Music Video Analysis #1

Eminem – Love the way you lie (ft. Rihanna)

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
But that's alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
But that's alright because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie

I can't tell you what it really is
I can only tell you what it feels like
And right now there's a steel knife in my windpipe
I can't breathe
But I still fight, while I can fight
As long as the wrong feels right
It's like I'm in flight
High off her love, drunk from my hate
It's like I'm huffin' paint, and I love it
The more that I suffer, I suffocate
And right before I'm about to drown
She resuscitates me
She ****ing hates me
And I love it
"Wait, where you going?"
"I'm leaving you"
"No you ain't, come back"
We're running right back
Here we go again
It's so insane
Cause when it's going good
It's going great
I'm Superman
With the wind at his back
She's Lois Lane
But when it's bad, it's awful
I feel so ashamed
I snap
"Who's that dude? I don't even know his name"
I laid hands on her
I'll never stoop so low again
I guess I don't know my own strength

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
But that's alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
But that's alright because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie, I love the way you lie

You ever loved somebody so much
You can barely breathe when you're with them
You meet
And neither one of you
Even know what hit 'em
Got that warm fuzzy feeling
Yeah them chills
Used to get 'em
Now you're getting ****ing sick
Of looking at 'em
You swore you'd never hit 'em
Never do nothing to hurt 'em
Now you're in each other's face
Spewing venom
In Your words
When you spit 'em
You push
Pull each other's hair
Scratch, claw, bit 'em
Throw 'em down
Pin 'em
So lost in the moments
When you're in 'em
It's the rage that's the culprit
It controls you both
So they say it's best to go your separate ways
Guess that they don't know ya
Cause today
That was yesterday
Yesterday is over
It's a different day
Sound like broken records playing' over
But you promised her
Next time you'll show restraint
You don't get another chance
Life is no Nintendo game
But you lied again
Now you get to watch her leave out the window
Guess that's why they call it 'window pane'

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
But that's alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
But that's alright because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie, I love the way you lie

Now I know we said things
Did things
That we didn't mean
And we fall back
Into the same patterns, same routine
But your temper's just as bad as mine is
You're the same as me
But when it comes to love
You're just as blinded
Baby, please come back
It wasn't you
Baby, it was me
Maybe our relationship
Isn't as crazy as it seems
Maybe that's what happens
When a tornado meets a volcano
All I know is
I love you too much
To walk away though
Come inside
Pick up your bags off the sidewalk
Don't you hear sincerity
In my voice when I talk
Told you this is my fault
Look me in the eyeball
Next time I'm ****ed
I'll aim my fist
At the dry wall
Next time
There will be no next time
I apologize
Even though I know it's lies
I'm tired of the games
I just want her back
I know I'm a liar
If she ever tries to ****in' leave again
I'mma tie her to the bed
And set this house on fire

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn
But that's alright because I like the way it hurts
Just gonna stand there and hear me cry
But that's alright because I love the way you lie
I love the way you lie, I love the way you lie


This particular video features both Rihanna and Eminem and is taken from Eminem’s seventh album ‘Recovery’. The song was released in 2010 and reached number one on 25 charts worldwide. The collaboration between Eminem and Rihanna came from two different record labels; Rihanna’s record label ‘Def Jam’ and Eminem’s label ‘Interscope’. Also in 2010, Rihanna featured ‘Love The Way You Lie (Part 2)’ on her album ‘Loud’; the sequel of the first song, lyrically representing a female point of view in opposition from the first, released song.

The audience of this particular music video will be fans of both Rihanna and Eminem. Also within the video, actor Dominic Monaghan and Actress Megan Fox star as characters within the videos main storyline, and so the audience of the video may also be fans of either of these two actors. As a general age group, fans of this particular genre of music, largely hip-hop, would usually range from around 13-28, of both males and females.

The music video begins with a close-up shot of Rihanna as she introduces the song. This shot establishes an aspect of intensity within the music and the video, as we can see her expression closely. Whilst Rihanna sings, actors Megan fox and Dominic Monaghan are also introduced, lying together on a bed. This immediately tells the audience that the pair is a couple, and establishes the beginning of the story. The camera also cuts to shot of Megan fox sitting on the ground, “playing with fire”; we will later see that this scene relates to the relationship between the couple on the bed. Megan Fox wakes to find a scrawl of the name ‘Cindy’ and a number on her boyfriend’s hand, and immediately begins to subject him to violence. Ultimately, this violence between the pair continues throughout the video. As Eminem raps the lyrics ‘you meet, and neither one of you even know what hit ‘em’, the camera cuts to a flashback of when the couple meet in a bar, a shot in which Monaghan steals a bottle of vodka from a liquor store and the pair drink it on the roof; establishing the rebellious nature of the two. This particular song tells us of the love-hate relationship between two people, and the video reflects this; aside from the violence, we see passionate scenes of love, and a tentative scene in which Monaghan hands Fox a teddy bear; a gift which we later see abandoned and on fire.
Within the video, singer Rihanna is dressed in black, wearing a black leather jacket. Alongside this outfit, her hair has been dyed bright red, and her nails also painted in the same red colour. The black leather of her outfit represents the edginess and darkness of the relationship, whilst the contrasting red represents the passion and the pair’s fiery attitude towards love. Eminem wears a simple white vest, revealing the tattoos down his arm, and a pair of baggy jeans; this outfit is conventional of a rap artist. Both artists stand in front of the house inhabiting Monaghan and Fox, which is on fire. Towards the end of the video, the camera cuts back to the scene of Megan Fox sat on the ground holding a flame between her palms. In this scene, she places her hands together, putting the flame out; the flame could represent their relationship, and how it has fizzled out following the previous scene in which Monaghan hits Fox across the face. As Rihanna takes us through the final chorus singing ‘just gonna stand there and watch me burn’, we see shots of both actors going ‘up in flames’. The video ends with the same shot of the actors in bed as was displayed at the beginning of the video, suggesting that it was merely just another day in their love-hate relationship.

This particular video is predominantly narrative based, but does contain aspects of performance in which Rihanna and Eminem lip-sync the lyrics towards the camera. The video represents social ideas about abusive relationships. In a sense, it makes the audience aware that some relationships feature problems and violence, and it also brings about awareness that it is not always the female who is at the end of this violence. Fans of Eminem and Rihanna will be able to relate the storyline to their own personal relationships which both featured violence; Rihanna’s with hip-hop artist Chris Brown and Eminem’s with his wife Kimberly Scott.