In this unit we have been close reading visual texts and looking at specific elements that help us to interpret the meaning of the text. I chose to do a close reading of the music video for "Not Afraid" by Eminem. My interpretation of the video as whole is it depicts Eminem's journey from a bad place in his life to changing and being in a better place. The realism and abstraction, symbolism, and shadows and light along with color and contrast help support my interpretation of the music video.

The entirety of the video shows Eminem's journey from darkness and into the light. The shadow and lighting in the music video support my interpretation of the this. In the beginning it is very dark and gloomy. When he is in the basement it almost seems like it is in black and white. I could actually feel the coldness in the room by his white face, dark heavy coat, and the overall sad and lonely feeling in this scene. In the end however, there is a bright light that is shining behind him after he has decided to make a change in his life. The contrast from darkness to light shows Eminems transformation from who he was to who he is now. I also interpreted this contrast of darkness to light in a religious way.

The main form of symbolism that I got out of the music video was the cross Eminem wore on his chest. Although he is wearing the cross throughout the entire video, it was not a main focus point for me until the end. At the end when the light is shining behind him, the cross is almost illuminated against his black shirt. I interpreted this as his transformation from evil and darkness to the light. The cross was there on his chest all along but he didn't realize or utilize his faith until he fell into his destruction and transformed his life.

Throughout the music video, I believe the most important element that supports my topic is realism and abstraction. At the very beginning, Eminem is standing on the edge of the top of a building. I assume this means he is contemplating jumping off the building as I see his feet moving closer to the edge. Later, Eminem is walking through a crowd of people on the sidewalk in the city. The lyrics during this scene are_____and he is saying he is lonely even though he is surrounded by people. The video goes back and forth between him out in the streets appearing to be just like everyone else but then it goes back to him in his dark basement explicitly releasing his anger through the lyrics and the smashing of chairs and punching walls. This shows that even though he appears to be like everyone else, he is really in a place of darkness that he is eagerly trying to get out of. Through his journey to his changed self he walks through traffic, it appears to be a four to five lane city street. He is uncomfortably close to cars and trucks just zooming by him. I interpreted this as he is not afraid of death but is almost welcoming it and leaving it up to chance that he will live or die. Then Eminem sees his reflection in a car window. His eyes darken and his facial expression shows that he doesn't even recognize himself. He then continues walking into a street full of mirrors. He is surrounded by himself and tries to run from himself. I believe the demon that he is running from and the reason he is in such a bad place is because of himself. By running from the mirrors it shows him running from himself. When he breaks through the mirrors the whole mood of the video changes. He is stands up on the edge of the city and it has been destroyed. Behind him there is a bright light, and the scene is no longer gloomy. I interpreted this as he is looking at the devastation of his past and overwhelmed by it he falls into all of this destruction and gives into it. From there Eminem is risen up into the light and the tone of his voice and the lyrics change from what was anger from the beginning to now a more hopeful and motivated tone. At the beginning he has a very stoic face at all times. He is emotionless and always has an angry tone in his voice. But at the end of this video Eminem has a different look in his eye. Along with the hopeful and motivated tone of his voice, Eminem is back on top of the building but this time he has a glare in his eye. He has transformed and is prepared to live his life in a new light and I can see this by the look on his face at the very end. 

The realism and abstraction, symbolism, and shadows and light along with color and contrast help support my interpretation of the music video. Like I previously mentioned, I interpreted the music video as showing Eminem's journey from darkness into the light and transforming his life for the better. All of the elements used throughout my close reading, helped support and depict the fact that Eminem was in a dark place in his life and was on the edge of ending it all. But in the end whether it be by pure resilience or how I also interpreted it, by faith, he changed and is living his life in a positive way to affect not only himself, but his daughter and everyone who looks up to him. I believe Eminem used this video to speak to us in a way that everyone can relate to. He is showing that he was in a dark place but got out and so can we. Whether it be a big problem or a little problem, everyone has and will go through something that will greatly affect their life. They have the choice to let this overcome them and take over their life or to fight back and overcome their weakness which may even be the demon inside of their own minds. Eminem used the lyrics and this video to encourage a large audience to fight whatever battle they are fighting because they can overcome it just like he did.

