November 11th, 1991 marked the 15th birthday of a close friend of mine. But that’s not what I remember the day for. What stood out that day was the news on the telly, specifically 10vor10, which back then was a fairly new addition to the Swiss news scene, outfitted with an extraordinary permission to experiment a bit. And so they did:
As one of a select few television channels in the world DRS (as the channel was called back then) was allowed to broadcast Michael Jackson’s newest video: “Black or White”. It would be featuring mind-numbing “morphing” technology on faces – something a room full of computers had been working on for months, as the presenter, Walter “index finger of the nation” Eggenberger, was proud to inform us. Sure, it wasn’t the moon-landing, but it was presented in a similar way and including the introduction it took up more than half of the 30 minutes the programme was allotted.
So we sat. And we watched. And we saw Macaulay – you might never have heard that name, but he is the sole reason for any of your friends – well, these days probably: your uncles – being called Kevin. Branding a pristine Gibson’s guitar. And then there were Tess Harper, John Goodman, Tyra Banks!
We were properly impressed at the time.
Yes, you do have to watch it to the end. And no, we did not understand those last four minutes either.