February 5, 2015

Secrets Untold A door opens, a bright light shines through, and Eminem’s walking down the aisle of a church dressed in a black tuxedo. Confession time has come and he wants to get everything off his chest. That is exactly what Eminem wants to do in his hip-hop/rap song “Cleanin’ out my Closet.” In the music video, it portrays Eminem shoveling up the moist dirt and aggressively throwing it onto the ground. However, as Eminem is shoveling, the camera takes a sudden turn to where you are looking at everything from above. I first noticed the shape of a rectangle or what seems to be a grave. When first seeing the music video, I thought Eminem was burying his mother because of how much she physically abuses him, but I then thought to myself, it could be him destroying the provocative memories of his past and the hidden secrets that came with it.
“Cleanin’ out my Closet” by Eminem displays the struggles of a young boy, and how he successfully overpowers them as he ages by revealing all of his hidden secrets. Growing up, Eminem moves back and forth between Detroit, Michigan, and Missouri due to his mother’s inability to keep a job (Eminem Par. 2). This constant moving and switching of schools at least twice a year are just two of the many obstacles Eminem has faced during his childhood. Being shoved into lockers and being brutally beaten in bathrooms and hallways is some of the things he remembers from his past. As he ages, Eminem writes his song “Cleanin’ out my Closet” which accuses his mother of being abusive and having addiction problems. Deborah Mathers, Eminem’s mother, sued him for 10 million dollars in 1999, denies all allegations that Eminem states, and resolves the situation for 25 thousand dollars. From the bullying of peers, to dropping out of high school at the age of 17, and having to come home to an emotional and physically abusive mother has a massive impact towards Eminem’s personality. Fully comprehending his lyrics is the only way to see his hidden emotions. His lyrics are what make people love or hate his music. Most of the songs he’s written throughout the years has won him Awards such as Grammy’s, Best Rap Album, Best Male Rap Solo Performance, and more (The GRAMMYs). Despite winning his first Grammy Award in 1999, to winning the most recent one in 2014, he hasn’t won a single award for the song “Cleanin’ out my Closet.” One of the reasons is some of his fans such as the “Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,” a.k.a GLAAD, claims that his lyrics are “misogynistic and homophobic” (New Crisis Par. 1). On February 21st, GLAAD and numerous other groups collect themselves outside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles. At this protest, most people remain furious because Eminem’s lyrics go against everything they believe in. They show the relationship between hate speech and violence as they distribute his lyrics out for everyone to see. In the end, their educational rally manages to ban Eminem’s Album in places such as Europe because it violates policies of homophobia at their schools. All this hate towards Eminem has brought him nothing but motives for success in his career. Eminem shows that fighting to be on top is his way of survival. People are constantly putting him down and bullying him both physically and emotionally. Most individuals tell him that he’s not going to be successful and that he doesn’t fit in. His response to that is to prove them all wrong and to show them “you can and you will” (Eminem’s Par. 15). Up to this day, Eminem lives his life by this motto.
In 1999, the complete version of Eminem’s first album with Dre, “The Slim Shady LP,” sold at least 3 million copies. It was the beginning of Eminem’s fame and success. Although his music may be explicit and homophobic, it only amplified his ratings even more. After releasing the first album with Dre, Eminem made “The Marshall Mathers LP” which was released in the year 2000. This album sold over 19 million copies and won a Grammy for Best Rap Album. This album is the greatest rap album of all time (Eminem Par. 10).
One of the other albums, “The Eminem Show,” was made in 2002. This album is by far in my opinion the absolute best album by him because of the song “Cleanin’ out my Closet” is in it. Even if it has explicit lyrics, he uses metaphors, irony, and poetic language to show his emotions and/or feelings throughout the song. For example, “I look at Hailie, and I couldn’t picture leaving her side / Even if I hated Kim, I grit my teeth and I’d try” (Makaveli Line 33-34). In these two lines, Eminem talks about his daughter Hailie and his wife Kim. He states he would always take care of Hailie and stay by her side no matter how much him and Kim fight. Another example would be lines 66-67, which states “But how dare you try to take what you didn’t help me to get / you selfish bitch; I hope you fucking burn in hell for this shit” (Makaveli). In this part of the song, it shows his anger towards his mother because of the lawsuit she has placed against Eminem for 10 million dollars for writing harsh lyrics about her in his other songs. Eminem says he shouldn’t have to give anything to his mother because she didn’t help him to get where he is today. Though his music career is going great, there are those who don’t care or don’t like his music. Some may not like Eminem’s music because of his choice in words. Eminem uses this type of language to not only tell listeners how he feels but also to let people be able to close their eyes and picture the pain and suffering he has been through. When it comes to showing people what he wants them to see, Eminem does an excellent job at it. He reveals his life story to everyone but does it through symbolism. A caucasian lady in white lingerie, stomps down the hall to her son’s room, pounds on the door, and rushes through the room looking for her son. When spotting the child hiding in the closet, she brutally drags him across the floor. This scene in the music video deals with symbolism. I think this scene is showing people what Eminem has been through as a child. There are other scenes that show symbolism, but there is one in particular that stood out to me. The sun is starting to rise and the mother is taking her prescription pills at a filthy, over cluttered sink. The son is waiting for his food at a round table. The food is frosted flakes cereal with lots of milk and a few drops of alcohol. With this scene, Eminem wants to show how much his mother is into drugs and alcohol. Symbolism allows people to use their imagination in order to see the big picture. Eminem uses his songs to confess his secrets. Eminem puts his emotions into a song and it allows him to move on from his past life and look towards the future. After Eminem produced the song “Cleanin’ out my Closet,” Eminem and his wife Kim divorced and he and his mother stopped all communication. However, after the release of his song, he’s been winning more Grammy Awards throughout the years. Although Eminem has been “discriminated against,” (Makaveli line 4) he always manages to annoy people with his choice in lyrics. Eminem accomplished his goal in life, to be successful in everything he does and everyday he strives to gain the RESPECT he deserves.

Works Cited “Cleanin' Out My Closet.” Eminem. Ed. Boy Makaveli, Kaitlin, Fadly, Benjamin, and Hannah. California, Los Angeles. May 2012. Performance.
"Eminem." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 31 Jan. 2015.
“Eminem.” The GRAMMY. The Recording Academy, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.
“Eminem’s Incredible Rise to Stardom.” CBS News. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.
“Gay Group Protests Grammy Awards.” New Crisis (15591603) 108.2 (2001): 10.Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.