Do I have your attention? Good.
The line above is the closing line of the final verse of "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna. It definitely caught the attention of many of my students when we listened to the song in class a couple of weeks ago. Many of them, when I first hit play on the radio edit version of the tune, belted out the hook along with Rihanna, only to fall increasingly silent as they listened to the verses that followed, growing more aware of just how masterfully the artists crafted their words, and, as a result, how violent the images presented in the lyrics truly were. As one student Tweeted after class: "this song will never be the same."
We had delved into the figurative language, allusions, symbolism, and themes of the song as an extension of our study of the short story "Like the Sun". I love using music and movies in my classroom to try and make our literary studies more relevant for our students. I have known several amazing teachers who share my interest and passion. Sometimes the approach works, and sometimes it is, well, less effective than I hope. Often, I learn more about and from my kids during these lessons than any other time. We examine the video "Crossroads" by Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony as we explore allusion and symbolism. We use "Another Brick in the Wall" as a springboard for a reflective project (I actually found that lesson in an issue of The English Journal during my time at Baker University many moons ago.) Sometimes we examine the ending of Gran Torino during our discussion of tragic heroes and symbolism. Usually, the lessons are initiated by students. Several years ago, while we were studying Romeo and Juliet, a young lady asked if I had every heard Ludo's "Love Me Dead". I had not, so she played it for me. I was just a little confused. She explained that she thought of the song while we read Juliet's speech as she waited for Romeo to visit her, not knowing her new husband had just killed her cousin. She utters these lines:
Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun. (III, ii, 1739-1743)
The discussion with this young lady in my class that followed was insightful. When we speak of love, she explained, we so often speak of destruction, of consumption. "I just love you to death." "I love you so much, I could just eat you up." Here was a young woman in love, if you want to call it that, or in a deep state of infatuation at the least, and she poetically muses about cutting up her lover into tiny pieces and scattering them across the sky to make the stars jealous. That is how much she loves him, supposedly. Ludo croons lines of intense contradiction that somehow fittingly describe such love amazing well. The two pieces have nothing in common, except for everything.
Last year, as we studied the poem "Metaphor" by Eve Marriam, a student suggested looking at th e video Five Finger Death Punch's "I Remember Everything". We pulled it up on Youtube. The student told me that the poem reminded him of the video because he felt the poem's theme of starting with a new, blank page each day was similar to, and yet starkly different from, the idea of the video, which he felt expressed the idea that while we all start with a blank page or canvas, every event of our lives, each and every moment, leaves its mark, and the splatterings, sketches, scrawls, blotches, and smears, whether beautiful or gruesome, all become part of the masterpiece that is one's life. That discussion after class became a writing assignment, and an interesting classroom discussion.
Not all of the lessons such as this connect with each and every kids. Some are monumental flops. And, I must admit, I have seen my share of eye rolls and heard the "knowing" sighs when I have talked over the years about a lesson amongst some of my teaching peers. I am blessed right now to be a part of an amazingly supportive ELA team. My colleagues ask the right questions, make suggestions, and support not just me, but everyone on the team as we work to get better and stretch as learners and teachers. It has not always been that way. Maybe I have done it too often, and perhaps sometimes I have reached a little. Maybe. I do not mind defending the choices I make in my classroom.
As part of our recent study, the students had an option of responding to a writing prompt regarding whether it is appropriate or inappropriate to examine songs such as "Love the Way You Lie" is an Honors English class. As I graded papers earlier this week, the work of several students stood out in their arguments for why we should continue such lessons. After reading several of them, I decided it was time I let one of my student's voices be heard. I could have chosen several pieces. One young man's essay struck me, so I spoke to him on Friday and asked if he would be willing to let me use his response in my blog. I wanted to use him as a guest author, if you will. The young man is modest, but he said that he was not opposed to the idea. So, with no further ado, I will allow Mr. Paddy Qiu, a student in my Honors Sophomore English class at BHS, to reinforce just why it is ok to hear songs coming from Mr. Kohls's room, or any room in fact, during class, and that maybe, just maybe, something 'educational' is actually occurring.
Paddy Qiu
Mr. Kohls
Honors Sophomore English
September 20, 2016
“Love The Way You Lie” Thematic Analysis
In society, there is a general consensus on certain discussion topics. As we experience constant breakthroughs intellectually, our attitudes on these topics still remain static. This type of orthodox self-censorship has remained prominent in the general public. A commonly taboo subject for discussion is domestic abuse. The general public deems discussion of this topic inappropriate, despite the fact that it’s one of the most prominent issues affecting the world around us. To bring light to the matter, discussion is a must if we want significant change. In the narrative of “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem, featuring Rihanna, there is a plethora of figurative language and themes often missed as a whole. Through analyses, I found underlying messages hidden within the lyrics. In this paper, I will be touching upon significant themes scattered throughout and further clarifying my perception of them, because change doesn’t begin with a shout, it begins with a whisper.
In the song’s lyrics, it has a comparatively realistic representation of interactions within an abusive relationship because they express not only the physical aspects, but also the psychological ones. For example, evidently after a negative encounter, the male character states that “But your temper's just as bad as mine is, you're the same as me. When it comes to love you're just as blinded” to imply that the female character abuses him equally. In certain abusive relationships, the dominant party attempts to justify their actions by pointing out the behavior of the other, thereby taking attention away from their own. As a result, it makes the other behave compliantly within the relationship. Another example of a more realistic portrayal of abuse within the song is the attitude acquired from it as stated by Rihanna’s verse, “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn. Well that's all right because I like the way it hurts.” It’s a common myth in society that because an individual is in a destructive relationship, that some part of them must enjoy being in them. That’s partly due to the fact that, as stated in the lyric, the abused tend to convince themselves of that attitude. Many factors contribute to their stance of the situation, but a significant correlation is the abuser’s influence on their victim. As stated in the first example, the abuser takes attention away from themselves and brings it to the negative aspects of the abused, thereby persuading them that they’re not a victim. Therefore, the song not only shows the negative implications of physical abuse, but also the effect of mental manipulation.
Another aspect in “Love the Way You Lie” that’s a necessary point of discussion is the deception, not only to each other, but themselves. For example, the male character stated to his partner that “Baby please come back, / it wasn't you, baby it was me. / Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems.” In the situation of the verse, the abused character is planning on leaving the relationship once again, and he attempts to bring them back by instilling a false sense of security and hope. As a result, the author presents a situation more commonly portrayed within media. Another example of deception in “Love the Way You Lie” is when the author portrayed deception of one’s self. After the previous lyric, Eminem rapped, “Guess that they don't know you cause today, that was yesterday. / Yesterday is over it's a different day. / Sound like broken records playing over.” In this verse, the male character acknowledged that their relationship was going to a cycle like a record; however, he still is attempting to convince himself that the status of it was still preservable. This aspect of a destructive relationship is something that popular culture often miss. In such partnerships, the abuser, as stated in the previous paragraph, attempts to justify their actions. This is another form of this phenomenon. This denial and deception of one’s self, which the authors cover in many verses, plays a major part in justifying abusive actions. Therefore, though romanticized at some points, the song as a whole puts forward another perspective not commonly touch upon.
Within the song “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem, there were many underlying messages hidden within the lyrics. The song itself presented a completely new perspective on not just physical aspects of destructive relationships, but also the psychological ones. It also conveyed the point that deception, in most cases, can occur within the abuser, usually to justify their actions. The discussion of this topic in particular, is taboo in most communities. Having dialogue about this subject is a step outside of the social norm, and it brings about reform that will have a significant impact on our future. Change doesn’t begin with a shout, it begins a whisper, and I hope that this allowed you to not be afraid to speak about it.
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