If you have listened to the radio at all to TOP 40 in the past month you probably have been bombarded with the Rihanna/Eminem song. The first couple of times I heard it I did not really pay attention to the lyrics. It takes a few repeats before things really start to sink in. The first thing I remember hearing was Rihanna talking about being hurt and it feels good and I was like WTF? I can't believe Eminem got her to sing about domestic violence or that she would agree to it.
Now comes the video and it has Rihanna in her underwear, Eminem in a field and Dominic and Megan Fox alternating kissing with beatings . Oh, and the vodka.
Dom Monaghan is fantastic in this.
ReplyDeletePainful, yes. But it's an accurate portrayal of the complicated layers and emotions of a violent relationship.
ReplyDeletei loathe eminem...
ReplyDeleteAgree Kelli.
ReplyDeleteIsn't this song about Eminem's relationship with his Kim ( now that was a dysfunctional relationship)
Why shouldn't Rihanna sing about Domestic Violence.....so it happened to her doesn't mean she can't ever sing a song about it.
Nor should that incident define her career ...
Why so judgmental.
Love the song and the video.
Fox and Rhianna makeup in the video was great.
I like Eminem.
ReplyDeleteHis Recovery CD is really good.
The song is very dark. I think it's going to be a huge hit. I was curious to see the video.
ReplyDeleteI does seem like curious choice for Riri.
ReplyDeletejust not an Em fan,at all. this is about publicity,not domestic violence...i'm sure thats why he picked Rhianna of ALL people to do this.
ReplyDeletemaybe he can do a song about drugs and have the ghost of DJ Am do a cameo with Lilo from rehab.
Both Megan Fox and Rihanna have donated the money they made from this to women's shelters.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a song promoting domestic abuse by any means- sure, it's gritty but it's realistic, and it's meant to draw attention to a serious matter. Domestic violence isn't pretty.
I liked everyone in the video except Rihanna. She looked like she missed the point entirely, and was just trying to look sexy while she sang.
ReplyDeleteHoly shit. What a great video. Eminem is relevant again.
ReplyDeleteI feel sick to my stomach watching this.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I imagine that's partially the point, yeah?
Its a very dark video and its obvious that while its about a volatile couple both are destroyed by their relationship.
ReplyDeleteClearly a song from Eminen's own life.
Dominic Monaghan was excellent in it as was Fox.
Now it would be good if some director/producer saw it and cast Dominic as a central character. He can handle it.
Actually, I think the choice of Rihanna was brilliant, and I'm so not her biggest fan. Clearly, she experienced domestic violence and music is an expression of what we experience, so I don't feel the outrage that some of you feel about her singing the hook. It makes sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI think the song and video are supposed to make us feel uncomfortable. That's the point.
I agree with a lot of the comments already made. It was a shocking video, dark...but I thought it was well done. It doesn't glamorize anything & I think opens the doors for some good discussions about violence in relationships. Dom did a fantastic job, I really wish he'd get more work.
ReplyDeleteI think the video displays uncanny accuracy. The teddy bear with the flower scene really hit home for this BTDT.
ReplyDeleteBut, they left off with the wrong message entirely. If they really wanted this to be a PSA in any form, then Fox & Dom wouldn't have been kissing & loving up on each other again at the end. The should have flashed Fox walking into a battered women's shelter.
ThoughtElf, that crossed my mind but I think the point Eminem wanted to make was that violence is not always one sided.
ReplyDeleteI also think I need to see this one again because I don't think they ended up kissing and making up, I think they ended up alone without each other. Hmmmm.
The video ends with the two of them in the bed together. A happy ending that isn't realistic and sends the wrong message.
ReplyDeleteRihanna strikes me as a very pitiable soul. She's not too bright, and I always get the feeling that she thinks she deserves the mistreatment. Sadly, she has never found the internal strength in her to take control of her own life.
Sorka8,
ReplyDeleteYes, I too, noticed that it did show violence as not always being one-sided. In fact, they made it look like Fox 'started it' in one scene. Not unexpected as I am sure this is being told entirely from Eminem's POV.
At best it shows the cyclical nature of domestic abuse clearly. At most, it doesn't have much of a real message about stopping abuse and is just another music video afterall.
ITA Mooshki. Rihanna looks sexy and missed the point. I think Eminem picked her because of Chris Brown, but also because her voice is right for the song.
ReplyDelete@Jax - Eminem says RIP DJ AM on his song Talking To Myself. The song is about his struggle with pills and wanting to get better.
Isn't the problem about DV that someone should leave but doesn't? And then it just gets worse. And worse. And worse. What if Rhianna had left CB after he hit her the first time? Isn't that really what you're supposed to do? Same goes for men who get hit by women. We all know it goes both ways. Public Disservice. It's not OK. So the video gets us all talking but what will children think when they see this. Kinda like the porn is OK thing.
ReplyDeleteLike the song and the video but I'm a little weary of the thing Rihanna does with her upper lip.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't seen the video before, but when I first heard the song I thought it was a brilliant choice/catch to have Rihanna on the track because of her highly publicized DV indicent.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with some of the other posters that though horrible to realize, the video & song do seem to portray an unfortunately common type of relationship dynamic and what holds people into them. I also liked(?) that it showed that the violence came from both sides of the relationship. Interesting!
@Vanessa - yes, he has said this is about his relationship with Kim...albeit exaggerated.
ReplyDeleteNot a huge fan of this song in particular, but I love both Eminem and Rihanna and I think the video is actually portraying an unfortunately realistic situation.
I hate that some men are going to think it's okay to abuse women because they like the way it feels.
ReplyDeleteWith the exception of Monaghan, who I'm indifferent to, every single one of these people bore the living daylights out of me.
ReplyDeleteBloody awesome! Love Eminem & this dark, haunting song. I actually liked how RiRi's chorus says "but it's alright because I like the way it hurts". And sung in a crying/whining voice. Shows the twisted romantic nature in abuse (notice the hot 'make-up sex' at the beginning) I'm not a Fox or Rihanna fan normally, but this was brilliantly done by all 4.
ReplyDeleteI have to throw my 2 cents in and say that I think this video portrayed a very real scenario. I've been there and done that. While I was the more abused of the two of us, I have to say that after awhile it all became so "normal" and if I had been drinking or using I could be pretty bad too - though I usually still came out the worse of the two. The video just brought back up some vert old memories for me.
ReplyDeleteI also thought Rihanna just didnt get it. (I think Mooshki said that too?)
ReplyDeleteI thought showing the abuse on both ends was fantastic because there are many men who are abused in relationships but dont really know if its wrong or how to deal with it because we just dont publize that in our culture.So this kinda showed them both as equal parts victim and abusers.
Love Love the song but will admit that when i really listened to the words I was disturbed Rihanna was doing the song.
I guess because the song reads to me of DV with no real ending in sight for the couple I just felt like it was inappropriate and sad for her to be a part of.
Its not like this could really have been cathartic for her, the song is dark and there is no lighter part of it, even at the end.
That said, if she found any peace at all doing it, then good for her
ReplyDeleteI'm torn about this. I think the production value is fantastic. I like the choices of Dom and Megan. I like Rihanna on this song. Even if it's not the zero tolerance anthem I'd liked to have heard from her a year ago (oh what a missed opportunity to positively impact a whole generation of girls), I respect her expression of the inner workings of an abusive relationship. I appreciate that not all stories have happy or resolved endings.
ReplyDeleteI do however worry that some people in dysfunctional and abusive relationships now have this song and slick pretty video to romanticize their situations. People will take what they want from it and there's going to be a percentage that sees the video and thinks, "Wow, I would never put up with that". Unfortunately there will also be some girl out there playing it for her abusive boyfriend saying, "This song is totally about us and how much I love you!!". Sad.
love and addiction. twisted and dark. i thought it was hot. but stoli? not worth stealing.
ReplyDelete