Task 3 analysis of Eminem’s song and music video “Stan”

Stan – Eminem feat. Dido

https://youtu.be/gOMhN-hfMtY

The video I will be analysing is Eminem’s ‘Stan’ featuring the artist Dido singing the chorus. It is a

good example of a music video, which directly relates to the lyrics & is a strong example of a

narrative music video, being linear and a very strong message from Eminem to his fans. The music

throughout the song is a modified beat of Dido’s original song “Thank You”. Similar to other rap

songs, the beat is consistent and repeats throughout the whole song. Besides this, however we do

hear other sound effects and connections between both the video and the music.

The song is Hip Hop styled song, but does not included any dancing which is unconventional for a

music video, as most artist in the Hip Hop genre included dancers and sing about their success to

promote themselves, the record label and the single. Usually Eminem adapts the video to broadcast

a message to his fans to show them what obsession can do to someone’s life.

Introduction & Background

‘Stan’ by Eminem, was directed & produced by Philip Atwell & Dr.Dre. The song was released on

December 9th 2000 and received high critical praise, peaking at No.1 in both the UK and Australia.

The video, released 2 years later in 2002 was also well received, being nominated for Video of the

Year, Best Rap Video, Best Direction & Best Cinematography at the MTV Video Music Awards. The

legacy that comes with the music video and song proves to be the turning point in Eminem’s career,

and is one of his most memorable and most influential songs released by him.

The song tells a clear story, linking in with the video, of an obsessive fan writing to Eminem. The song

was inspired by the death of Eminem’s Uncle Ronnie in 1992. This track led to the term “Stan” being

used in the industry to describe an obsessive fan and had huge influence within the music industry

In the starting scene the first clear thing is that the, in the opening of the music video is set out as if

it is a theatrical trailer, with no clear melody or lyrics just the sound of thunder and rain already

stating the mood of a depressing atmosphere,

which is called pathetic fallacy (this continues

throughout the whole song showing how

depressing the song is). The scene then leads to

a man dressed like Eminem bleaching his hair

(indicating already the crazed fan) which leads

to an uproar as Stan is so drawn in by himself as

he thinks he looks like Eminem (which he does

throughout the video a s his obsession grows) because

of this he forgets completely about his pregnant wife.

“the morning rain clouds up my window, and I can’t see

at all, and even if I could it would all be grey” – This

directly relates to the visuals of the music video as the

weather outside is in bad condition, as we see in the

opening shot. It also has a direct link to Dido’s

unhappiness in her relationship with Stan, shown to us

by the argument they have just had even though she

constantly wears blue showing loyalty as throughout

Stan’s obsession, he’s addiction she stays with him, even

though she knows who he has become.

“Dear Slim, I wrote but you still ain’t callin I

left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at

the bottom” – This is linked with the shot of

Stan grabbing a pencil and writing a letter to

someone, which the lyrics identify, is Eminem.

Where we see lip syncing as the singer is

actually Eminem broadcasting his message

through Stan, as the actor lip syncs the words

to make it look like he is singing the song.

“My girlfriends pregnant too, I’m about to be a

father. If I have a daughter, guess what I’m

gonna call her? I’ma name her Bonnie.”

Showing the obsession Stan has with Eminem

as he’s starting to piece by piece copy

Eminem’s life. (Also this has reference his song

“97 bonnie and Clyde” as he says he is going to

name his daughter Bonnie). Which is what

Eminem in his message to his fans is implying

them not to do, as this form of idolism is only

because his main fans are of a lower class and

need something to actually give them a

purpose ignoring their real issues in life. When

Stan is writing his first letter where there is

footage on the TV in his basement where

Eminem is waving at the camera. This is clearly

just for the television show it was shown on

however Stan looks back and waves back as

acknowledgement of this showing his almost

trance like state where he believes Eminem

was waving to him. This has been included to

show this is no ordinary obsession with an artist. During this scene, there is also a clear reference to

a Phil Collins song. “The song “Old World Disorder” is referenced by Stan in the track to Eminem as

“that underground shit that you did with Skam.”

There is some passing of time will the chorus

plays allowing the story to progress but also

reveals the building of tension as the letter falls

out of the post cart, showing you the building up

of the atmosphere for the next verse.

The second verse begins with a low angle shot of

Stan looking more agitated implying to the

audience that his anger is boiling as the image is

intimidating. The lyrics link well with this moment

as Stan, writing another letter to Eminem,

expresses his annoyance of not receiving a reply

from his idol. “I just think its fucked up you dont

answer fans!” – this, as earlier stated, shows he is

getting more aggressive and agitated.

Stan continuing his rant enters the next scene

were he and his little brother are at an Eminem

concert, with the lyrics of the song being

illustrated by the video. His perception of

Eminem is god-like and a high-angle shot of him

in the audience shows Eminem’s viewpoint.

Eminem’s expression on his face shows

acknowledgement of him and Stan’s face to this

looks elated.

“If you didn’t wanna talk to me outside the concert

you didn’t have to.” Stan’s aggression/obsession

starts to increase more and more by this time, he is

so obsessed he is blinded form the truth “He wants

to be just like you man, he likes you more than I do”

when actually his brother really isn’t interested, it’s

just an excuse for himself.

The story progresses with various statements by Stan, of how familiar both Eminem and his lives are,

referring to past experiences, explaining their connection and even showing a flashback to a meeting

they had at a CD signing. Where Eminem appears overwhelmed by the situation and Stan explains

that Eminem promised him a reply if he were to write to him.

Stan’s obsession with Eminem is continually

amplified up to the point where there is a scene of

him getting a tattoo of Eminem’s face on his body

with the lyrics “I even got a tattoo of your name

across the chest” leaving us in a clear position of

just how serious his problem is getting.

He goes on to refer to self-harm, making the

atmosphere of the video darker, somehow making the

song darker and more depressing than it already Is

then goes on to state “my girlfriend’s jealous cuz I talk

about you 24/7” showing us the proof from his own

words that his obsession with Eminem is the cause of

his relationship problems between him and his

girlfriend. The verse culminates in him finishing off the

letter with the words: “ps. we should be together too.” As

if he fantasises of them being a couple Showing you how

his obsession has reached his climax, a slightly unnerving,

view on his obsession, amplified by him sticking a

magazine cut out of Eminem over the top of a picture of

him and his girlfriend together, as if he fantasises of them

being a couple, even though she is still staying loyal to him

wearing blue as she wants him to get through this period

of obsession he is going through.

The chorus then kicks in once again as we see Stan’s

girlfriend get up late after hours to go down into the

basement to see what Stan gets up to down there as

clearly she has been restricted from entering the

basement, but to her shock she sees the reality of how

bad his obsession is. Which is then followed by Stan

following her down and then strangling her when he

realizes she knows about his obsession. His facial

expressions show how he is okay with her finding out

about his obsession as it gives him another excuse to

relate to Eminem as he then copies him by tying her up

and throwing her in the trunk of his car

He is speaking into a cassette “Dear Mister I’m too

good to call or write my fans” showing how agitated

he is. As he mentions that he is “doing 90 on the

freeway” and continues with “Hey Slim, I drank a

fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive?” he continually

looks at his hanging ornament on his rear-view

mirror of Eminem, as if he is talking to him directly, a

clear sign of a deranged person like he has finally lost

it completely, like he has gone off the edge (which he

does). As it’s if, he saying that is the last he will hear

of him which is why he is leaving the message to him.

A reference to another song in this scene is My Name Is’ where Eminem raps “Am I comin’ or goin’? I

can barely decide I just drank a fifth of vodka, dare me to drive?” another reference in this song is

when Stan says “You know the song by Phil Collins, In the Air of the Night About that guy who could

a saved that other guy from drowning, but didn't, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him?

That’s kinda how this is, you could a rescued me from drowning” “This refers to another Phil Collins

song “In the Air Tonight”, but in this song its misquoting as “In the Air of the Night.”, as Stan refers to

an urban legend that the song is about Collins seeing a man drowning, while a closer bystander does

nothing to save him.

“I hope you can’t sleep and you dream about it and

when you dream I hope you can’t sleep and you scream

about it I hope your conscience eats at you and you

can’t breathe without me.” Revealing how his obsession

has destroyed him as now all of his basic functions have

switched off and how reality no longer matters to him

this is followed by a scream we hear from Dido, Stan

turns around and exclaims, “Shut up bitch! I’m tryin to

talk!” Hey Slim, that's my girlfriend screamin' in the trunk But I didn't slit her throat, I just tied her

up, see I ain't like you' Cause if she suffocates she'll suffer more, and then she'll die. As if to say, he

wants to be him but better like saying he sees what he is doing to his girlfriend as better than what

Eminem did. Another reference in this is when Stan says” Shut up, bitch, I’m tryin’ to talk! Hey Slim,

that’s my girlfriend screaming in the trunk/But I didn’t slit her throat, I just tied her up” which refers

to Eminem’s song “Kim,” where Eminem murders his wife after realizing she is cheating and doesn’t

love him; at the end of “Kim” he slits her throat and throws her in his trunk.”

The verse is finished with Stan signing off his

recording with “Well, gotta go, I’m almost at the

bridge now Oh shit, I forgot, how’m I supposed to

send this shit out?” showing he hadn’t planned this

through, but this is not reality kicking in it’s only the

fact that he wouldn’t be able to get the tape

delivered, his cares for his wife, child, family even

himself have all vanished just to make his life a

remembrance to Eminem, which then shows the

urgency of the situation as his car breaks through

the Bridge’s Closed barriers, flying off the bridge into the water below. Rain sound effects are made

louder when Stan is drunk at the end of the song when he is driving dangerously and Car tyre

squeals are heard exacerbating the erratic driving to the audience.

The chorus is used to fill the time where the car sinks and

shows Eminem finally picking up a pencil and then start to

write back, where then the last verse to start this time

instead of Stan pretending to be singing its Eminem, as

narratively writes his letter. Eminem begins with the lyrics “I

meant to write sooner but I just been busy” which actually

shows Stan and dido’s deaths could of actually been

prevented, something which Eminem himself is not aware of

at the current time. As he continues, unknowing that Stan

has died, he mentions “here’s an autograph for your brother,

I wrote it on a Starter cap” with this the camera

cuts to Matthew at a cemetery where we see

Stan’s grave to be.

The video then goes back to the scene of the car

being pulled out with Eminem still not realizing

Stan has already passed tries to help him with his

message he is writing back, “seen this one shit on

the news a couple weeks ago that made me sick

Some dude was drunk and drove his car over a

bridge and had his girlfriend in the trunk, and she was

pregnant with his kid and in the car they found a tape,

but they didn’t say who it was to Come to think about,

his name was. it was you Damn!”

The sudden realisation of him finding out it was Stan is

shown with Stan’s face appearing on the window of his

tour bus as a flash of lightning occurs. This is the end of

the melody and song with the video continuing to finish

with a shot of Matthew placing his hand on his

brother’s grave in remembrance but showing the influence older brothers can have, as him losing his

brother drove him to follow in his footsteps.

last Friday Night-Katy Perry

http://www.vevo.com/watch/katy-

perry/Last-Friday-Night-(T-G-I-F-

)/USCA31100045

The next video I will analysing is “last Friday night” by Katy Perry. The music video is a combination

of narrative and performance, with elements of pastiche (“an artistic work in a style that imitates

that of another work, artist, or period”) and clear Intertextual references throughout. It closely

follows the conventions expected by Goodwin.

The main purpose of the music video was to further promote album sales of Katy Perry’s

sophomore album “Teenage Dream”. This was the fifth single lifted of the album and its success

would lead to further publicity for Perry. A number 1 single would set a new World Record making

Katy Perry the first female solo artist to achieve 5 number 1 singles from the same album.

the video encompasses(surrounds) many elements of performance with the intention of promoting

and idolising the artist. An example of this will be the use of camera angles of Katy Perry which

emphasises the importance of her role not only within the narrative, but also as the “product” that is

being promoted. The song includes a pace beat and a catchy chorus a conventional thing used in pop

music.

Some of the narrative actually expands in the song, amplifying its meaning. There is a subtle Cameo

and intertextual aspect to the video as it stars Rebecca Black, famous for her song ‘Friday.’ It is

suitable that she should feature in this video considering the relationship between her song ‘Friday’

and this song ‘Last Friday Night,’ with lyrical parallels like “…gotta’ get down on Friday, everybody’s

looking forward to the weekend…” and “T.G.I.F” which is an acronym for ‘thank God it’s Friday’.

In the beginning scene the first thing you see is an extreme long shot of what seems to be a rich

neighbourhood, set in the past (80’ theme which is a link throughout the whole video) shown by the

paper boy riding his bike delivering papers, which sets the scene as if the video is a movie. Even the

writing used to show the record that produce is set with an 80’s theme. There is pathetic fallacy

used in this scene also as the weather reflects the mood as there are birds chirping, and it’s a clear

sunny sky, which suits the music in the beginning as it’s the beginning of the day as it’s the beginning

of the song

The next scene starts of by showing the aftermath on the songs title “last Friday night”. The video is

nonlinear as the video is not in chronological order as the video starts with the aftermath and goes

back to show you what happened, to cause the room that she is in to be in such a state. This part of

the video is still as if we are watching a movie

instead of a music clip to promote a song. The

bright colours used in this scene are

conventional to the song as it’s a pop song

and also represents the theme of a typical

American girl’s bedroom as there is a lot of

pink which resembles femininity. It shows the

typical stereotype of an out casted girl in

school throwing a party and becoming

popular this is common and used to add humour, something seen often in teenage girl movies. The

music video for Last Friday Night has a strong relationship between the visuals and the lyrics.

Throughout the video, there are visuals,

which illustrate the lyrics “there’s a stranger

in my bed” an image of Kathy Beth Terry

waking up next to a stranger. “Pictures of

last night, ended up online” shows Kathy

Beth Terry browsing through an example of

a social media site which has picture

evidence of “last Friday night”. The video

also presents Katy Perry (in character as

Kathy Beth Terry) lip-synching to the song.

This helps to amplify the lyrics, so the audience can fully understand the connection between the

narrative and the lyrics.

The next scene is where the video takes you back to where the party was starting, and you have

Kathy Beth terry doing a game in a book (this also represents the 80’s theme as they didn’t have

such advanced tech like we do know such as mobile phones (I phone 6) computers (mac books) and

gaming consoles (X BOX 1), They had these technical devices but they were nowhere near as

advanced, to have kid’s on them 24/7.) as she has no friends being an outcast of the popular groups,

but in this video she gets invited I when she goes to moan and do what a parent would do and ask

them to turn it down, instead she goes in obviously wanting to go in, in the first place, this is also

were we see the artist Rebecca black come In to the video. In this scene we also see the first sign of

female gaze theory as we see the jock lying in Kathy’s bed shirtless being revealed for the female

audience.

The next scene is where she enters the main party,

having bright colours suiting the song and the party

itself, being a Friday and an 80’s theme. She seems

bewildered by it all as obviously implying that she

has not been to one before, the scene includes

anther major stereotype used in American teenage

movies having a jock not being interested in her due

to her appearance and having another geek falling

in love with her as he sees them as the same,

different. Which leads to the scene were the he

fantasizes over the two being together. Again like before we get to see the female side of the gaze

theory in this video as they have the actor playing the jock show his abs which is for the female

audience proven as he does it in front Katy

Perry and Rebecca black.

The second verse begins with a cut back to the scene in

the bedroom where she has just woken up, this

happens continuously as it’s like she is telling the story

and we are watching it as it unfolds, the story then

carries on were Kathy is taken up stairs by Rebecca

black were she gets dressed for the party, this is where

the male gaze theory kicks in and the you start to see

the voyeuristic angles, even though the colours are

bright, pink included for femininity, she still wears tight

small clothing for the attraction of the male gaze

audience proven in the video when the jock instantly

leaves the girl for her. Instanty though when she walks doen the stairs she looks at him for approval.

Also in the scene like others, kathy still acts like a beginning to still show how she is still inside

someone different as she is not used to these ways which is why she walks funny and has weird

exprssions on her face.

The next scene is where the chorus kicks in

again, with a long shot angle to set the

scene were now the dancing choreography

starts, this scene is similar to the song “sorry for party rocking” as they surround the stage and

person by person they step in and perform their choreographed dance. In this scene also there are

many close ups on Kathy (Katy Perry) to show she is the star and is the most important character in

the video, also to make her stand out the people in the

background are wearing simple normal clothes to make

sure they don’t stand out and that your eyes are on Katy

Perry.

After the chorus we get an instrumental solo from an artist

called Kenny G who plays uncle Kenny in the video, by him

being here it promotes him and the song to other genre of

audiences, as instrumental solos are unconventional in pop

songs.

The next scene is how we come to realize how her room ended up like it did, in this scene we also

come to terms with the finally of the fairy tale happy ending I this teenage video as the geek (who

thinks himself to be a prince saves Kathy (the princess) form the jock (the evil prince) and they live

happily ever after, this is another iconic 80’s theme which relates to the game Mario a massive

brand now but

actually kick started

in the 80’s.

The ending scene of the video once the song has finished the video goes back into the movie stlye of

video, as kathys parents return home to find kathy and their house in a ginourmous mess, were they

have a dialogue to read instead of lyrics as the style now, is more movie than song, another 80’s

theme is revealed in this scene also as the actors used to play the parents are iconic famous 80’s era

stars (corey fieldman and debbie gibson). Which completes the 80’s styled video as it draws to an

end with the parents unusually leaving her to sleep whilst the house is a wreck, this relates to the

side of rich white familys as having a lot of money gives the children more freedom during the 80’s

era and any other era. The video aslso ends with a casting to show you who was in the video and

who was involed with making the video this is also like a movie styled video as this normally only

happens in movies so it is unconventional for a music video, they also show you at the end, clips

were the actors and artists messed up with what they were doing to make the video funny and

attract more audiences to watch the video, promting the artists involved and the song itself.

Conclusion

As we can see from both videos, they are completely different genres in pop music videos and shows

how they can vary, but which is conventional for a music video? As we can tell the Katy Perry music

video is conventional for a pop video as it includes aspects you would expect to see when Stan

doesn’t. the video includes dance choreography, male/female gaze theory, bright colours to match

the mood of the song as there is an energetic beat. When Eminem’s Stan is a message being linear

unlike Katy Perry’s last Friday night explains in a message through a story form, with a dark

depressing atmosphere which is unconventional for a pop song, Stan also has barely any closes up

on Eminem as Eminem is not the main character in the video which is unconventional for a pop

video. Whereas Katy’s Perry’s last Friday night has her wearing bright colours and camera angles

which focus on her to promote her as an artist and the song/album which she is promoting, links

they both have is that both videos have links to other artists, songs and they both have similar

formats as they both are sought of like movies in some scenes. Which shows the differences and

similarities between the two videos and how Katy Perry’s video is conventional and Eminem’s Stan’s

is unconventional.