Hip-Hop/rap superstar Eminem (AKA Marshall Mathers) created a video of himself doing an acapella cypher about the Trump presidency and all the negative things that Trump has done and stands for. This video was shown during the BET Music Awards and caught the attention of countless people worldwide.
This is a form of propaganda due to the fact that it was created to persuade people to think and see things in certain way and to get behind a message. Eminem’s message is to expose Trump for the horrendous lies and morals he stands for and Eminem exposes the negative way he has affected the country with his presidency. His cypher asks America to stand up against Trump and what he is doing as president.
The target audience is really all of America whether they are democratic or republican to either get them to get behind the message and expose others on the wrongfulness of supporting Trump. The main audience who was exposed to this example of propaganda are his fans and fans of hip-hop/rap music and music in general. It also appealed to people with strong political opinions as well. However the audience that would appreciate and agree with this form of propaganda would be people who dislike Trump.
The production of the video is simple and includes very few cuts and simply is Eminem rapping in front of a camera. The focus of the video is what Eminem is saying and his message, not so much the visuals. But the visuals allow the viewer to see the emotions and anger behind what he is saying and his delivery. The background is simple and used to focus the viewers’ attention on Eminem. It takes place in an empty grey garage with a few cars and people creating a semicircle around Eminem. They have some distance from Eminem and so it allows the viewer’s eyes to focus on Eminem due to the way Eminem is the biggest thing in the frame and is centered. He is near the camera and at some points seems to be right in your face
He uses anger and specific examples from Trump’s presidency to be persuasive in delivering his message. He uses clever rhyme schemes, flow and cadence, word play, and tone of voice to show the passion and emotions behind his words and present it in a way that is clever and artistic and able to grab people’s attention. Eminem discusses Trump’s racism, his use of media to divide the country, his attacks against the NFL, his attacks against POWs, “his endorsement for Bannon, support for the Klansman,” his greed, his hypocrisy, his views on immigrants, ect. These examples and the way he presents them appeals to lifestyles, values, and points of views of people who are more democratic, believe equality, freedom to protest, the evil of greed, among other views and beliefs. For example, in one part of the cypher Eminem raps “It’s like we take a step forwards, then backwards, but this is his form of distraction. Plus, he gets an enormous reaction when he attacks the NFL, so we focus on that ‘n’, instead of talking about Puerto Rico and gun reform for Nevada. All of these horrible tragedies, and he’s bored and would rather cause a Twitter storm with the Packers.” Eminem is discussing how Trump has set America back as a country and uses things like attacking the NFL on Twitter for the Colin Kaepernick protests to distract from the real issues and investigations against Trump. He shows how Trump is setting the country back and uses his passion and anger to deliver his message through his platform as an artist, rapper, and celebrity.
In the article, “Authorship and Origins of the Seven Propaganda Devices: A Research Note” by J. Michael Sproule, he discusses the seven propaganda devices, one of which is transfer. Transfer is a device that “’carries over the authority, sanction, and prestige of something we respect and revere to something he would have us accept,’” (136). This is the major device Eminem uses in his cypher. He is projecting negative views and examples of President Trump in order for people to be influenced to be against him. Eminem appeals to people’s emotions through his work. The cypher is also videotaped and shows the visuals of him as well as his background to further appeal to the emotions and anger in the piece and so present his message in a more powerful and persuasive way.
The message is very straight forward and is clearly anti-Trump. However different people may interpret it differently. Everyone would agree that Eminem’s views are anti-Trump, but Trump supporters may look at this as an attack that is sending negative message and may even disagree with some of the more factual examples due to the emergence of “fake news” in the media. However Eminem is very biased in the way he delivers the facts. People who are democratic and/or disagree with Trump and what he stands for could see this as a positive that speaks truth and mirrors the views of many Americans. However, others may think the message is used to further divide people rather than working together. Eminem raps at one point at the end of the cypher - “And any fan of mine who’s a supporter of his, I’m drawing in the sand a line. You either for or against. And if you can’t decide who you like more and you’re split on who you should stand beside. I’ll do it for you with this: F-ck you.” This may be interpreted as a negative in the way it may divide people even more instead of solving the problem. Eminem has stated that he since regrets saying that for those reasons.
Some people would find this beneficial in the way it exposes truths and injustices done by Trump and his campaign. It speaks and mirrors the views and feelings of countless Americans as well as other people all over the world. He calls Trump out for his lies and racist and inappropriate/immoral comments and views. People could see this as an extremely honest and uncensored opinion of Trump that resonates and empowers people who might not feel comfortable being so blunt and honest about Trump and his presidency. Others may find it harmful in the way it may be seen as an attack and further dividing the country. He is very harsh in what he says about Trump and one may discredit Eminem’s message by saying his anger and biased is so strong and could blind him and others from the facts. He is attacking Trump and Trump supporters, which appeals to their emotions in an angry way. And so the response to Eminem’s anger and hatred could be more anger and hatred from supporters of Trump, which could cause more harm then good. Some may think Eminem is omitting good things Trump has done or over focused on the most negative aspects of him as president and a person. The biggest harmful aspect of Eminem’s cypher is the way it does not bring the right or left together, but pulls them more apart.