Author: MAAHIKA GUPTA

“Winning seems to absolve many things. So does money. When the soccer club Juventus responded to the news that superstar Cristiano Ronaldo had settled with a woman in a sexual assault allegation years earlier, it tweeted that Ronaldo had shown “great professionalism and dedication” and was a “great champion,” before showing a clip of him scoring a goal and celebrating.”

This quote stood out to me since I find it fascinating how so many men/women are able to get away with rape and sexual assault allegations because of money fame or wins. Celebrities like Cristiano Ronaldo should not be forgiven and their cases should not be forgotten easier than that of the average person. Using his win to cover up his previous allegations seems morally wrong, especially towards the victim.

Coates talks about this quote and how although America would like to believe that slavery ended a while ago and we have moved on past that, it has just been upgraded every few years to torture African Americans over and over and over. He points out how even now, hundreds of years later after slavery started, some still have hatred in our hearts, such as those who believe in white supremacy. Although we were not alive when slavery was a thing, we are all alive witnessing the racism in this country and it is our responsibility now to work on it as a nation. I see this point when it comes to Native Americans and how America claims that the actions that took place originally in this country are not our responsibility. Although the people alive right now are not at fault for what happened in the beginning of when America was founded, and how millions of Natives died, it is our responsibility to try and fix this issue to the best of our ability. We should be making life easier for Natives and realizing that it is up to us to make up for what our country ruined.

Coates writes about how ironic it was that America was built on the basis of freedom and independence yet many of the people who made it up to what it is today were slaves who had neither independence or freedom. He even writes about how badly African Americans were treated as they were used for free labor and inferior for their skin color. So many rules were created to keep African American’s status below that of a White Person, as the divisions in society were based off of race rather than class. Slaves were used for cotton plants, an important financial American asset, and became property that was taxed, sold and bought, rather than human beings. Many African American families, with children and women, were slaughtered or separated making it nearly impossible for them to ever have the chance at a good life. Slaves shaped what the United States is today and left a great impact on the country. This impact can still be seen due to many reasons such as the existence of the KKK . As the dream of reconstruction was not lived up to, African Americans had to deal with the burning of their churches, homes and racist programs created to hurt them. During Cold War America, as African Americans started moving into white neighborhoods, they were put at a disadvantage since many neighbors and home sellers did not want their house values going down due to the racist stereotypes pinned against them. Places like Chicago had, “residential neighborhoods in the city were effectively off-limits to blacks.” The ghetto was one of the few areas that African Americans were allowed to live in or near. White neighbors hate crimed their fellow black neighbors and rioted until they had a ‘perfectly’ white neighborhood once again. I think that Coates main argument is just about how terrible African Americans were treated for their skin color, and how they were segregated against for no reason. Even doctors or business people who were black were treated like trash showing what a huge role racial divisions played during that time.

The quote, “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.” means that although we as a society believe that we have put tremendous effort into reforms to get rid of racism and discrimination in America, all that we have done is change it until it ends up being the same thing we started with. For example, the introduction mentions how African Americans were not allowed to vote earlier due to slavery first, and then literacy tests. Now that these rules have been thrown out of society, we have still found a way to make it harder for this minority group to vote. African American people make up most of the incarcerated population in America, resulting in them not being able to vote just like their ancestors. The stereotypes put against these men and women never ended, the rules to oppress them just became sneakier and sneakier. This concept can be seen in many aspects of life other than voting. It is still harder for African Americans to get jobs and be respected in society since negative stereotypes towards them still exist.

The article goes over how one of the biggest themes in the film Snowpiercer is the idea of lass divisions and how differently the poor on the train live from the rich. The critic brings up interesting points on how the “In contrast, the elite in the front of the train live as if perpetually on a decadently luxurious vacation, feasting on expertly prepared sushi and steak, pampered with pedicures, and dancing nights away in discotheques.” I had never thought of it this way, but it does seem like the front of the train were on a life long vacation on the train, with the frozen over world benefiting them, while the poor were in the back of the train, as the frozen world ruined their lives. Another interesting point brought up by the critic was how the director of the movie made it in a way that Curtis explored every part of the train like it was brand new, because it was for him as well as the audience. I agree with the critic, on all of this, as well as how the poor were so focused on getting out of the situation rather than falling in love which is a common theme in movies.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/06/26/snowpiercer-review/11258029/

“..”Racial triangulation occurs by means of two types of simultaneous, linked processes: (1) processes of “relative valorization,” whereby dominant group A (Whites) valorizes subordinate group B (Asian Americans) relative to subordinate group C (Blacks) on cultural and/or racial grounds in order to dominate both groups, but especially the latter, and (2) processes of “civic ostracism,” whereby dominant group A (Whites) constructs subordinate group B (Asian Americans) as immutably foreign and unassimilable with Whites on cultural and/or racial grounds in order to ostracize them from the body politic and civic membership (see Figure I).” (pg 107)

I think that this quote is significant because it points out one of the author’s arguments, how Asians”have been racially triangulated vis-a-vis Blacks and Whites.” The author makes a point of how Asians in America are seen as foreigners and aliens, making them different than Whites, yet Blacks are seen as inferior but normal, unlike Asians. Two pages down they even include a graph showing how these racial profiles work. I understand the author’s point as as an Asian American, I do think that we are still looked at as foreigners, which can be due to Asians coming to this country later than Black people. Although we are both  groups of people of color, this can be the reason for why we are both looked down at at times, yet in different ways.

(0:16-0:29)- Stan’s girlfriend walks in to talk to him, noticing that he has cut his hair to appear more like Eminem. After she calls him by his real name, “Stanley” he loses his temper, pulling her in the bathroom and storming out. This clip from the beginning already shows his obsession with the rapper, as he has begun to change himself to look like a copycat of Eminem.

(1:00-2:07)- Stan is seen writing letters to Eminem as he is sitting in a room with what looks to be a shrine for Eminem. The lyrics in this clip are about how Stan is going to name his daughter Bonnie, just like Eminem. The lyrics about Stan relating to Eminem for the first time, as they both had friends who committed suicide, shows a normal fondness for someone’s idol, as he can deeply connect with Eminem. However, the tremendous amounts of photos and posters of Eminem hung around shows us how great his obsession is.

(2:19-2:25)- The letter written for Eminem by Stan is dropped on the floor, proof that Eminem was never purposely ignoring his fans although this later results in Stan’s breakdown.

(2:44-2:52)- Stan begins to get more upset after the concert since Eminem never stayed after the show to sign things for Stan and his little brother. However, the video shows that security was the one preventing the rapper from meeting his fans, even though he did try to reach out to them.

(3:05-3:17)- The lyrics, “P.S. we should be together soon” are sung by Stan, as he glues a photo of Eminem onto his girlfriends face, in a picture of the two of them. He even talks of how upset his girlfriend gets that all he focuses on is Eminem. This is a new level of his obsession as he keeps trying harder and harder to get closer to the rapper, by even hurting his closest relationships.

(3:30-4:40)- One night, Stan’s girlfriend gets up as he sleeps, and goes down to the basement and finally finds his shrine to Eminem. She realizes how consumed he is by his feelings towards the rapper. As she begins to look through all the photos, Stan suddenly comes up to her, furious with rage, he takes her out of their home and throws her into their car trunk. It’s at this point that his obsession and rage have reached the maximum and he is ready to end it all since the only thing he found worth living for, Eminem, has never gotten back to him. The lyrics are severe now, as Stan sings, “You ruined it now, I hope you can’t sleep and you dream about it”, and “Hey Slim, that’s my girlfriend screamin’ in the trunk. But I didn’t slit her throat, I just tied her up, see I ain’t like you”, as he commits suicide by driving off a bridge with his pregnant wife. He makes sure to note how Eminem is the reason for these two tragic deaths.

(4:41-4:50)- Eminem finally is seen writing back to Stan, however it’s too late. He writes of how he is sorry for not getting back earlier, but how he is concerned for Stan, and that he has read all the letters and believes his fan should get help. However, in the end he realizes that it is in fact Stan that was the man responsible for the tragedy he had previously heard about in the newspapers.

(4:52-4:56)- Stan’s little brother is seen at the grave, with an older woman who is visibly upset. The little brother looks like a younger version of Stan, and Eminem as well. The anger in the woman’s face makes me believe that she is reminded by the death of Stan every time she looks at the little boy due to their resemblance.

(5:40-end)- The music video ends with the crime scene of the accident being shown, as they discover the bodies and rule it a double murder. They also discover a tape, one that belongs to a man named Stan. This discovery leads to Eminem finally knowing that this man was this obsessive fan of his.

Purpose- The music video and lyrics both tell the story of an obsessive fan named Stan, who gradually grows more insane as he tries to get in touch with his idol, Eminem. He begins by reaching out to him and sending letters and talking about how fond he is of the rapper, and how he has posters of him all over his house and how Eminem is the reason for him waking him up every morning. After this, his insanity progresses as he starts to express anger towards Eminem for not answering his letters or signing an autograph for his brother. He talks of how he can relate to Eminem’s past, as they both had absent fathers, and how the rapper’s music makes him feel better after Stan has to deal with a bad day. Lastly, Stan loses it, getting extremely angry and ranting about how Eminem never got back to him, and how because of this, he has decided to drunk drive, speeding to his death. He finishes by talking of how his girlfriend is gagged in the trunk of the car, and says goodbye before he drives the both of them off a bridge. The song ends with Eminem’s perspective of finally reading the letters and getting back to Stan. He addresses all of Stan’s comments and concerns and talks of how concerned he is for Stan, pointing out that he doesn’t want him to end up like the man who drove him and his pregnant girlfriend off a bridge. The video ends with Eminem realizing that this mentally ill man that everyone has been talking about actually is Stan, his biggest fan.

Genre- The song is Hip Hop/Rap but the music video can be seen as a thriller video or a drama.

Context- Eminem wrote this song as he was and even now is one of the most well known rappers in the world and has to deal with crazy fans all the time.