Stan

    I'm writing this blog entry as a follow up to my last post. I wrote about a different song than I had originally planned and said that I would talk about it next, so that's what this is! I'm using a link to the video for this post, rather than the upload feature on Blogspot because I wasn't able to find the original music video that way. I think it's a work of art, the song and the video combined. 
Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOMhN-hfMtY

    I have probably heard the song "Stan" a million times in my life. If you know it too, you'll know its about a fan of Eminem's, named Stan. It tells a story about Stan's attempt to reach out to his idol in hopes of hearing back- he starts off seemingly relaxed about it, but from there things escalate quickly and he becomes obsessed, if he wasn't already. I am going to go over the lyrics a little bit first! 
    
    At the beginning of the song, Stan really put himself out there. He writes a letter explaining that he's already written Eminem a couple times and hasn't heard back. He gets very personal and talks about all of the similarities between the two of them. When you watch the music video, you'll notice that one of the letters Stanley sent out to Eminem doesn't get mailed out and instead it is accidentally left behind by the mail man. 
    The music video carries on showing Stan's continuous frustration with his personal life and the fact that his hero isn't responding to him. He write's him another letter and this one raises concern to the viewer- he talks about how he cuts himself, trying to relate to things he hears in Eminem's song, assuming they are true. As a result of all his feelings, he puts his pregnant girlfriend in the trunk of his car and drives off of a bridge. 
    The dialogue switches from Stan to Eminem, and he starts responding from a very sensible place- an approach that Stan probably would have never seen coming. Had he stuck around to get the letter, it might have saved him, his girlfriend's and his unborn child's lives. Eminem thanks Stan for his admiration and then explains to him that he's "just clownin' dog" when it comes to his lyrics, he doesn't really cut himself. This is where you start to see Eminem realize the weight of what's going on, which leads him to realizing that this fan was the guy he saw on the news. 

    I thought this music video was a really great example of a term we learned in our first lecture called "mass communication". Which is defined as communication to 1,000+ people- possibly, and in this case, millions or billions of people. It's a great example of how mass communication can impact people on such a personal level, and how it can be misconstrued- taken too seriously, too lightly, or the wrong way entirely in some cases. I wonder how many celebrities feel as though they are being idolized for the wrong reasons?
    In the beginning half of the music video, when the letter is dropped on the floor at the post office instead of being sent out, I recognized the USPS as a channel of communication. This made a pretty big impact on my opinion of channels of communication and their affect on the outcomes of our interactions. In the music video, three lives were lost because of it! 
    I'd like to share one last thing about this song that my friend shared with me, and I thought you might appreciate, too. The actor playing Stan in the music video, named Devon Sawa, is a big fan of Eminem in real life. I don't know who figured to use him or if it was just coincidence (I doubt it), but I thought it added a really cool touch of sentiment to the whole experience.

Comments

  1. Kason IngAugust 3, 2020 at 2:26 AM

    To be honest I never listen to Eminem. BUT, my best friend does. He listens to this song all the time, and I seem to always be in the car when he does. I never actually paid attention to the lyrics so I never knew what the song was about, until now. I really appreciated the story behind the music video and the song

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    Replies
    1. UnknownAugust 10, 2020 at 12:37 AM

      Haha! I get a feeling you don't particularly like Eminem either? Rather than just not listening...? His music is definitely a sort of acquired taste. Do you think it's a coincidence that it plays so often when you're in the car or does he maybe just listen to Eminem that much. I notice if you're an Eminem fan its usually an all or nothing kind of circumstance. I'm glad I could shed some new light on your experience with his music. : )

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