Vernallis Analysis on 'Stan' by Eminem

Narrative
The video's narrative starts off with an obsessed Eminem fan in his bathroom, dying his hair so that it is the same colour as Eminem's. This shows the degree of his obsession. His pregnant girlfriend then raises concerns about this and Stan is dismissive and aggressive towards her, showing that he has let his obsession take over his life, and seems more interested in Eminem than he does in his partner whom is with child.

As the first verse plays we see Stan go to his basement; a room which is more or less dedicated as a shrine to Eminem, with pictures and posters of him visible all over the walls. He begins to write a fan mail letter to Eminem. He is frustrated because Eminem hasn't replied to his previous letters however acknowledges that maybe he scribbled the address poorly as an excuse for his idol not replying to him.

As the chorus plays we continue to see Stan refusing to pay attention to his girlfriend, and mistreating her further. A key moment then comes as Eminem's letter in reply to Stan is dropped in the postal office, meaning although Eminem replied, Stan will not recieve the letter now as it has been lost.

During the next verse we see Stan's frustration grow as he thinks Eminem is simply too lazy or rude to reply to him. He also vents his frustration about the fact that Eminem did not sign an autograph for Stan or his little brother when they waited outside for him at one of his concerts, although as the viewer we see that Eminem did try to sign it but was whisked away by his body guards before he could do so. The severity of Stan's obsession is then expressed again as he takes a photograph of himself and his girlfriend and pastes a picture of Eminem over where his girlfriend was in the picture, as seen below.

As the chorus kicks in again we see Stan's girlfriend get up in the night to investigate the basement and see what Stan is hiding down there. She is then shocked by the ridiculous amount of Eminem pictures and memorabilia in the room, and is disgusted to find the picture where Stan replaced her with Eminem. Stan then comes down the stairs, catches her going through his things, and whisks her away.

We then see that Stan is definitely psychologically unstable as we see him driving through the rain in the middle of the night while recording a tape message venting his anger at Eminem for not acknowledging his support or fan mail. We again see the extent of his obsession as there is a picture of Eminem hanging in his car. His frustration is then shown as he is seen smashing his TV in the basement. We then find out that Stan has locked his pregnant girlfriend in the trunk of the car and is planning to drive off a bridge, killing himself, his girlfriend, and of course the child she is carrying. Just before he reaches the bridge Stan realises that his suicide recording will never be heard, and Eminem will never find out how he feels. At this point the car crashes off the bridge into the water as seen below.

As the final verse plays we see Eminem finally recieving and replying to one of Stan's letters, not knowing of course that it is too late. Eminem can tell from the manner of Stan's writing that his obsession is unhealthy. Eminem apologises for not signing an autograph for his brother and also advises Stan to treat his girlfriend better and possibly seek psychological help for his temperament. The video then cuts to a shot of Stan's little brother at Stan's grave with his mother. The young boy then takes off his hood to reveal that he has also dyed his hair to be like Eminem, causing his mother distress and shock as she knows that an obsession with Eminem is what got her other son killed. The video then cuts back to Eminem finishing off his letter to Stan when he decides to mention a case he saw on the news about a man killing himself and his pregnant girlfriend by driving off a bridge. Eminem then recollects the name of the man and realises it is Stan, and that the unfortunate sequence of events such as Eminem's letter getting lost in the post and him not being able to sign an autograph for Stan's brother, combined with Stan's unhealthy obsession, has led to Stan's suicide.


Editing
The video consists of different editing speeds at different stages of the song. An example of this is at 3:16 when the second ends, a slow fade transition is used, however at other stages where the song focuses more on Stan's raging moments such as during the 3rd verse, around 3:40 to 4:30, there is more fast editing including shorter clips and an interlinked sequence of Stan driving at speed and smashing up his basement in an out of control rage, as seen below.

Camera Movement and Framing
The camera movement is very steady in most the video and the characters are framed carefully in many close-ups and extreme close-ups, as the video very much focuses on the emotions of Stan and his girlfriend which are visible due to the expressions on their faces during the close up shots. Eminem is also framed clearly in mid-shots and close-ups as he is shown replying to Stan's letters. Many slow rotating shots are used as Stan writes letters in his basement, and he is also framed on the left on many occasions to allow for nose room, although there are many shots from the front where he is framed simply in the centre. An example of a close-up shot of Stan can be seen below.

Diagesis
This video contains three main interlinking scenes as the narrative, these being the recurring scene of Stan writing to Eminem (driving his car in the 3rd verse), Eminem writing back to Stan and reading his letters (especially prominent in the 4th verse), and of course the recurring shots of Stan's pregnant girlfriend looking lonely, abandoned and frightened by Stan and his obsession. The video also contains other scenes which express a point such as the few scenes involving Stan's little brother or Stan's past experiences meeting or trying to meet Eminem, as seen below.