DIGIPAK ANALYSIS: 'THE EMINEM SHOW' BY EMINEM

On the front cover is a wide shot of Eminem sat on a stage. You can tell he is on a stage from the wooden floor, the red curtains and the microphone, which is being lit up by a spot light. The bright red curtains along with Eminem looking deep in thought gives the album cover a serious tone. The curtains above the wooden floor are typical of a theatrical stage, which may represent the fact that Eminem’s life is on show. Using the mise-en-scene along with the title of the album ‘The Eminem Show’ the audience get to understand that the theme of the album is about fame. The title is in the middle of the image and is presented formally using a bold, uppercase san serif font. The title is in white surrounded with a drop shadow by a black outline making the title stand out more. Eminem’s signature backwards ‘E’ is also used in the title and is also used in many of his other albums. This is Eminem’s 4^th album and in the majority of his albums you don’t actually see Eminem’s full face. This is counter typical to the hip hop/ rap genre. Normally hip hop/rap artists would use a close up shot of them for their front cover. The curtains are slowly opening so the audience can see him. Eminem may feel like the curtains represent how the world sees him and how his personal life is now public news. This is an ironic look at stars in general and himself as a star as their job is to be in the public eye.

The image on the back contrasts with the front in that Eminem can’t be seen on the image and the curtains are closed. The only thing visible on the stage is the mic in front of the curtains and Eminem cannot be seen this time. This gives the message that Eminem can now get back to his personal life. The red, white and black theme is continued from the front cover. The track names can be seen on the back surrounded by the spotlight showing it is the main focus of the image. The white font on the red background sticks out making it easy to read. The font looks hand written maybe indicating that these are Eminem’s own written tracks as he is known for writing his own tracks and could be his own hand writing.

This is the image on the inside behind the CD tray. The image shows a full body shot of Eminem stood on the stage testing the mic. This shot allows the audience to see that Eminem is wearing a suit. This indicates that Eminem is serious about his work although the suit looks quite baggy. This may have something to do with his upbringing in a very urban place. This may be used to show that he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Eminem is facing the audience with his eyes fixed on the camera. This makes it feel like he is engaging with the audience. Eminem’s lyrics are counter typical in the hip hop genre. Typically hip hop artists would be rapping about shooting and crime that their audience would relate to but Eminem’s lyrics are more about his personal experiences, family and his childhood. This is also seen in his album covers as he looks like he is on a stage about to perform but it looks more like a theater rather than a arena or stage. The rules of third are used too make the image here more appealing.

Like many older albums The Eminem Show came with a booklet inside that contained lyrics for all of his songs on the album and also had information of who produced certain songs.  Again the stage, curtain and mic are kept to keep the continuity of the album cover. The inside cover uses the same hand writing style as the back cover again to indicate that he has written these songs himself. This gives the audience an idea that many of his songs are personal experiences making his songs more relatable to his audience.

Post By: 
Josh Shea