Beauty Is Not the Word: Relocating Detroit in Eminem’s Video Beautiful

Relocation is often used as a comparative category to describe moving from one place to another. But what if relocation occurs within one space? Or when the borders between cities, nations, and continents are blurred by political organisations, like the European Union or technology, like the Internet and mobile phones? French Marxist philosopher, Henri Lefebvre argues in his Rhythmanalysis (1991) that everyday activities, feelings and (pre)conceptions about space affect the space around us. Space according to him is organic and alive and, in turn, affects us back. ‘Space has a pulse, and it palpitates, flows, and collides with other spaces’ (Merrifield 2006: 105), what the French philosopher likened to sea waves. The coming and going of the waves on the sea is not a mere repetition, Lefebvre asserts, but the movement constituting a rhythm (Lefebvre 2004: 22). Rhythm, according to him, is not a perfect repetition but involves counter movements and layering of movements. It contains changes and errors; nevertheless it aligns together space, time, and the body of the experiencer, creating a ‘pulse’ of society and a sense of time and location. This linkage of space and time through the body of the experiencer explains why so many people find watching or listening to sea waves relaxing.