The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #31122   Message #403724
Posted By: GUEST,Russ
22-Feb-01 - 11:12 AM
Thread Name: Eminem carrier of folk torch?
Subject: RE: Eminem carrier of folk torch?
All of us of a certain age have heard all this before. Yes, we do sound like our parents.

As always, in discussions like this there are a number assumptions which range from questionable to really silly.
1st assumptions about Eminem
1. Eminem intends for his songs to have a moral message.
2. The message is clear and unequivocal.
3. The message is the opinion of the singer.

2nd about the world we live in
4. The message in Eminen's song is clearly and unequivocally "bad" by some universal and reasonable criteria of "badness."
5. It is bad for people to express bad messages.

3rd about Eminem's audience
6. Eminem's audience correctly understands the message
7. They are listening to his music for moral guidance.
8. They will do "bad" things on the basis of the moral guidance they receive from his music.
9. Eminem's music is a cause of these "bad" things rather than a symptom.