A story that fight the color barriers in today's society.

Rating: Null/10 (15 July 2003)

Eminem's first movie directed by Curtis Hanson shows the battles of a lower class, young man growing up in a tough Detroit neighborhood. Trying to fight the color barriers while trying to get respect in the music business as a white rapper. 8 Mile Road is a dividing line that separates the blacks from the whites. Growing up on the suburban side of 8 Mile, known as the white side of the dividing line, black rappers on the Detroit side of the 8 Mile don't take the white rappers on the suburban side of 8 Mile seriously. Eminem's character (Jimmy `Rabbit' Smith Jr.) is trying to get the respect as a white rapper.
This movie could easily be compared to sports movies that have an underdog that prove they can emerge against the odds to come out on top. The same types of movies that come to mind are Rocky or Karate Kid. It's a story that demonstrates an `everything is against you' type of story, and emerges the underdog on top and becomes an inspirational story.
In the free-style rap battles, opponents use their rap skills in one-on-one war of words. The words rhymes, and are aimed at the weakness of their opponents. They use the words as weapons instead of using guns or their fists. The feeling of a loss in a battle is the feeling of their world crumbling down around them. If a rapper looses a battle to an opponent, they feel like their life, as they knew it is over.
The movie is based on young, lower class people that have a dream of busting out of the low-class lifestyle with the right break. The movie is not totally based on Rabbit's struggle on getting out of the low-class trailer park living with his mother (Kim Basinger). It shows Rabbit maturing and becoming a man that is trying to find his place in society. It shows the frustrations and color barriers young people have on a daily occurrence growing up in today's society.