Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith Jr. (Eminem) wants to be a successful rapper and to prove that a white man can create moving sounds. He works days at a plant run by the North Detroit Stamping Company and pursues his music at night, sometimes on the plant’s grounds. The film’s title refers to Detroit’s northern city boundary which divides Detroit’s white and African American populations. This film gives a gritty look at Detroit’s hip-hop culture in 1995 and Jimmy’s desire to be accepted by it. Eminem’s original songs “Lose Yourself” and “8 Mile” received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. This scene is an edited composite of two brief sequences involving the stamping plant. The first half of the scene appears early in the film as part of “The Franchise” sequence. The second half appears in the last 25 minutes of the film as part of the “Papa Doc Payback”
sequence. In the first part of the scene, Jimmy’s car won’t start so he rides the city bus to work and arrives late. The second part occurs after he is beaten by Papa Doc (Anthony Mackie) and Papa Doc’s gang. Jimmy’s mother (Kim Basinger) returns to their trailer and tells him she won $3200 at bingo. The film continues to its end with Jimmy’s last battle (a rapper competition).
What to Watch for and Ask Yourself 1. What is your perception of the quality of Jimmy’s job and his work environment? 2. What is the quality of Jimmy’s relationship with Manny, his foreman (Paul Bates)? Does it change? If it does, why? 3. How would you react to this type of work experience?