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8
Mile: Lyrical and Lifting
By
DeShaun Snead
As a rap star, Eminem is a long way from trailer parks and the realities
of Detroit’s depressed inner city, but in 8 Mile, the recent
blockbuster written by Scott Silver and directed by Curtis Hanson,
the audience wouldn’t know it. Eminem plays Jimmy Smith, Jr.,
an angsty lyricist pursuing rap stardom. He’s urged to do this
by gaining a reputation in freestyle underground battles in a club
called The Shelter. The movie takes place in mid-‘90’s
urban Detroit and spans a week. In this week, Jimmy (also called B.
Rabbit) must redeem himself after an embarrassing Friday night scene
in The Shelter where he chokes in a high energy freestyle battle.
Jimmy has to move back into his mother’s trailer because he’s
broke and gave his car to his girlfriend who says she’s pregnant.
He and his “crew,” which includes actor Mekhi Phifer (Future),
all aspire to leave Detroit and get their rap careers off the ground.
Anyone who knows anything about Eminem will notice the biographical
elements of 8 Mile. It wasn’t hard to be convinced by Eminem’s
portrayal of stoic anger, explosive outrage and vulnerability.
This movie is absolutely brilliant. It confronts issues of race, class
and where rap is positioned in the lives of those that thrive in it.
Additionally, the depression of the industrial city, Detroit, is exposed
on the screen to a large audience.
Despite all of this, it must be asked: What does it mean to be a white
protagonist in a film that showcases a largely black musical art form?
Are the black characters in this film marginalized because of Eminem’s
starring role? Is Eminem appropriating now? To start answering the
latter — Eminem doesn’t try to hide his position in the
rap industry. He admits that he mirrors Elvis in the fact that he
is making millions of dollars (or rather his label is making millions)
from an art form that emerged from the African-American inner city
experience.
No matter how these questions can be answered, the truth remains:
8 Mile is a must see. It is a telling reminder of the relevance of
rap. It provides a release for disillusioned youth everywhere. Rap
relates what words continue to mean to those who hang up posters of
Tupac in their bedrooms, scribble rhymes in notebooks and, as the
Fugees said, “rip mics on the daily." |
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