8 Mile

8 Mile was directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Scott Silver. 8 Mile is about Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith, who is a poor white kid from the slums of Detroit. Rabbit is trying to make it out of the slums through his rapping ability. Along the way Rabbit has several problems with family, friends, and relationships. I enjoyed watching the movie because it had the rags to riches feel to it.

The chapter, the musical score, from our book indicated that the two basic funtions of the musical score are to create structural rhythms and to stimulate emotional responses. The movie 8 Mile did both of these things throughout the movie. Structural rhythm was reached throughout the movie and set the tone. In the movie for example when they were riding around having themselves a good laid back time there was laid back music on in the background. The opposite of this would be in the begining of 8 Mile when the music is more up pace because the battle was about to take place. Throughout 8 Mile the music set the pace of the scenes. 8 Mile also did a good job of catching the emotional aspect of the viewers eyes through music. Before the battle the music they played in the background makes the viewer feel a bit on edge with a bit of anxiety waiting in suspense to see what is going to happen next. The music gave scenes like the battles a heightening and dramatic effect.

One thing that I personally think is cool in a movie is when Rabbit is sitting on the back of a car listening to music with his head phones on and when Rabbit took them off the music stopped. 8 Mile did that sort of technique throughout the movie and I think that it enhances the viewers reactions because it makes in more life like. 8 Mile starred Eminem and used several of his songs within the movie. Eminem did a decent job acting in my opinion but he probably should not quit his day job. Music during movies is sometimes used to cover up sub-par acting but as I said, in my opinion, Eminem did a decent job.

8 Mile had a good plot involved and it was roughly related to Eminem's life. I think that 8 Mile did a good job portraying the city of Detroit and how the slums of 8 Mile look. I think that movies like this give the viewer a taste of some of the problems in some of the places in the United States. During the movie they talked about how a druggy raped a little girl in an abandoned house. There was some political/social issues that I picked up on when they said that the city does nothing about the abandoned houses and it is hard to take pride in your neighborhood when it looks like trash. The house was later burned to the ground in rejoice. I see this as hope for a better future and a message that everyone should keep their head up because tomorrow will bring a better day then the one before.