Tell Tale Thriller: Michael Jackson and Japanese cadets

For Performance Day 2005 at the National Defense Academy of Japan, each English class had to be on stage for seven minutes. English classes are mandatory each year of undergraduate education for cadets who need international communication skills.

One of my classes chose to perform Michael Jackson’s hit, “Thriller.” I declined to initiate a discussion about his child abuse trial that had just begun in the United States. The 20-year olds appointed a dance master, watched the video, cleared away desks and practiced for months. I tried to keep up.

Another class opted for "The Tell-Tale Heart." The students wrote a script and refused my offer of a metronome for the victim’s heart beat. Instead, the sound effects man called out in a loud, flat voice, “Do-ki, do ki."

He nodded acknowledgement of my praise. It sounded good, but I wondered what it meant. But linguistic discussion in a low level language class can be taboo. The question was not asked. Acceptable classroom level of inquiry restrains. Jackson was acquitted of all charges in June, during summer vacation.

In November in the big new auditorium commemorating the 50 year establishment of Japan’s security forces, I sat with my colleagues. The performance began with Poe. Ms. Horie whispered, “Do you know what ‘do-ki’ means?”

“An arbitrary sound?” I guessed.

“’Do-ki’ means ‘rapid heart beat,’” she told me. The two Japanese English teachers cited other Japanese onomatopoeia. A "sh" sound means tears, but "only a woman's tears."

I’d drilled pronunciation with a cadet about the mouse crawling across floor. “’It was only the wind in the chimney or a cricket chirp.’"

"She's a very good English speaker,” Mr. Horie said.

“I offered to shorten the sentences, but she protested," I recalled. Her performance was magnificent.

Five hours of skits proceeded. Shakespeare had been banned the previous year. Dance ensembles of Lion King and Sound of Music were popular this year.

A professional actor spoke at the end of the performance ceremony. "Don’t give up NDA to be a dancer," he said. "Except for the class that did 'Thriller.'”

I was elated. But he did not mention “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Perhaps he had arrived late.