297 words on Films
Yesterday my flatmates and me watched Eminem's 8 Mile. I don't like Rap or HipHop music (nor can tell the difference), so I didn't expect too much - although people say that people can be quite witty making up their lyrics. Also, while I don't like his music, Eminem is by now such a commonplace entertainer that he can hardly be ignored.
The story is simple: Brilliant white Eminem shows the racist black rappers who's the best at their gama. But he only has the guts to do it because his good (black) buddies believe in him and push him to do it. While being all hard and fucked-up due to his hard childhood in a white trash trailer park with a slut for a mother, he's also all loving and caring for his little sister and his friends. To top this he goes by the cute name 'Rabbit', going along well with his clueless-little-boy looks. With his mom having sunk very deep, he gets his act together and is determined and hard-working. While it's not shown in the film it's quite clear that this must lead to the fulfilment of the American Dream. And it did, the rest is history
, as they say.
In short: a half-hearted all-American politically-correct racist Hollywood semi-Bildungsroman.
I guess, I wasn't too impressed. Some scenes were OK, though and two of my flatmates liked it. Liking the style of music probably helps.
Afterthought: In the final 'battle' Eminem ups his cred by taking pride in his white trash roots. Silencing his opponent this way by making clear his complete freedom. While it's not directly related – the song Me and Bobby McGee came to my mind:
Freedom is just another word
For nothin' left to lose