Listen while reading :)
The problem of bullying, on a broad outlook, is
the issue dealing with bullying here in our American society amongst teenagers.
These victims of the bullies are being targeted due to being LGBT, weird,
different, the new kid, or just the way that god made them. To be more specific
on the issue these teenage victims are giving up on life and committing suicide
due to the pain that they deal with on a day-to-day basis. Some possible causes
of the bullying and suicides could be that the victims do not have support from
their communities, do not have healthy ways to cope with the stress, they do
not have support from their families, or simply are not being protected by the
schools. The causes of the bullies treating others poorly, would be the parents
not setting good examples to their children and not displaying positive behaviors
that accept others for the way that god created them. We can fix these problems
by setting good examples in our community and parents at home and also by
having resources available to these victims who are in search of somewhere to
find help.
There
are people out there in our American society that are recognizing this issue and
are trying to make the public aware by talking on television, writing articles,
making movies or documentaries, and through lyrics in their music. These people
are trying to reach out to the public on ethical, emotional, and logical
standpoints. The people express themselves in these sources in different ways,
some reaching out on more of emotional levels, than ethical, and some reaching
out more on logical. Tone and language used in these sources also play a key
role in giving the audience a sense of how the creator feels. All are trying to
establish the same thing, giving examples, which make the viewer more aware of
this terrible issue that has been occurring at a high level recently.
When most people are listening, reading, or
watching something, the best way to connect or be emerced into a piece is by
using emotional and ethical appeals through rhetorical techniques of allusions,
examples and anecdotes to engage the audience. The best way that the problem
can be addressed would be to show first hand to the audience the problem of
bullying, giving them a sense of being in the victims position, and then to
give the audience the feel of the effects of this problem. As well as to make
known throughout schools in America and show the video at some point to the
students. Many people can read texts, listen to songs, hear people talking
about it on television but until they are hit by emotion or logic, these allusions,
anecdotes or examples start to have an impact on them first hand. The sources
have a pattern of touching up on all three rhetorical techniques while certain
sources focus on different aspects based on the audience that they are trying
to appeal to. The strongest source that touches up on most rhetorical
techniques that I have mentioned, would be the informative emotional documentary
called Bully.
To understand an issue one must be actively
interested in the topic through the classical appeal of pathos. The technique
that I want to begin with is anecdotes which strongly relates in all texts with
emotion. Lee Hirsch’s film Bully most
effectively addresses the problem and uses many anecdotes, and examples
throughout America. Pathos was a large part of the film and in many aspects
made the audience more engaged in the film. Alex, a victim of bullying in Iowa,
when talking to his mother states that “if not for them, what friends do I
have?” (Bully) This is a solid example of an anecdote that evokes emotion by
giving the audience a sense of hopelessness for Alex. Alex’s parents were there
for him and gave him advice in order to overcome his issue at school. In the
article “Gay Teens Bullied to the Point of Suicide” by Kenneth Miller, Rashad was dealing with bullying at school and was
going through the phase of coming out and found it helpful with support through
his family. Rashad told his mom “I don’t care if anyone else accepts me as long
as you do.” (Miller) This is truly a heartbreaking article and with many
teenagers not having support from their families I feel sympathy towards them.
Luckily Rashad’s parents were accepting and with the parents that Rashad and
Alex have, these teenagers can find relief knowing that they are accepted at
home as well as loved and cared for.
The Ellen show with Michelle Obama was
effective in demonstrating the rhetorical technique of anecdotes, as well as
the song “Same Love” by Macklemore. . “When kids are walking ‘round the hallway
plagues by pain in their heart, a world so hateful some would rather die than
be who they are.” (Macklemore) Macklemore’s lyrics are deep from his heart and
like Ellen and Michelle; he uses a strong tone for evoking emotion to the
audience. Tone is a large part in how the audience will get attached or dragged
into somebodies work. The tone for “Same Love” is catchy, depressing, and
thought provoking. When looking at Bully, Miller’s article, and the episode on
Ellen, we as the audience start to feel a sense of depression and sympathy for
the victims from the tone and examples they give. Ellen as we saw on the
episode goes into tears as she tries to talk about the issue. The three sources
I just mentioned all have a serious, with a sad or disgusted tone that differs
from the song by Macklemore which is more slow and passionate. Anecdotes and
tone are effective in this way of giving the audience a sense of what the
victims are going through and also the degree of seriousness of the issue. Kenneth Miller Article
The next classical appeal that is throughout my
sources would be that of Logos. In the movie Bully, the parents of the dead victims made many logical points
when talking to the school administration when it came to the issue of children
who are different are failing to get protection from the schools. The parents
or the victims state that when they asked for help by the principal before the
suicide occurred that the administration “politicianed us”.(Bully) This seemed
illogical on the part of the schools administrators, the parents wanted to get
help from the most powerful person at the school and could not receive it. This
is a very logical point that goes along with the fact that schools are not
protecting children to the degree that they should be, not just to give off the
impression that they are, but to actually step in and try to make a difference.
In Miller’s article, he makes many valid logical points that tie into the
problem of bullying suicides. Miller states that whether you are for gay rights
or not for gay rights, we should all be able to agree that “these children
deserve to be in classrooms, not caskets”. (Miller) This is a great example of
reasoning with logic. The part about gay rights relates to the issue, but no
matter how you feel about it teenagers should not be committing suicide. The
deaths of these teenagers are terrible for our society and it is wrong that
they have to endure this much pain.
Some creators of the sources use logos the same
way, while some can prove there points better than others. “And a certificate
on paper isn’t gonna solve it all, But It’s a damn good place to start”, this
lyric by Macklemore stuck out to me, because it is a logical point. Maybe
bullying, prejudice, racism, and teen suicides won’t stop by signing a paper,
but It sure would help. It seemed logical to me when I heard the lyric because
many people would feel as if they were more accepted in the society if the
government could work something out for Gay rights and equality for those who
are perceived in our society as different. Ellen and Michelle both made similar
statements that the problem of bullying against certain people is based upon
“the parents need to be setting better examples.”(Ellen) This is logical
because the victims are teenagers and most teenagers spend a decent amount of
time with their parents. The parents if they were extremely prejudice towards
homosexuals and said words like “gay” and “fag” around the house would make
their children more prone to use the same language and behaviors at school and
in public. The sources are all similar in using logic to prove their arguments
but some just are more extreme than others. Logical appeal with reasoning is a
great way to get the audience to take interest and feel passionate for the
topic that the creator is proposing.
The last general appeal that I am going to talk
about would be Ethos. The appeal of Ethos and the rhetorical of technique of
allusion is a great way to obtain credibility from the audience’s viewpoint. On
the Ellen Degeneres Show, the audience obtained credibility through the fact
that Ellen is a successful gay mother, comedian, actor, as well as a person who
represents women’s rights. On the other hand Michelle Obama is a African
American first lady who is a liberal democrat, if the audience were to see that
both of them are coming together on this issue of bullying and more specific
teenage suicide, then if the audience had any support for either one of them
before watching the show then after watching the show would be more considered
to agreeing with their views on the issue. Miller’s article like Ellen’s show,
both advocate that bullying is immoral and wrong. Miller makes an allusion to
the credible executive director of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays) Jody M. Huckaby who makes a valid point by saying “being a
teenager is hard enough.” (Miller) By referring to the executive director of
PFLAG, a national organization, Miller achieves support of his argument through
a credible source. PFLAG is popular throughout our country and is known for the
work they do advocating equal rights for homosexuals. Miller refers to a
statistic from a recent Gallup poll that states that, fifty-two percent of
Americans consider homosexuality as it being morally acceptable. This is an
example of authority which fits into the category of ethos.
The
sources I just talked about both are promoting similar ideals of equality and
the elimination of prejudice amongst our society, as well as help for teenagers
who need it. They sources differ by using different credible people and studies
to validate their arguments, some using the strong woman icons in our society
such as Michelle Obama or Ellen Degeneres, and some using credible people that
are more impactful in the gay and lesbian community such as Jody Huckaby from
PFLAG.
Works Cited
Ryan Lewis. "Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Same Love
feat. Mary Lambert (official
video)"
YouTube. YouTube. 02 Oct. 2012. web. 24 Oct. 2012.
LGBTQNation. "Michelle Obama talks bullying on ‘ellen’"
YouTube. YouTube. 29 Aug.
2011. web. 17 Oct. 2012.
Miller, Kenneth. “Gay Teens Bullied to the Point of
Suicide.” Ladies Home Journal.
Ladies
Home Journal., 25 Sept. 2011. Web. 1 Oct. 2012.
Bully. Dir. Lee Hirsch. The Weinstein Company. 30 Mar.
2011
No comments:
Post a Comment