Entry #8 Eminem's "White America"

Brian Gerker
Media Portfolio Entry #8
11-11-07

Eminem’s “White America”

1.Representation of the Item:

Lyrics by : Eminem
Link: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/eminem/whiteamerica.html


2. Intro and Why: “White America” is a song that was written and performed by singer Eminem. In this song, Eminem explains how and why he is as renowned as he is. He explains that he is only in the position he is in because he is white, if he was black things would be different for him, as he says. The title itself could be very controversial, as white America could refer to a couple different things, depending on how you view it.
I chose this song as an item because I used to listen to Eminem all the time when I was in Junior High School. White America never really became one of my favorite songs but I am fairly familiar with it. After reading the lyrics I have found that this song represents a view of being black versus being white. Eminem is saying that since America is the way it is, he has prospered and benefited more because he is white than he would have if he was black.

3.Analysis: “White America” is a very strong media item to be used for analysis. The name of the song itself causes conflict. IN this song, Eminem raps about how he has benefited more in his career because he is white. He says “If [I[ were brown, Shady lose, Shady sits on the shelf.” And he says “look at my sales, let’s do the math, if I were black, I would’ve sold half.” These lines are saying that since he is white, not brown or black, he has sold more copies of his music. Because America likes whites more, Eminem is saying, he has profited more because the white people of America love him more. Also, if he were brown, essentially Mexican I’m guessing, he would be worthless, just sitting on a shelf not benefiting and not selling any records. He says in “White America” basically that he is taking advantage of white privilege, which is something we have discussed in class. This has been discussed because of Johnson’s “Privilege, Oppression, and Difference.” In this writing Johnson talks about how white people have certain advantages in society. For example a white man would get a better deal on a car than a black person would, because of privilege and their social rank among the people. Eminem is more or less explaining this same process in “White America.” He has simply gained more in profits and social status because he is white.

4. Response: Personally, I was pretty excited about this one. I used to be a huge Eminem fan when I was younger, but that fad sort of wore off for me. When I was younger and listening to the song I didn’t really think it meant anything, it was just a good song. But now, and after taking this class I see that he is actually saying how American has manipulated him into being a richer and more prestigious person than he could have been if his skin color was different. I never rally would have noticed anything beyond the title before but now after this class, I see that there are underlying issues to the lyrics.