Between this and other telling anecdotes, Thriller 40 illustrates what it took for Jackson to be considered a true “crossover artist” — a mainstream pop star rather than an R&B one — at a time when racial divisions in the industry were uncompromising, to put it mildly. His duet with Paul McCartney, “The Girl Is Mine,” wasn’t just the first single released from Thriller because of McCartney’s musical cache; it was about what the Beatle represented and the demographics of his audience. When Jackson asked Jane Fonda to introduce him at a press conference in 1983, she was chosen for similar reasons.

Thriller 40 is first and foremost, however, a documentary about the Thriller album. That means a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage, the chance to hear a few original demos (the one for “Billie Jean” is a particular treat) and present-day interviews with the session musicians involved in making it. There are also reflections on how influential the album was from artists including Mary J. Blige, Usher, Maxwell, Mark Ronson and Tony! Toni! Toné!’s Raphael Saddiq.

For younger generations, Thriller 40 is a modern history lesson in how pop music once worked: how it was controlled by a small group of gatekeepers, but also had the power to seep into every aspect of the culture. For those who lived through that period, Thriller 40 offers an immersive nostalgia and a reminder of one of the last points in pop culture before it felt like we’d seen everything. For me — a childhood Jackson fan who hasn’t willingly listened to his music since the sexual assault allegations first started — there was something soothing about revisiting this very specific, more innocent moment in time.