Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Alright, so I'm not going to bother thinking of a song that makes me teary, because there are a LOT of songs that CAN make me teary SOMETIMES. So trying to describe one when I'm not feeling at all teary would be rather useless.
Instead, I'm going to talk about Love the Way You Lie Parts 1&2 by Eminem & Rihanna.
First off, I've got to say that I LOVE those songs, and I particularly like Part 2 because there's more Rihanna in it. The way she does "So maybe I'm a masochist/I try to run but I don't ever want to leave/til the walls are going up/in smoke with all our memories" is just fantastic.
Secondly, I think people are interpreting the songs incorrectly. Abusive relationship= check, attempt at reconciliation= check, but then after that, I've found that not a lot of people really get it. The first song is the 'path of destruction'; it's violent, it's problematic, it's a lot of realization and no true catharsis. The reconciliation at the end of Part 1 is false, it's a trap, it's a lure; and SHE KNOWS THAT. He's obviously done it before; and she stays with him anyway. And she's not entirely innocent either; she fights back, and she provokes him by openly sidling up to other guys (this isn't in the song, but it's in the music video. Best acting by Megan Fox I've ever seen :D).
So why? Why the hell do they stay together? What's the point?
That question is answered in the end of part 1, and makes up the entirety of Part 2; they think they're made for each other. They both know they're a little psycho, and that their relationship isn't healthy. They think that's what they deserve, that since she's found that she enjoys the screaming and the suffering, leaving and coming back, because both of them need to feel needed. She leaves only to come back; that's already been established, but he also screams only to beg afterwards. They've gone insane with their character deterioration, making each other codependents of need. She says he's lost his mind; but they're both basically gone. This need drives the destruction, drives the dysfunctional behavior, drives their fear of separation and the ring of fire that is their relationship. They are at a point where if someone were to desire to change their relationship, they would have to forcibly tear them apart first.
And that's why I get frustrated with people who believe these songs shouldn't be on the radio simply because they're about abuse; there are worse, less sensitive songs about abuse itself. These songs underline the motives behind abusive relationships, and the emotions that feed the flames. And they do something rather unique; instead of demonizing the abuser, it suggests that both parties are victims.
Chatboard (0)