8 Mile

In 1999, the album The Slim Shady was released and put a man that goes by the name Eminem, on the map. With his growing popularity the documentary production of his life, 8 Mile, came out in 2006. The movie depicts his life in the beginning of his early rapping career. In the movie, Eminem’s name is changed to Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith Jr. to make the movie appear to be a fictional movie, when it actually mirrors the life of Eminem almost exactly.
The story about Eminem is unified in plot because if a part of the movie or the life of Eminem was to be altered, we may not be finding ourselves or the teen age generation listening to any of his fascinating music that tells us about his life growing up and the problems he has faced. The story is also credible because it is a documentary of Marshall’s life and based off of events and things that happened to him. The story of Marshall’s life is also interesting. The director makes the movie suspenseful when Eminem goes on stage for his second rap battle. This is so suspenseful because in a previous rap battle he froze and was booed off stage. When he comes to the stage for his second battle the audience is unsure whether or not he is going to freeze again. The director also provides us as an audience with action throughout the movie. He provides the action of his rap battles and also the action of Marshall’s best friends, Cheddar Bob, shooting himself in the leg on accident. The story of 8 Mile is very simple to follow for basically any viewer because it often foreshadows or hints at what is coming next in the movie. The story is complex, however, when one tries to think of how Marshall is able to come up with his lines for rap battles with basically no time to rehearse lines or think of ideas. The title of 8 Mile isn’t very flashy or wouldn’t jump out at someone because the understanding of the title isn’t understood until one has watched the movie.
8 Mile’s dramatic structure is nonlinear because it starts in the middle of Marshall’s life instead of at the beginning when he was born. In the movie Eminem faces both external and internal conflicts. He faces external conflict throughout the movie because he is constantly trying to keep his job and support his family and slowly growing rap career. He also has to constantly try to fend off mugging attempts from the rap group “Free World.” Some of the internal conflicts that Marshall faces are when he freezes on stage in his first rap battle and is booed off stage. After that happens he is constantly thinking about whether or not he should still pursue a rap career. I believe the director uses characterization through appearance to allow us as an audience to make assumptions about the cast. He wants us to do this because by filming the movie in a rundown part of Detroit, the director shows how rough Marshall had it earlier in his life and it is almost like a rag to riches type story for him. In this way the director also portrays how rappers are generally dressed like thugs and look “gangster.” The director also uses characterization through dialogue. He shows how dumb Cheddar Bob is when he has him always blabbing about something or even when he blurts out “F*** the Free World.” In the movie the main character Jimmy is a round character because he has a very elaborate personality and it is hard to predict what he will do or say next.
8 Mile is filmed in color and if it were filmed in black in white I feel it would lose a large part of its audience. Film’s shot in black and white are usually older movies and give it a more rustic and original feel. Film’s shot in black and white usually attract an older generation for the audience and usually less from the younger generation. Being that 8 Mile is about the life of rapper Eminem, it needs to be shot in color so that it’s more appealing to the younger generation of fans that will most likely be watching it. A part in the movie when the screen format is very important is when Jimmy and Papa Doc are in the finals for the rap battle. It is important to have a Cinemascope shot of the crowd so that the audience can imagine the atmosphere and basically feel the people chanting for the rapper of choice. The stock of film that I thought the director used was smooth-grain film stock. I think this because it allowed the director to create artistic shadows and different contrasts in many of the scenes throughout the movie.
The setting portrayed in this film is a rundown area of Detroit, Michigan. The setting effects that have the most influence on the main character are social structures and economic factors. The social structures are outside characters like Papa Doc and Jimmy’s Mom. The economic factors are Jimmy having to work long hours to support his family. When he has to do this it takes away time he could be spending on improving his rapping skills. Lighting in this movie plays a very important role. One part where it is very important in is once again the rap battles. For instance, in the biggest rap battle of the movie the lighting is only focused on Jimmy and Papa Doc staring at each other. When the light is only focused on these two you are able to see how much they dislike each other and how intense the battle is about to get.
Through out the movie there are a variety of things that pull and keep this movie flowing. By having a unified plot, a story that is credible, an interesting story, using different types of lighting to turn the audiences focus and a bunch of other things helps to keep the movie interesting and exciting throughout the duration. The only thing I feel the director is missing is making this movie appealing to an older generation that has never heard of Eminem. The director also leaves me wondering these questions: What happens to Jimmy after he walks off in the end of the movie? What do his friends end up doing? And do he and Alex ever get back together?