8 Mile
8-Mile
Like
Jackass, there was another craze in my late teens / early twenties taking the
world by storm, but I didn’t take to it at first. Another white rapper came on
the scene, the first since Vanilla Ice, but this time, he had some talents. Still,
Eminem, or was it Slim Shady, or was it Marshall Mathers? One of those. An
angry, attitude driven young guy from the rough city of Detroit broke onto the
scene. The first song of his that got my
attention was “Stan”, not because I liked his rapping or lyrical style, but the
way he cleverly used snippets of Dido’s song “Thank You”, which made her a star
in return. Was Eminem a rapper trying to
sound good in the shadow of people who could actually sing, or was he a composer
of the new era?
I kept tabs
on his music, but didn’t get too excited about. Each year he came out with a
new album, a slightly new sound, but he was still angry as hell. Bashing and criticizing
almost everyone else in the music industry, which was stirring up some controversy
and his fair share of enemies. From my point of view, I saw Eminem as just the “cool
thing in music” at the time, but didn’t see him doing anything else beyond that
worth of merit. I was about to be proven very wrong.
It was in
late 2002, a trailer for a movie surfaced, about a young guy living on the
wrong side of the tracks in Detroit. With a hood over his face, earphones blasting
music to drown out the dark world around him, and a yellow notepad in his hand
covered in scribbled notes, the visual appeal of the film interested me. Then half
way through the trailer, I realised it was Eminem! He looked different. More subdued
and thoughtful. Not the bleach-blonde haired guy yelling about everyone and everything.
The film was called “8 Mile” and I have to be honest, the trailer won me over.
A few weeks
before the movie came out, Eminem released a new song. “Lose Yourself” was his
ode to the journey of his character from the film, Jimmy, and very reflective
of his own struggles in real life (like most of sings). The whole look and feel
of the music video, with bits of the film spliced in between, had a whole
Underdog look about it. One type of
movie I love is the story of the Underdog; Rocky is a great example, and 8 Mile
was taking a similar route, but jus trading boxing for rap battles.
Curiosity got
the better of me, and I went and saw the film. I was enthralled from start to
finish. Firstly, I was very surprised and impressed by Eminem’s acting
abilities. He embodied his character with a sensitive and deep, pondering
expression that perfectly captures the inner journey of a young guy from a
rough life, trying to break free. The supporting cast were just as good in
their roles. I was pleasantly surprised to see the story was not so much about rapping,
or glorifying Eminem’s life or background, but using it more as a backdrop to a
story about a young guy just looking for his own voice. And the film is directed
in such a way, where everything that Eminem’s character Jimmy goes through, is
the inspiration behind his poetry, and gives him the power to rap in front of a
judgmental crowd and up against guys who are clearly better, badder and bigger
than him.
I walked
out of this film with a whole new appreciation and respect for the artist they
called Eminem. His performance was real and humble, and the film didn’t end
like I would have expected. The story was structured in a way, that we know the
musical opus that is brewing in Jimmy’s mind even before he does, and when he
does perform live to a packed house in the final rap battle scene, it’s
electric and powerful.
In the days
and weeks after seeing 8 Mile, I bought myself a copy of the album and
discovered rap music for the first time. Lose Yourself was playing on the radio
and TV constantly, and showing no sign of slowing down. The song sounded better
and better every time I heard it, and the lyrics really resonated with me. In time,
the song would become a classic, cementing this position early on by winning
the Oscar for Best Original Song, at which Eminem was not present to accept the
award. He declined the invitation, and apparently was asleep at home.
Every would
be wrapper and Eminem fan would add Lose Yourself to their list of favourite
songs by the artist, and over time it became one of my favourite songs of all
time. The perfect mix of the dramatic music with cinematic undertones, driven
by the emotional piano intro, then backed up by hard, angry bass guitar riffs,
flowed with Eminem’s strong and penetrating voice. He put his all into this
song, and showed an even greater example of his ability to string words
together in time with a tune, like a match made in heaven. I tried to learn the
lyrics of the song, and listened to it on my Discman while walking around town
or driving in the car. I did alright, and can recall most of the lyrics still
today. One level better than most people who can only say the lyrics in time to
the music of “Mom’s Spaghetti – Mom’s Spaghetti”.
At the age
of 20, I was trying to find my own voice. No, I wasn’t trying to be the next
white rapper, as Eminem would go on to inspire for many years to come. Rather, I
was starting to take the craft of writing seriously, and found my new venture
was in scriptwriting.
At this time, in early 2003, I was a part of a local
youth project where we made a short film. I saw the ad in the local paper to be
a part of it, and took up the role of main camera operator. The whole
filmmaking process was fun and a great learning experience, and I really liked
the story and script some of the other young people had written. So I started
to develop my own idea. I’m not sure where my initial idea came from, but it
was inspired by the setting of my home town at the time; Dandenong.
Some of my
mates here in Melbourne will probably laugh at that, given Deadening’s less
than solid reputation, but I spent 17 years of my life there, and in many ways
I’m still a Dandy boy. It’s a multicultural town, full of every culture, colour
and conviction in the world (almost), and in my spare time I enjoyed walking
around town, listening to music in my Discman and watch the town centre in the
early days of its redevelopment phase. This was in 2003, and now, Dandenong is almost
unrecognizable. On these walks about town, usually listening to the soundtrack
from 8 Mile, the idea came to me for a story about a young guy, working at the
local supermarket. He lives with his single mum, has a younger sister, and
listens to rock music. In one night, he will reconnect with his estranged
father who’s just been released from prison, and learn the truth of growing up
and being an adult, in very dramatic and potentially dangerous ways. I chipped
away at this idea for a few years, stopping and starting, adding more
characters, then taking them away. I found my prose, my rhythm, and my voice in
writing the script for “One Night”, and although I didn’t finish it (I might someday)
the experience of writing it was a good one.
Now, re-watching
8 Mile and listening to Lose Yourself a few times in the past couple of days to
write this review, took me back to that time. In spite of myself, I got
inspired by the white rapper I originally loathed, enjoyed his film, and
discovered a new meaning behind his music I didn’t expect to hear. I didn’t get
into the post-8 mile music of Eminem as much, but overall, I have continued to
respect him as an artist.
And the one
message he says at the end of Lose Yourself, which summaries the song and the
journey of his character perfectly – and was not a saying I would have expected
to hear at the end of a rap song – was simply, “You can do anything you put
your mind to man”. Thanks Eminem, for unexpectedly inspiring me to find my
voice and putting my mind to anything I wanted to do.
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