Eminem ft. RihannaLove the way you lie

CAMERA MOVEMENT, SHOTS AND ANGLES The narrative links with the song

lyrics, on the word "snap" she reacts and kicks off. It then again starts getting brutal as he pushes her against a wall the lyrics seem to be his thoughts in his head when he goes to hit her he is ashamed.

EDITING, TRANSITIONS AND SPECIAL EFFECTS Slow edits are used in the music video while they are going

about their day, however the edits speed up where violence is being shown.

At some points the camera is used unsteadily so as to allow the audience to feel as though they are seeing things from the males point of view.

Close ups of both characters are used to show their displays of emotion – anger, hurt, and passion.

Close ups are also used of Rihanna to show her emotion as she sings, as she can also relate the storyline of the music video having been in an abusive relationship herself with singer Chris Brown.

MIS-EN-SCENE At points in the video, the female, Megan Fox, is seen literally playing with fire. This

could be seen as a representation of her abusive relationship with the male – by staying with him she is ‘playing with fire’ as she knows he is not good for her.

The house is always messy, with clothes on the floor and things smashed – as if violence is constantly taking place inside.

At one point we see the male smash a mirror before looking at his reflection in a broken piece of it. Megan Fox then comes to stand behind him and join him looking through the mirror. This could be seen as a representation of their broken relationship – they both know what kind of relationship they are in.

As Rihanna and Eminem sing the song, the house is seen burning behind them. The fames engulfing the house could be seen as a representation of the heat of desire, anger, regret and destruction within their relationship.

Whenever the couple are in the house, the sun can be seen shining through a crack in the curtain. This could be seen to represent Megan Fox’s feeling of being trapped – both in the relationship and in the house.

As the video ends, we see Megan Fox finally put out the flame she has been playing with. This could be seen to represent her finally having enough of being in the abusive relationship and finally deciding to bring it to an end.

IDEOLOGIES The music video portrays the idea of domestic violence, but with a twist. At points in the

video, the male is seen showing signs of a stereotypical abusive partner – drinking beer in the pub, before going home and starting an argument/fight with his partner, eventually sobering up and becoming regretful of his actions. The couple can be seen arguing and fighting as Eminem sings ‘I laid hands on her I’ll never stoop so low again, I guess I don’t know my own strength’, implying that the male has abused his partner and is now regretting it. The female’s vulnerability is also displayed through Rihanna’s singing in front of the burning flames ‘just gonna stand there and watch me burn’, which implies that he is hurting his partner and can do nothing except watch his mistakes unfold. However, when taking a closer look at the video, the view of male dominance can quickly be changed.

Further into the video, we see Megan fox throw the first punch – while her partner is asleep. From there on, almost all the punches are thrown by her, while her partner settles with taking his anger out on material things such as the wall, the mirror etc. Her partner is seen at a bar attacking a male he has seen Megan flirting with, however he shows no physical violence towards Megan, except at one point in the video where she is hit.

In conclusion, when first watching the music video, the idea of male dominance seems to be represented to the audience. However, when taking a closer look, the controversy in the music video becomes evident. However, although the woman shows a lot of violence throughout the video, her dominance is lost and her vulnerability is revealed when the song reaches each chorus.