Stan

The song itself is thought to be a cultural milestone and is quite possibly the most critically acclaimed song in Eminem’s career. Falling into the genre of hip hop, Stan was one of 2000’s biggest hits and peaked at number one in eight different countries upon its release.

Goodwin states that ‘rarely will a music video simply illustrate the lyrics’ but this video is incredibly haunting and the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is very powerful. Eminem has used the medium in an interesting way. The video develops his own iconography, part of his star image. Ironically that is exactly what the song is about - how a crazed fan is so obsessed with him and the hype that surrounds him that he will go to any lengths to reach him. In a short narrative sequence before the music begins we are introduced to the character of Stan, his pregnant girlfriend and their strained relationship due to his intense obsession with the rapper. We see Stan, undergoing a metamorphosis into Eminem in the mirror –is this to remind us this is an Eminem video?

In the video, Stan is played by actor Devon Sawa who starred in Final Destination, also in 2000. The film was hugely popular among young audiences. Hand picked by producer Dr Dre, he would seem the perfect star vehicle to appear in the video. Playing Stan’s girlfriend is British singer and songwriter Dido, who also provides her voice for the chorus. Eminem has very little screen time in the video and his presence is cleverly timed so as not to distract us from the ‘story’ unfolding in the visuals and the lyrics, but nevertheless to remind us of his iconic status – a status also echoed by the song.

When the chorus begins it seems the lyrics are symbolic of the girlfriend’s feelings toward the situation, rather that Stan’s. The visuals are rather voyeuristic; she is seen sitting on the toilet as she considers her life. It does tend to echo one of the conventions of the hip hop video genre where women are treated with little respect. We are also given a shot of Eminem sitting on his tour bus and being handed some fan-mail, which turns out to be from Stan. The three main characters have now been established by the camera appearing to reveal the three characters lives as three layers in time for the beat drop.

Next we are introduced to the severity of Stan’s love of Eminem, as he enters his basement smothered in pictures of the rapper, memorabilia and even a life size mannequin. We see a close up of some picture as the lyrics say “and even if I could it would all be great/ to see your picture on my wall”. We see an example of the notion of looking when we see Eminem on the TV screen as Stan writes his letter. Another example is at the end of the video, after Eminem realizes that he is writing to Stan who killed himself. Lightening flashes and in the window beside Eminem you can see Stan staring in at Eminem.


The visuals in the video seem to cut well with the lyrics as well as the beat. When Stan is writing his letter in the first verse, we hear a pencil scratching to match what we are seeing.

Throughout the video we see Stan’s worsening reaction as he is seemingly ignored by his idol. However, the audience is shown a scene from a post office in which the letter, written by Stan, is tossed from a mail cart and left on the floor, thus never reaching its destination. This is an example of the audience knowing more than the characters in an almost ironic way, making them feel sympathy towards him.

“dear slim/ you still ain’t called or wrote/ I hope you have a chance/ I ain’t mad/ I just think its fucked up you don’t answer fans/ If you didn't wanna talk to me outside your concert/you didn't have to/ but you coulda signed an autograph for Matthew/ That's my little brother man/ he's only six years old/ We waited in the blistering cold for you/ four hours and you just said, "No."

As these lyrics are spoken we see Eminem at his concert, dressed in his signature baggy t-shirt and bandanna, on stage, in front of thousands of adoring fans, more in line, for a brief moment, with the codes and conventions of a performance video.

An example of intertextual reference would be in these lyrics from the third verse.

“Hey Slim/ I drank a fifth of vodka/ you dare me to drive?You know the song by Phil Collins, "In the Air of the Night"about that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drowning/but didn't/ then Phil saw it all/ and at a show he found him?That's kinda how this is/ you coulda rescued me from drowning”

Stan’s part in the video ends with him driving over a bridge with his girlfriend in the trunk of the car. As he drives off the bridge the beat of the music stops and we only hear a base line over which the sound effects of the tyres screeching, the girl screaming and the splash as the car entering the water is heard, before the beat resumes.

In censored versions of the video, the lyrics to the majority of the third verse in which Stan protests his love for Eminem and utter disappointment that he has received no response to his letters, is blanked out, but the chilling visual is still shown to the viewer.

Stan’s younger brother Matthew then becomes the subject of the visual in the final verse, spoken by Eminem as Eminem. In a moment of dramatic irony we see Matthew stepping up to take the place of his dead brother, his hair already bleached blond, a trademark of Eminem.

Many of the images are played back to us in this final verse as Eminem makes a wasted attempt to bring sense into Stan’s life. Once again we are then shown another example of the viewer knowing more that the characters, as we see Stan’s car being pulled from the river as Eminem says “I hope you get to read this letter/ I just hope it reaches you in time/ before you hurt yourself”. The words hurt yourself are emphasized by a close up of the totalled car.
Having previously released performance videos with a more comedic style, with songs such as Real slim shady and My name is, this video showed a different side to the controversial rapper and earned him an even bigger fan base inside and outside the industry. It elevated his iconic status around the world, which considering the story behind the lyrics, is again rather ironic. Interestingly Stan is said to be based on a 1984 track by Malcolm Mc Claren, in which an operatic aria replaces the voice of Dido. If true, Eminem has cleverly manipulated the genre to his own ends.