starts by using very effective visual imagery to create a winter setting. 'I turn up the collar on my winter coat.' followed by 'I see kids in the street, with not enough to eat.' The lyrics effectively use imagery to depict a moment in which a person encounters poor starving children and chooses to ignore them. The writer then uses a rhetorical question 'Who am I, to be blind?' This is an example of a metaphor; the author is saying that he is not physically blind but compares himself to someone that is blind. This shows that he reflected over his actions, thinking that he should've helped them.
Frequently talked about in the song, is how change starts with you, and repetition is used to show this. Multiple lines in the song are just repetition. Lines that are repeated quite often throughout the song read, 'I'm starting with the man in the mirror' and 'I'm asking him to change his ways'. By repeating these lines multiple times throughout the song, it keeps on reminding the audience on how change starts with you. The writer of the song uses multiple rhetorical questions in 'Man in the Mirror', such as 'Who am I to be blind?' and 'Could it be me, pretending that they're not alone?'. These lines talk about homelessness among children, and him walking past them without reaching out a helping hand. It helps the audience to empathise with those children that are suffering because of homelessness.
Man, in the Mirror is about a man who wants to change the world but has to learn that change starts with him. They talk about certain situations he has experienced (e.g. seeing homeless kids on the street) and how he feels that he needs to make a difference, but he has to start with 'the man in the mirror’, himself. The song focuses on the need for him to become a better person, with better morals. The song uses language and structural devices, such as metaphors and imagery, and repetition and rhetorical questions, to help to send the message to the listeners. If more people listened to 'Man in the Mirror,' the word would be a fairer and more enjoyable place to live.
