I'm one of the many students interested in the manufacture of "the star" with the use of television and music (pop idol, rock star INXS, etc). While reading the coursebook, eminem came on the television. It made me wonder how much of a "manufacture" eminem is. This is most obvious with his different entites - Marshall Mathers, Slip Shady, and Eminem.The synergy of video and narrative of song is...almost too good. The video and the songs come hand in hand, they say the same story. It made me wonder (in this case, specific to Eminem) what came first - the single? or the video? Does eminem create an idea in his mind for a video, and construct lyrics around it? I would be willing to argue that yes, Eminem probably has a strong video concept before he creates a single; and in this way, with the construction of various music videos and the portayal of the "real" eminem/slim shady/Marshal Mathers in these videos, he has managed to construct an identity. Is eminem his own puppet? How much musical credibility can be sort in cheesy videos of Eminem dressed as a mexican, dancing, informing fans to look out for his new single, wooah, woaah, woah my salsa, look out for my next single it's called my salsa...
In regards to the construction of Eminem - he has also constructed himself upon the idea of a black hip hop artist. In his 2003 Grammy Award Speech, he thanked various black musicians who had musically inspired him - N.W.A,Naughty by Nature, Run DMC, Jay Z. These four musicians/groups in particular show obvious influences - the language and aggression found in N.W.A and Naughty by Nature, the hip hop beat and structure from Run DMC, and politcal commentary (mainly present in Eminem's later works) mixed into hip hop along the likes of Jay Z. Is Eminem just a construction of mixed ideas? And if so, how sincere is he in "representing" ideas, trends, ideas or characters?
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