Textual Analysis Notes

Eminem - "Love The Way You Lie"

Media Representations

Eminem, telling the story of the relationship, Eminem and Rihanna each tell a side of the story of each character Eminem portraying the male and Rihanna portraying the female. Both characters are aggressive and violent to each other. Light trying to creep into the house through the curtains. Fire is a repeated element in the video.

Media Language and Forms

Very dark and cluttered house representing the characters lives with each other, violence is portrayed through the lyrics and contrasting with the love they show they have for each other, Eminem is out in the open and bare with bright sunlight behind him, Rihanna is in the dark with burning house in background. This is in contrast to the characters as they are both seen in dark bars or the house.

The music is a mix of strong beats and the elegance of a piano. The strong beats represent the violent relationship and the strength the male has over the female character whilst the piano is keeping the beauty and elegance which represents the female.

The acting by Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan is very realistic and adds to the impact of the video, the lyrics and the relationship within the narrative.

Narrative

The narrative of this music video is the violence in the relationship and how the two characters can't escape from the relationship. The editing passes from the characters and the singers and both used in front of bright light e.g. sun or fire. The narrative shows the love and violence the relationship entails and the fire represents the fiery relationship.

Genre

The genre is a music video with a dramatic look and references. The dramatic acting and the powerful lyrics make the video very dramatic and powerful. The women in the video are not stereotypically 'girlfriend' types as they are both powerful and strong. Megan Fox's character is seen equally violent towards the male character.

Media Institutions

The intention of the institution is to sell the song. This video is released on all popular music channels and shown all over the world.
It has a strong narrative and includes characters. More like a short film than music video.

Media Values and Ideology

People in violent relationships and the feeling of being trapped from the outside world because of them. However showing that the woman is equally aggressive as the man.

Media Audiences

The audience for this video will be fans of Rihanna and Eminem. This will be a mainstream audience between the ages of 16 and 24 and also music channel viewers. There will also be people who are interested in the performances given by Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan.