Alisha Turley Rap

   Nationwide Epidemic     

  America has a new national problem; kids are being bullied to the point of suicide.  This nationwide epidemic is affecting this generation and will continue to future generations if something is not done to stop this world wide epidemic. Suicides are occurring more now than ever because of teen bullying. Bullying is happening everywhere you look, on the internet, in schools, at the park, on social networking sites, and on sport teams or other student organizations. Often times bullying is a well- kept secret.  Students are afraid to seek help from adults or feel ashamed and embarrassed.  They often feel alone and helpless which can lead to severe depression thinking that suicide is the only way out.  People need to become more aware and start working towards eliminating this sick act that is affecting this generation. Today there are videos like “It Gets Better” by Dan Savage and Terry Miller, “It Doesn’t Get Better” by Jeffrey Craig, documentaries like Bully, and Facebook pages like “Stop bullying…. Speak Up” that address the issue of bullying in today’s schools.  The video “It Gets Better” addresses the problem of children being bullied because of their sexuality and not being accepted for who they are as a person. This video was the first video of its kind that addressed bullying from this perspective. This video created a whole wide movement that influenced celebrities and other people to create hundreds of these videos in an effort to make a difference. The video “It Doesn’t Get Better” by Jeffery Craig is a response to the “It Gets Better” videos. This video addresses the issue of bullying by stating the negative realities students with different sexuality’s face in high school.  Jeffery Craig states that bullying does not end at high school and that if you believe in the “It Gets Better”  videos then your believing that nothing needs to be done right now, you just have to wait for it to get better. “Stop Bullying: Speak Up” the Facebook site is addressing the issue of bullying by inviting students to post comments, view videos or blogs, and directing students to organizations.  The goal of this Facebook page is to increase awareness and to encourage students to speak out against bullying.  The documentary film Bully was created to show bullied victims in their daily lives at school. While it’s often heartbreaking and deals with tough issues like suicide, the movie addresses the incredibly important timely topic of bullying.

     Of all the bullying informational sources available today, Facebook is the most powerful media outlet to reach people of all ages, backgrounds, nationalities and different cultures. In addition, Facebook reaches out to millions of people that vary from different age groups from young children, to teens, to young adults and even older adults. Everywhere you look people are on Facebook. Due to the wide use of this social media, information is spread quickly through phones, computers, laptops, and ipads, therefore Facebook is the best way to advocate for change.  In my opinion, the most impactful rhetorical technique used in these texts is an anecdote, because people are often engrossed in stories.  A good story can impact a person’s thoughts and feelings evoking tears, feelings of sympathy, which can inspire people to make a difference.  The analogy Facebook creates is that it is cool to have a Facebook page therefore since Bullying is viewed as unacceptable on Facebook, then students might agree that it is cool to help fight against bullies.

 

        The video project “It Gets Better” was created to inform high school LGBT kids that they are not alone and it will get better. The video “It Gets Better” by Dan Savage and Terry Miller uses the rhetorical technique of assertion to make their claim that it may be hard right now in the present for bullied teens  but there is hope that things can  get better in the future. Throughout the whole video the creators use anecdotes that are full of emotion as both Dan and Terry share their stories of where they came from and that they were bullied growing up. Dan talks about how his family is very Catholic and that there were no gay people in his neighborhood.  He was picked on because he liked musicals and people could tell he was obviously gay.  Terry revels that he was from a small town where he was bullied constantly. Terry’s family went to his high school administrator to talk about the situation and they said “ Basically if you look that way, talk that way, walk that way, act that way then there is basically nothing we can do to help your son.” (Savage) This is one reason why more children are harassed at schools than anywhere else.  School administrators are still not taking the appropriate action to try and prevent this situation. Terry provides an example of the rhetorical theory ethos when he says, that the day he left school it got better, he no longer had to see the bullies that had harassed him every day.  He didn’t have to be around the school administrators that had not done anything about it, his life instantly got better.  Dan and Terry go on throughout the rest of video talking about their coming out to parents about being gay.  They discuss how difficult it was and that at first their parents didn’t accept them but after some time it got better and eventually their parents became very respectful of their relationship.  The video ends with a rhetorical ethos response when they show that, today, Dan and Terry have started their own family by adopting a son.   Together they go on vacations and go snowboarding, activities that that show that they are like any other ordinary family.  The creators of the video included real life pictures of Dan and Terry to provide an allusion that connects with the audience.  The video “It Gets Better” uses reasoning when it states that the high school years are some of the hardest years for kids and if they can get through those four years, it will get better.  Dan provides a logical assertive argument against suicide when he states that if you decide to take your own life instead of fighting and standing up for yourself you are letting bullies win.   He urges teens to not give up, and informs teens that there is somewhere you can belong and feel safe. There are people just like you, you will find friends and family that support you and that it will get better after high school.  This statement gives the viewer the allusion that if Dan says it, it must be true since he lived through bullying himself.  The purpose of this video is to provide an analogy for kids that it can get better.  If it got better for Dan and Terry, it can get better for you too. But not everyone agrees with the “It Gets Better” video, it can get better for some people but this video can be considered a fairly-tail, not everyone is going to fall in love and have a family, and have happy ending. There is pain and suffering in the world everywhere. Bullying just does not go away once you graduate high school. Bullying does not have an age limit.  Bullying can occur in the work place between colleges or between employees and employers.  In order for bullying to end people have to learn to accept personal differences and foster acceptance rather than ridicule.

The video “It Doesn’t Get Better” by Jeffery Craig uses the technique of assertion to make its point.   Jeffery believes that “it doesn’t get better it gets less bad for some people but for other people it gets worse.” (Craig)  He makes the logos statement that after high school you may not be around the bullies any more, but there still going to be other people out there, that are not going to accept you for who you are. He makes a stern assertion that there are still going to be people who call you names as you walk by or yell at you through a car window and call you names. People will use the negative connotation of words like gay or queer to make people feel inferior. Even if you go to college after high school, you are still going to have people who aren’t going to accept you. He also make the ethical statement that gays will feel pressured to fit in with the gay communities, like having to buy certain clothes, shoes, certain types of drinks, listen to certain types of music to be accepted. The most important part of this video is at the end when Jeffery makes the pathos assertion that  “if you believe in the ‘It Gets Better’ videos then your believing that nothing need to be done right now. The solution lies in the future not in the present.” (Craig) Jeffery ends his argument by using reasoning to explain that this problem isn’t just going to go away when the mass media is done with it, like an election it’s going to go away as soon as something new comes along to occupy our time. He also reasons that we should be talking about how there are not enough trained social workers in schools.  He uses an assertive tone when he says “We should start desecrating the means that we associate with sexuality, gender and religion, take a step back and look at how we make all this stuff up, we make up what it means to a boy and what it means to be a girl, we make up sexuality and ideas about them, and how we make up religion and the implications that come with them”(Craig) Jeffery Craig is very direct with his assertion, it doesn’t just  get better, because for some it doesn’t. 

 

The powerful documentary film Bully which was created by Lee Hirsch, was the first documentary of its kind. The plot follows five kids and families over a course of a school year.  The film uses   tragic anecdotal stories of two families who’ve lost their children to suicide-a tragic outcome of bullying.  One of the most horrific anecdotes was the story of an eleven year old boy who shot himself because he was too afraid to go to school.  The film is full of different types of allusions thought out different parts of the movie for example using events that occur on the school bus, playground and hallways.  The film’s setting in multiple small towns throughout the United States is also easily connected to real life.  This film also   takes a glimpse into classrooms, cafeterias an even the principles’ office.  The creators use a Pathos appeal to the audience by showing the often cruel world of bullied children.  The tone and the language used throughout the documentary is realistic, emotional, and depressing leaving the viewer shocked and amazed.  None of these films tell us how to fix the problem or how students can help end bullying.

The Facebook page “Stop Bullying: Speak Up” is the most effective of these sources because it provides a solution to the bullying issue.  The language used on the site includes words that people of all ages can read; the language is casual and informal. People can post comments on up-coming events or videos that are posted on the site by using just the word “like”.   This site includes links to videos such as the “It Gets Better” videos by celebrities.  Facebook emits a casual tone on the site when people comment on posts about the issue of bullying.  In the addition they use the rhetorical technique of authority by providing interviews with celebrities and providing resources that teachers and parents can use for educational purposes.  The page provides the allusion of a typical Facebook page when they include the repeated use of windows or boxes to draw the reader’s attention.  They use logos like “Go Purple on Spirit Day 2012”   by directing focus and creating interest for viewers.  Spirit Day is day when millions of Americans speak out against bullying.  The site also uses well known symbols to get their message across like the no bullying circle or the thumbs up sign.  One reason for the increase in suicides is the lack of school and parent communication with their students or children on this matter.  If parents and students and teachers and administrators viewed this site together as part of their daily routine then perhaps the issue of bullying would diminish. Some school administrators choose to ignore bullying situations taking place in their schools instead of doing something about it. Parents aren’t informing or expecting their children to treat everyone with respect.  Parents should view the other websites like this one who to need to persuade their children that if they are being bullied it is okay to talk to someone about it and that everyone need to be treated with respect even if they are different. If parents would get more involved with their children, they might find out that their child is being bullied and can help them resolve the issue.  If school administrators and parents would get more involved with this issue we could help resolve this problem.

      All of these media sources use a variety of rhetorical techniques to try to create an awareness of the severity of bullying happening in today’s schools. One of the common patterns in all of the sources was the use of anecdotal stories to connect the viewer with the characters.  In addition, all of the sources provide real life examples of students who have suffered from bullying.  In addition, the sources used language that could be understood by viewers of multiple ages.  In my opinion all the sources were capable of impacting audiences on the issue of bullying and informing people that bullying is an issue that needs to be addressed.

         One of sources, the Facebook page, provided better examples of how to stop bullying in our nations’ schools.  The page also seems to have more of an informal tone that is more accepted by young people today.  None of the sources used the rhetorical technique of authority to any real extent.  No statistics or studies result, or no immediate solution was provided.  However, because of these sources and others like them, the issue of bullying is getting more public attention.   New legislation is being passed that requires parents to be notified of school’s bullying policies.  Together, using these media sources we can help reduce bullying in schools.