Thriller (viral video)

Thriller is a viral video featuring the dancing inmates of a high-security penitentiary. In 2007, the inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), a maximum security prison in Cebu, in the Cebu Province of the Philippines, imitated the zombie dance featured in the music video of Michael Jackson's "Thriller". The footage, uploaded onto video-sharing website YouTube, became an immediate internet hit and viral video. The idea behind the dance came from the prison's chief, Byron F. Garcia. Garcia first conceived the idea of exercising as an enjoyable way of keeping the prisoners mentally and physically fit. Music was then added to provide additional motivation. The convicts marched and danced to several songs, including "In the Navy" and "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People.

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 openly gay former pizza chef Wenjiel Resane playing his girlfriend. The video became one of the most viewed on the internet, receiving 300,000 views per day at its peak. As of October 25, 2010, the Thriller viral video has received over 45 million reported views. The clip also garnered complaints, with one professor stating that the dancing does not rehabilitate CPDRC inmates. The prison and its officers faced allegations of prisoner abuse, claims which both the officers and inmates denied.

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 In 2007, more than 300 of the inmates were facing murder charges. Garcia initiated the idea of exercising as an enjoyable way of keeping the prisoners mentally and physically fit. "While the goal is to keep the body fit in order to keep the mind fit, such may not happen if it is done in a manner deemed unpleasurable", Garcia said. Melita Thomeczeck, the Philippine's deputy consulate general in New York, suspected that the warden added the music in order to take detainee's minds off of other matters. Other early musical choices included "In the Navy" and "Y.M.C.A." by the Village People. The Village People songs were chosen so that macho inmates "wouldn't be offended by being asked to dance". The prisoners wore their orange jail-issue jumpsuits during the performance in the jail's exercise yard. 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". 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". Within two weeks of the Thriller video being uploaded, it had been viewed by some three million YouTube users. On average, the clip received 300,000 views per day at its peak. 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.

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".

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.

Aftermath

In late 2007, scheduled a visit from some of its celebrities to the provincial jail. The celebrities danced with 1,600 CPDRC inmates to the tune of "Rico Mambo" as part of their weekly task, set by Big Brother. The request had been made by Maria Rowena Benitez, Pinoy Big Brother production manager. The housemates were not informed of their task, but were brought to the prison in blindfolds. They were then subsequently given back their sight, with the inmates surrounding them. In 2007, the prisoners stated that they were to perform to Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby". The mayor of Cebu, Tomas Osmena, refused to permit the request, stating that the inmates could dance all they wanted in jail. "I will not allow it even if Michael Jackson joins them", he commented. On June 27, 2009, the tribute video was uploaded with a dance routine for "Ben", "I'll Be There", and "We Are the World".

In January 2010, the prisoners performed "The Drill" and "They Don't Care About Us" [filmed on professional camera] as another tribute to Jackson, and for the release of the Michael Jackson's This Is It DVD and Blu-ray disc.

In 2011, in the Glee episode "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle", Glee club director Will Schuester made a reference about the "Thriller" viral video to motivate the children to do a "Thriller" performance much like from the Philippine prison.

References

External links

Category:Music videos Category:Internet memes Category:YouTube videos Category:Michael Jackson Category:Cebu Category:Prisons in the Philippines