
Your family means everything to you, you would do anything for their happiness. Consider being put in a situation where you have to choose between supporting your family and being able to spend time with them. Regardless of your decision, you have made choice which is going to result in suffering and pain. Not only for you, but for your family as well. In Eminem’s music video titled, “When I’m Gone”, Eminem is faced with this kind of situation. Eminem’s daughter suffers as a direct result of his decision to go perform and seek fame to support the family. Several of the more emotional moments between Eminem and his daughter are emphasized in this music video through close-up scenes.  The opening scene of this music video titled “When I’m Gone” by Eminem reveals a close-up scene of Eminem with a support group and the visual tone is very depressing and gloomy. The close-up shots in Eminem’s music video titled, “When I’m Gone” contributes to the emotional theme of the video by expressing the relationship between Eminem and his daughter.  

The close-up shot of Eminem’s tattoo of his daughter in the beginning of this music video proves to contribute to the emotional theme of the video by illustrating the importance of how much Eminem’s daughter means to him. In this early scene in the music video, Eminem is speaking in front of a support group and he rolls up his sleeve to show the group his tattoo of his daughter’s face (Eminem 1:18). This close-up scene is clearly emotional based on the emotions of Eminem and the support group. Additionally, this close up scene at the beginning of Eminem’s music video titled “When I’m Gone”, really focuses in on how much Eminem’s daughter means to him. This scene gauges the importance of his relationship with his daughter and sets the tone for what the music video is going to encompass. There is a strong sense of passion during this close-up scene as the camera zeroes in on the tattoo of Eminem’s daughter on his arm almost in slow motion. This scene proves more relevant than the majority of the video because it epitomizes what the video is all about, which is Eminem’s relationship with his daughter. This close-up scene of Eminem’s tattoo of his daughter solidifies the curiosity regarding what Eminem’s conflict is and why he is attending this support group in the beginning of the video. Furthermore, the close-up of this tattoo serves as a hint at why this scene is relevant to the title of the text, “When I’m Gone”. This visual close-up shot of Eminem’s tattoo of his daughter poses the questions regarding if his daughter is the reason that he is gone and the source of his pain.

The close-up scene of Eminem’s daughter giving him the locket containing a picture of them contributes to the emotional theme of this music video titled “When I’m gone” by placing emphasis on showing how much Eminem means to his daughter. In this scene, Eminem’s daughter is blocking the door so Eminem cannot leave and when Eminem is trying to get out of the door, there is a close-up scene of Eminem’s daughter handing Eminem a locket containing a picture of them. (Eminem 3:02). This close-up scene illustrates not only the bond that Eminem and his daughter share, but the pain and suffering that they are both experiencing as a result of Eminem leaving. The picture inside of the locket is a sign to Eminem signifying that even when Eminem is away, he will always mean a lot to her. Furthermore this close-up scene also makes it evident that his daughter is the reason for his pain for being gone and that she clearly wants him to stay there with her. This close-up scene is more relevant than the majority of video because it encompasses the emotional tension and elucidates the relationship that Eminem’s daughter has with him. However, it is also evident that Eminem is very conflicted with his choice to leave because he knows his daughter cares so much about him and this is how this motif epitomizes the thematic concern of this music video. The close-up scene of the locket is a symbol of the strong bond that Eminem and his daughter share. 

In conclusion, the close-up shot motif was very prevalent in this music video and this motif did an excellent job at outlining several key visuals that contributed to the theme as a whole. The early close-up scene showing the tattoo of Eminem’s daughter on his arm and the close-up of the locket that Eminem’s daughter gave him both support and encompass the theme in this music video. The imagery in both of the close-up scenes described in this video bring about an emotional feeling. This emotional feeling in the close-up scenes of Eminem’s tattoo and Eminem’s daughter giving him the locket contributes to the overall theme of the video by stressing the emotional tension that Eminem is facing with his method of supporting his family and how it is actually resulting in him distancing himself from his family. Furthermore, both close-up scenes allow for a better understanding of the emotional struggle that Eminem and his daughter were going through and how much they loved each other. The unstated grounds for these close-up scenes in Eminem’s song “When I’m Gone” is the controversy that Eminem is facing in dictating the balance between spending time with his daughter and making money to support his family. These unstated grounds are supported throughout the entire video. However, these grounds are highlighted in the close-up scenes between Eminem and his daughter. These emotional moments are expressed very clearly through the close-up scenes. 
