"Do you remember the time when we fell in love?" From left: Michael Jackson (The Sorcerer), Eddie Murphy (Pharaoh Ramses), and Iman (The Queen).
"Remember the Time" is the second single from Michael Jackson's album Dangerous. The song, composed by Teddy Riley, one of the men responsible for the New Jack Swing sound, is about a person reminiscing about their courtship and romance with a past lover. The song was well received by critics and the public alike, charting number one in several different countries and is certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry of America.
A music video for the single was released on February 2, 1992. Directed by John Singleton, the 9 minute video continued Jackson's trend of having elaborate, short film-esque music videos for his singles and featured a star-studded cast which included Eddie Murphy, Iman, and famed basketball star Magic Johnson, amongst others. The video tells the tale of Ramses II trying to appease his bored queen by bringing in entertainers. One of those entertainers is a mystical sorcerer (Jackson) who has a previous romantic past with the Queen, revealed when he sings this Love Nostalgia Song to her. Angered by the blatant flirting, Pharoah Ramses orders for him to be killed, and the sorcerer has to flee from armed guards, eventually escaping using his magic.
Wylie Draper, one of the video's backup dancers, was later handpicked by Jackson himself to play his adult self in The Jacksons: An American Dream.
Tropes in the Work:
- Ancient Egypt: The video takes place in ancient Egypt and focuses on the royal court of Pharaoh Ramses.
- Casting Gag:
- Eddie Murphy portrays Ramses II of Egypt, a powerful ruler from an African country. Four years earlier, he portrayed a prince from the fictional African country Zamunda in Coming to America.
- Iman, who plays the queen that Jackson seduces in the music video, actually was dating a famous musician at the time. Specifically, she was in a relationship with David Bowie, who she would marry later that year.
- Cats Are Magic: Cats are littered around the Pharoah's court as both a nod to the Truth in Television history of cat veneration in Ancient Egypt and to this trope. Notably, when the sorceror turns into sand and escapes at the end of the video, the camera focuses on a cat that follows the sand, as a subtle nod to the relationship between cats and magic.
- Computer-Generated Images: The music video makes liberal use of CGI effects e.g. to animate the magical black sand Jackson throws, his transformation into a golden puddle, and the sand in the opening sequence. For 1992, the level and quality of CGI used was unprecedented for most films, let alone a music video.
- Concept Video: The song is a simple Love Nostalgia Song about a past love. The video is about Pharoah Ramses's Queen's past love by a mysterious sorcerer and their brief reuniting.
- Costume Porn: The ancient Egyptian costumes would be considered elaborate for a movie, let alone for a music video. All of the classics are there: elaborate headdresses, flowing tunics, shawls, and robes, and gold everywhere. But Jackson's gold and white gilded tunic outfit takes the cake with its delicacy and elaborate designs.
- Crashing Through the Harem: Downplayed. Jackson is technically in a bazaar or outdoor market of sorts as he runs away from the palace guards, but he's quickly surrounded by beautiful veiled woman who proceed to dance around him. He pauses his leisurely escape to join them.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: The Queen's demeanor is initially frostier than a tundra, and she is very hard to please, swiftly ordering the execution of two court entertainers who failed to impress her. But when the sorcerer shows up and reveals himself, her attitude takes a quick one-eighty.
- Fed to the Beast: The Queen orders The Stick Man to be fed to the lions when he fails to successfully entertain her with his juggling.
- Gold and White Are Divine:
- Ramses and his Queen are both dressed in white and gold to signify their desire to be seen as deities.
- Jackson, a mystical wizard of unknown origins, transforms from wearing a Black Cloak into a shimmering white and gold outfit made of satin and silk.
- Gold Makes Everything Shiny: Most of the video is covered in gold to play up the opulence of the Egyptian court, either via gold jewelry, gold fabric, or gold paint on the walls.
- Guyliner: All over the place, but most noticeable when Magic Johnson's court announcer is introduced and a close up shows his eyes are rimmed with black kohl liner. Justified in that wearing kohl around the eyes was the real life trend of the day for those associated with the pharoahdom.
- Harsh Vocals: The beginning of the song features Jackson's smooth mid-alto singing voice but as the song approaches the end and the lyrics become more insistent on the question of whether or not the lover remembers their past, Jackson begins sing-screaming in a raspier tone.
- Love Nostalgia Song: The topic of the song is about a person reminiscing about their past love.Do you remember
When we fell in love?
We were young and innocent then
Do you remember
How it all began?
It just seemed like heaven, so why did it end? - Monochrome Casting: Besides maybe 1 or 2 background actors, the entire cast including the backup dancers are black. Given that the racial makeup of Ancient Egypt is a rather hot-button issue
to this day (the modern concept of race not really existing in Ancient Egypt to begin with), the historical accuracy of the portrayal is better left to discussion elsewhere. - Mysterious Stranger: Unlike Pyro and The Stick Man who are properly announced to the Queen and the Pharoah, Jackson as the sorceror is brought in front of them without announcement, dressed in a Black Cloak that completely obscures his features. Subverted after the sorcerer reveals himself and begins singing to the Queen about their shared history, indicating that he isn't really a stranger to her at all.
- Off with His Head!: When Pyro fails to entertain the Queen, she orders him to be beheaded with a Throat-Slitting Gesture.Announcer: (winces and rubs his throat) Phew, that's cold, whoof!
- Old Flame: Jackson's character in the music video is a mysterious sorcerer who had a past relationship with the Queen, and she clearly still holds a torch for him, indicated by the two sharing a kiss in her bedchambers towards the end of the video. Rameses is less than pleased about this, and attempts to have him executed.
- Requisite Royal Regalia: The Ancient Egyptian version, considering the video is set in a Standard Royal Court in Ancient Egypt. Ramses and his Queen are decked out in gold and white robes, gold jewelry, wearing elaborate headdresses, sitting on thrones on a lifted dais, being fanned with giant feathered fans. The rest of their court including their servants are also dressed similarly.
- Rich Boredom: The plot of the video kicks off with the Queen telling Ramses that she's bored and wants to be entertained. The Pharaoh calls for people to come and try to alleviate his Queen's boredom, which is when Jackson appears and does that and then some.
- Sand Blaster: The sorcerer seems to have some power related to sand. He's able to transform his image if he steps on a pile of black sand he carries and can change himself into a golden sand seemingly at will, as he does at the end of the video to evade capture.
- Scatting: Jackson is known for his "Ah!" Lyrical Tic and ad libs, but this song in particular features one of Jackson's more iconic examples of scatting towards the end, while he is repeatedly asking "do you remember?"
- Standard Royal Court: The video features an Ancient Egypt version of the royal court, replete with a God-Emperor, his Queen, a court announcer, bodyguards, and of course beautiful woman to serve the ruler.
- Summon Backup Dancers: Jackson summons a large crowd of dancers from Ramses' court for the dance break, but they suddenly disappear as quick as they showed up at the end of the song. While the (in-universe) implication is that he used magic to summon the dancers, Jackson looks around in genuine confusion when he realizes his dancers are gone.
- Terrible Interviewees Montage: Before Jackson appears, we are shown the failed performers before him which feature a juggler (The Stick Man) and a fire eater (Pyro), both of whom the Queen orders to be killed for failing to keep her entertained.
- Walk Like an Egyptian: Jackson and his backup dancers do a slightly more complicated variation of the dance that adds in some "tutting" during the dance break.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: The majority of the men shown in the video don't wear anything that covers their torso, allowing them to show off their well-built muscles. Jackson is an exception, as his long-sleeved gold shirt covered up the skin blotches caused by his vitiligo.
- Wandering Minstrel: The sorcerer falls into this as a mysterious person from unknown lands who has come to the Pharoah's court to sing a song of love. Though, instead of a song of Courtly Love, he sings a Love Nostalgia Song directed at the Pharoah's Queen, who seems all too interested.
