Even though Eminem gets knocked down quickly in his first “rap battle”, he doesn’t throw in the towel. In the end, he gets back in the ring and knocks out the defending champion (played by Anthony Mackie) with a “combination” (series of punches thrown in sequence) of words, phrases, and rhymes. Eminem just may be the “southpaw” in this particular bout because instead of waiting for his opponent to verbally annihilate him, he beats him to the punch by rapping about his own inadequacies.
“This guy ain’t no motherfuckin MC, I know everything he’s about to say against me. I am white, I am a fucking bum, I do live in a trailer with my mom….”
He then takes his opponent by surprises by throwing a sucker punch. “Don’t ever try to judge me dude, you don’t know what the fuck I can do…but I know something about you….”
Eminem ends this bout with an upper cut and wins the championship by a majority decision; thus he finds respect in the Detroit rap scene and may have even gained some self-respect.
What I like about 8 Mile, other than the music and performances, was that this film exhibits more than Eminem's early start in rap music. It reveals social relationships and how they can have a negative or positive impact (sometimes both) in one’s life both short- and long-term, including a fling Eminem has with a girl named Alex (played by Brittany Murphy, one of my favorite actresses, who added spark and energy to the film).
While displaying the instability of Eminem's mother (played by Kim Basinger), this film gives insight into the hardship he must have endured as a child, which could explain why he is so intense and many of his lyrics are dark. The vulnerable side of Eminem was portrayed in the film via his affection for his little sister (played by Chloe Greenfield) and shines through (along with light and love) whenever he raps about his daughter.
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