Michael Jackson flew into Brazil to begin filming the second video for "They Don't Care About Us"

10th February 1996 - Michael Jackson flew into Brazil to begin filming the second video for "They Don't Care About Us".

He was welcomed with near-hysterical enthusiasm by fans in Salvador. Hand-in-hand with two Casio children -- and with only his eyes visible above a black surgical mask -- the singer sprinted across a shimmering runway to wave to hundreds of fans gathered on an airport balcony.

"He started running toward us and I almost fainted," said breathless schoolgirl Sheila de Oliveira, still in tears after her not-so-close encounter with the star.

For the first time in his career, Michael made a second music video for a single. Plans by Michael and director Spike Lee to film in Brazil have caused an uproar. State authorities unsuccessfully tried to ban the singer filming in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador (Pelorinho). Officials feared images of poverty might affect tourism and accused Jackson of exploiting the poor.

Ronaldo Cezar Coelho, the state secretary for Industry, Commerce and Tourism demanded editing rights over the finished product. Some were concerned that scenes of poverty and human rights abuses would affect their chances of hosting the Olympics in 2004.



Others supported Jackson's wish to highlight the problems of the region, arguing that the government were embarrassed by their own failings.

A judge banned all filming but this ruling was overturned by an injunction. Although officials were angry, the residents were not and Jackson was surrounded by crowds of enthusiastic onlookers during filming.

One woman managed to push through security to hug the singer who continued dancing while hugging her. Another woman appeared and hugged him from behind.

He then fell to the ground as police pulled the two women off him and escorted them away. After the director helped Jackson get up off the street, he continued to sing and dance.

This incident made it into the music video. 1,500 policemen and 50 residents acting as security guards effectively sealed off the Dona Marta shanty town. It was alleged that Jackson's production team had negotiated with drug dealers in order to gain permission to film in one of the city's shantytowns.

The music video was directed by Spike Lee. Asked why he chose Lee to direct the video, Jackson responded,

"'They Don't Care About Us' has an edge, and Spike Lee had approached me. It's a public awareness song and that's what he is all about. It's a protest kind of song and I think he was perfect for it".

Michael can be seen wearing the "Olodum" t-shirt in the video.

Jackson also collaborated with 200 members of the cultural group Olodum, "who swayed to the heavy beat of Salvador's 'samba-reggae' music". Producing the first video proved to be a difficult task for Jackson.

The music was changed slightly to fit Olodum's style of drumming. The "Olodum version" (unofficial title) of the song has since become more popular than the original album version. The media interest surrounding the music video exposed Olodum to 140 countries around the world. It brought them worldwide fame and increased their credibility in Brazil.

At the beginning of the video, a Brazilian woman says "Michael, eles não ligam pra gente" which means "Michael, they don't care about us".

Speaking of the music video, in The New Brazilian Cinema, Lúcia Nagib observed:
When Michael Jackson decided to shoot his new music video in a favela of Rio de Janeiro ... he used the favela people as extras in a visual super-spectacle ... All the while there is a vaguely political appeal in there ... The interesting aspect of Michael Jackson's strategy is the efficiency with which it gives visibility to poverty and social problems in countries like Brazil without resorting to traditional political discourse. The problematic aspect is that it does not entail a real intervention in that poverty.

In 2009, Billboard described the area as "now a model for social development" and stated that Jackson's influence was partially responsible for this improvement.