2 23 12 8 Mile First major Hollywood film that featured a biography of a rapper as the central story Significant because the industry of Hollywood itself is traditionally slower on picking up culture Not the first hip hop film but Hollywood s recognition of hip hop culture and its importance Decision to focus on Eminem White male rapper in a genre of music that is almost exclusively defined by black men One of the few cultural spaces that flow from the perspective of black men Parallel the NBA Commentary on race and class In the first rap battle Eminem called out for being white called a tourist When his mother is watching Imitation of Life A light skinned black woman attempting to pass for white Subtle and obvious cues as to what it means for a white male to find a space in hip hop In a cultural environment defined by black men Opening of the film Listening to Mob Deep s Shook Ones Fear Disrespected ridiculed Unable to respond at a loss for words when he enters the battle on stage Humiliated in public but it doesn t stop there Moves in with mom in trailer park who is sleeping with an old classmate Works a shitty factory job with ex cons and welfare moms How much humiliation can one white man take He must be stripped of anything to suggest he has power agency or authority Regardless of all this he has a loving nurturing relationship with his little sister Later in the film he comes to the rescue of a gay man and woman who are ridiculed at work These inform the spectator that Rabbit is someone to sympathize with Despite of lack of power Can be applauded for his actions with his sister and co workers Economic and social class Trailer park desperate Setting Detroit Relative to American history and culture Was the most important city in America at one point in the early 20 th century Home of American auto industry Shift from industrial economy to one of information and technology Less production and manufacturing Information becomes main export Decay and decline of American industrial system Detroit composed of Eastern European immigrants and southern blacks The Great Migration Decline in Detroit s economy Rabbit is representative of the city and the shift from industrial to information based society Disenfranchised white male Rabbit s attempt to make a name for himself in hip hop Rabbit s misfit crew is in contrast to the rival group Free World Deals with a number of issues Encounters a woman Alex especially problematic Catches her having sex just as he earlier caught his mother Sex scenes with Alex Rabbit s pornographic fantasies Objectified Rabbit s mother Shows little confidence in Rabbit He is the father figure looking out for both his mother and sister Hip hop as a culture of upward social mobility Climbing the ladder to success Rappers who grow up in the worst possible circumstances overcome challenges Become rich famous successful Because he is white the film must make Rabbit into more than a tourist Make him the most oppressed the most disenfranchised Rival rapper Papa Doc Clarence Private school Class conflict and questions of authenticity In last battle Rabbit puts everything on the table that Papa Doc might want to criticize him for In context of Eminem s career Standards for entry into hip hop for non black men are very high The original white rapper Vanilla Ice a joke Attempted to establish himself as just as authentic as black rappers Exposed as a fraud So when Eminem tried to enter rap scene he had to break Vanilla Ice s glass ceiling Couldn t rap about the same things so he changed the narrative Made it known he was poorer more oppressed more disenfranchised What Rabbit raps about in the end The film appears to argue that class is more important than race In contrast to Papa Doc s higher class existence Though he represents himself as a real gangster thug Exposed as inauthentic Along with Alex and Wink Rabbit alone is authentic Characters not only inauthentic but also dangerous Hurt emotionally and physically Threatened on all sides Rabbit must find a way to assert himself put everyone in their place After the battle Future offers the chance to help host battles But he turns it down Has regained independence and masculinity Is over pursuing rap as a career Has made a moral decision to embrace independence and blue collar sensibility Both in disarming his critics and making a connection with audience Walks off into the night Equivalent of old westerns in a more contemporary context Not off into the sunset but into urban decay of Detroit Has decided to go back to work Walks away on his own terms he is his own man Rabbit s relationship with Proof parallel to Eminem s relationship to Dr Dre I don t need you anymore Conquering hero Absorbs and transcends all forms of identity Can relate to everyone in the audience regardless of differences in race Persona outside the film as well Rabbit Eminem come to represent Detroit outside of decay porn of media Symbol of Detroit and its resurgence Seen in Eminem s superbowl commercial Embrace those things that would seem to be negative Silence the critics Traditional film set in a contemporary environment A Western A downtrodden character triumphing over the rest Disenfranchised white male made whole by his own moral standards