Rappin’ rebel with a cause: Eminem

  Maegan Carberry Carberry is a third-year
political science student. E-mail her at [email protected].
Click Here for more articles by Maegan Carberry

His jeans may be a little baggier than James Dean’s and
the white shirt may ironically be a wife beater, but Eminem is
certainly rebelling against social norms. And there is nothing
Americans like better than a rebel with the good old fashioned
intention of just getting us worked up.

I bought the “Marshal Mathers LP” because it makes
me feel political, and I like music that makes me think and ask
questions. I also have to agree with Slim Shady himself and say
that the only thing that Britney Spears is making me ask is,
“When did little girls become so sexual?”

Let’s think of the main qualms people have with Eminem: he
demeans women, hates gays, incessantly swears, talks about murder,
and has made no secret of his distaste for fellow teen popular
idols. Sounds like a great guy.

I would be lying if I tried to argue that I do not find him
disturbing in many ways, particularly when it comes to his feelings
about homosexuality and his disrespect for women. Except I think he
is fascinating. Also, the fact that a lot of us are willingly
subjecting ourselves to his lyrics is doubly perplexing and worthy
of contemplation.

Illustration by RODERICK ROXAS/Daily Bruin

As Eminem says in “The Real Slim Shady”:
“I’m like a head-trip to listen to, ’cause
I’m only giving you things you joke about with your friends
inside your living rooms.” My friends and I don’t
generally joke about the rape and murder of homosexuals or wives
and our mothers ““ but it’s the idea of what happens
behind the closed doors of your home and society that many artists
use to make us evaluate what face we’re all showing to the
world.

Usually it’s the unspeakable thing that causes the most
commotion and evaluation. No one wanted to see Harold and
Maude’s first kiss or hear the Material Girl narrate the
deflowering of a virgin on the airwaves. And that’s exactly
what Eminem is doing.

The heinous crimes, violence and vulgarity are things we are all
aware of, but often times choose to ignore and put out of our
minds. And here he is reminding us of it on the radio. What’s
interesting is that we could probably find a lot of it (minus the
foul language) on the

5 o’clock news.

In “Criminal,” he intimates that a lot of people
think that because he says ludicrous things in his songs he must
therefore believe or practice them. Eminem also addresses this
concern in the song “Stan,” about a crazed fan who
represents today’s tendency to elevate celebrities to
incredibly high and influential status. In this song, Slim responds
to the out of control fan in a sincere voice telling him that he
needs counseling and the lyrics are in jest ““ and not meant
to be carried out.

Celebrity status is further explored in “The Way I
Am,” in which Eminem expresses the frustration of not being
able to participate in regular every day life activities without
being bombarded with requests for autographs. I find this song
interesting because celebrities have to find this aspect of the job
aggravating, yet you never actually hear any of them let loose to
the public. (Eminem covers it for everyone in this tune.)

Another pressing issue addressed by Mathers on his new CD is the
cycle of drug addiction. In “Drug Ballad,” he describes
in detail the daily life of someone trapped by this behavior.
Mathers’ tone implies that he finds this lifestyle horrific
and undesirable. I think this song actually discourages drug use
rather than promoting it.

Perhaps Eminem’s favorite topic of discussion is
dysfunctional parenting. Some great lyrics on this subject are:
“What about the makeup you allow your 12-year-old daughter to
wear?” or “You should have been watching him,
apparently you ain’t parents.” I find it very ironic
that someone who engages in behavior that is far from what parents
might expect from their children (like swearing, intolerance and
violence) thinks of himself as a voice of a good parent.
That’s the kind of irony Eminem plays on.

I remember buying the tape, pressing play and hearing his
“Public Service Announcement 2000″: Slim Shady would
like to thank you, because “upon purchase of this album, you
have just kissed his ass.” It’s true. I don’t
support him demeaning women and gays, but I bought his tape. I gave
him my money and by doing that I showed support for all the things
he’s saying.

I think he gets a real kick out of knowing how many people
object to him, yet continue to objectify him with articles, sales
and awards. “He’s talking about raping his own mother
““ and we gave him the Rolling Stone cover?” he asks in
“Kill You.”

He confronts the notion of saying one thing while knowing in
your heart it is just a front. There is indeed a “Slim
Shady” lurking inside all of us. It is quite a bold statement
that holds a lot of merit.

For example, think of all the people who find themselves to be
moral and oppose him for the things he says about gays. I’d
like to ask half of them how they voted on Proposition 22. I can
see all the middle-aged Republican wives shaking their heads and
pearl necklaces over a lunch date discussing how
“terrible” it is that he hates homosexuals when they
themselves don’t have enough respect for gay Americans to
recognize their marriages by the law.

In any case, while I enjoy the way Eminem provokes my thoughts,
I wish he would take responsibility for himself. He had a rough
life, a broken down family and his mother lied to him. Yes, he is
definitely one of the many children who has been wronged by their
parents and community. But you can still decide to be a step above
that environment.

Eminem is walking, talking irony because he preaches to parents
to have a greater influence in their children’s lives, yet he
seems to think he is not responsible for the delinquency of anyone
via his music. “I just said it ““ I didn’t know if
you’d do it or not,”he says in “The Way I
Am.”

Overall, however, I think Eminem’s message is startlingly
poignant in today’s society. There are a lot of kids who feel
like they are forgotten and getting screwed by the system. People
are listening to him because they think he’s talking about
something important. He’s challenging us to confront issues
and get them out in the open instead of keeping our opinions to
ourselves in private where no one can see or do anything about
them.

In a society where professional wrestling is on TV, where
half-naked teenage girls are singing about “being rubbed the
right way,” and murder and intolerance are in the daily news,
Eminem’s strategy is to think of the most vile thing to say
and see if even it bothers us anymore.

I’m glad he’s found a way to bother us, and that
he’s thought of such a witty way to do it. This means
we’re actually thinking about what we want for our
society.

Madonna burned crosses, John Lennon sang about a walrus, and now
this little white kid has started running around the stage with his
middle finger straight up in the air. But as long as they keep us
guessing, we’ll have to keep thinking.