Sunday, October 16, 2016

8 Mile


Since it's debut in 2002/2003, I've always wished to watch this movie, but strange circumstances preclude me from having the required time and space to watch it.

Eminem was a global phenomenon then...a record-breaker (to date, he is one of the world's best selling artist) in an awkward situation. He made his breakthrough in a field dominated by Black Americans, no less than a significant achievement.

In an era when Youtube was not even invented yet, we (my generation) depended solely on MTV for video clips (new songs were only available via radio, my preferred radio station was HitzFm during that era). NTV7, during its formative year, used to air new video clips for hours non-stop, to which I enjoyed very much.

The title 8 Mile is not about distance...it is actually based on the name of a highway separating two classes of people somewhere in the United States (the correct translation in BM should be Batu 8 instead of 8 Batu).  This is where Eminem actually grew up before his eventual rise to stardom.

I finally had the chance to watch 8 mile yesterday, albeit over a decade late. It's an above-average movie (I rate movies based on my desire to watch it again. A movie is good if I want to watch it again. Above-average means I would love to watch certain scenes, not the whole movie, again).

I am not Eminem's biggest fan...I couldn't even comprehend what he was spouting in his song. But no one can deny his impact on the global music scene. To me, Eminem's biggest contribution is his hand in the emergence of another music's legend...

Dido.

(to be continued)