bewize

I make no secret of the fact that I love Eminem. I like his style, I appreciate his musical stylings, but the aspect of his art (and I do call it art) that has earned my admiration the most is his ability to write lyrics that really get into your head and speak to you.

I read one review that says that "we can always count on Eminem for brutal honesty."

Yes.

So, it's no surprise that I'm stunned into a respectful silence about the song "Love the Way You Lie."

Today, for the first time, I decided to go and see if there was a video.

There is.

I came into this video not knowing anything about it. When it reached the 45 second mark, I started squinting and thinking, "Is that...? Wait, is that...?" And indeed, it is. Apparently, the makers spared no expense in this video and it stares Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan.

I am not really interested in debating the artistic talents of these two actors, but there is no arguing that both are big names. And watching them carry the story of this song took my breath away - in all the right ways.

I've spoken on my journal recently about having trouble with the parts of my job that bring me into contact with this problem. I debate the wisdom of discussing it at all, because there are parts of the story that I don't want to talk about, but the absolute desperation of these scenes ripped my heart out.

I volunteer on a semi-regular basis at a woman's shelter near my office and without fail, I see women who are allegedly seeking help, out in the parking lot, having told their abusive SO's where to find them. I get angry about that.

I get angry about the women who go back to abusers.

I get angry about the women who don't protect their children from witnessing it.

I get so goddamn fucking furiously angry.

I get angry because people don't often talk about willing victims, who keep going back, who escalate, who start the violence. I get angry at the people who won't fight for themselves.

Is it my place to be angry? Probably not. Maybe.

But I am.

There are people reading this who know what a fist to the face feels like. There are people reading this who know what a fist through drywall sounds like. There are people reading this who know how the moments of beauty that exist in the middle of all this violence are somehow so much more beautiful than anything else that ever exists.

Watching Dominic Monaghan sketch that heart in the air and Megan Fox trace it afterward hit me as hard as Monaghan hit that wall. I get angry because at the end of it all, we - men and women both - are so goddamned determined to burn ourselves to the ground that I'm afraid nothing will ever be enough.

I get angry, because it scares me.

And this video captures that whole cycle better than anything else I've ever seen.