Standing Up Against The Bully
Bullying against people who are different than others, such as people who are gay has become a big problem in America. Individuals are speaking out trying to stop bullying against gays. In the picture from the NOH8 campaign it is addressing the problem of no equality and trying to stay silence for gay marriage and equality. “It Doesn’t Get Better” video on YouTube shows how life after high school is not always happy endings and gets better. In a Glee episode it shows a bully harassing a gay student and then the bully comes out of the closet and commits suicide. Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way” goes along with her Monster campaign showing everyone is different and it’s okay to be different. In the NOH8 campaign photo and Lady Gaga’s song/campaign is trying to make a difference to give hope to young gay people that things will get better. The Glee episode shows things are bad at first, but soon will get better. On the other hand, the “It Doesn’t Get Better” YouTube video tells young gays that life doesn’t get better and they will be still be mistreated. Bullying gays or anyone different is wrong and society has allowed it to happen.
Bullying
gays and people different than other is believed to be normal, however, people
forget that bullying physically and mentally harmful towards the victim and
bully. Media is no longer just trying to get the attention towards young
people, but also adults. Bullying gays isn’t educated in schools very well, so
celebrities have taken their role to stand up against bullying. Bullying harms
people not just the victim, but also the family and friends.
These sources all served different topics when
getting across that was bullying, but they all used the same purpose when using
their strong allusion, analogy, authority, and reasoning. In the song
“Born This Way” by Lady Gaga she argues, “Whether life’s disabilities left you
outcast, bullied, or teased rejoice and love yourself today ‘cause baby you
were born this way.”
Celebrities In The Picture
Allusions
were the main rhetorical technique used in the sources. In the NOH8 campaign
photo allusion is used because it uses a celebrities for its campaign. I wasn’t
surprised the campaign used celebrities because the NOH8 photos seem to have a variety
of normal people and celebrities. The NOH8 campaign main goal is to stay silent
to fight the Proposal 8 on same sex marriage. Using celebrities to show support
in their campaign helps NOH8 get recognized to the government and public. Using
celebrities many people know also helps get support for gay marriage and
equality, but also the urge to end bullying on others who are gay. I think
using the celebrities and normal citizens for the campaign is getting across
that they want equality when it comes to marriage.
Lady Gaga uses allusion
as a technique when trying to connect to the audience. Lady Gaga is a celebrity
that tries to connect to the audience when telling her story how her mother
told her when she was young she was born this way to be unalike. In the song
“Born This Way” she says, “There’s nothing wrong with loving who you are. She
said, ‘Cause he made you perfect, babe.’ So hold your head up girl and you’ll
go far.” She’s only been a celebrity for a short time now, so before she was
considered to be a normal citizen. It is easy for people to relate to her
because even though she is now a celebrity the press still bullies her for
being different. I think her campaign is good to support because she is saying
everyone is different and that it is okay to be different. She shows the public
how she is not afraid to be different now, but growing up it was hard for
herself until her mother told her it was alright to be unusual.
Glee uses allusion
when connecting gay high school students to the two characters in the show.
Glee shows gay students being bullied at school and no authority figures not
doing anything about it. They also show the emotional roller coaster it is for
the young adults. I was shocked that Glee used depression and the trying to
commit suicide because of being bullied.
Glee is using celebrities to tell the story of a
high school bully.
The use of
allusions of each source was serious; however they come across differently. The
NOH8 campaign uses celebrities to get the campaign more advertising to get
across the problem to the public. Lady Gaga uses allusion when trying to
connect to the audience because she is considered different. Glee uses
celebrities to show a high school bully scene. These three sources connect to the
audience differently by using celebrities or using a high school bully scene.
When connecting to young adults these sources also try to use analogy as a
rhetorical technique.
Comparing Lives
Analogy was
another rhetorical technique used in these sources. The NOH8 campaign photo
used this technique when comparing a celebrity to a normal person. The two are
both fighting for the same issue and sometimes if the celebrity is gay it
compares its life to a normal gay citizen. The “It Doesn’t Get Better” YouTube
video also using an analogy when comparing other peoples stories to celebrity
stories. In the video she says, “It doesn’t get better. It doesn’t happen when
you turn eighteen when you move out or go to college or whatever or get your
own place and move away from your parents and think life is great and
everything is happy. It doesn’t really work that way. You can’t just wake up
one day and everything gets better.” Even though it was easy for the celebrities
to find their lover and live happily ever after, it does not always end up that
way for everyone. She tells the story about others going into depression or
thoughts of suicide after high school because bullies never went away and they
never found the love of their life. I was surprised how in the video she says
it doesn’t get better for everyone, but for some it takes time.
Glee was another
source that used analogy. Glee not only tells Kurt’s side of the story, but
also the bully’s. When Kurt went to visit the bully in the hospital they both
describe why would he want to take his own life. Kurt says, “My supposed best
friend telling me he never wants to talk to me again, my mom telling me I have
a disease, that I can be cured.” People and mostly loved ones disapproval can
lead gay teens to depression and attempt to commit suicide. After the episode
aired the character that plays the bully, Max Alder tells E, “I was incredibly
happy that the writers and producers chose to go there, and I said that to
them, It’s so brave and honest, and you’re really treating this character with
the integrity that he deserves.” Throughout Glee Kurt has been an open gay that
has been bullied since day one. In the episode they show him being shoved into
walls, drinks thrown at him, called names and so fourth. When it did its turn
around that the bully has been hiding the fact he’s gay and now every bad thing
happens to him. The bully goes through his own victims differently than Kurt
does and is afraid of telling his father. This episode was towards The Trevor
Project to show kids they are not alone and things can get better after you get
away from the bullies. The episode is very emotional and is effective towards
its audience of teenagers to young adults. Glee shows why bullying is wrong and
how it affects everyone, but also how it can get better when leaving. Glee does
a very good job comparing the two characters lives and how they deal with
bullying.
Lady Gaga’s Monster
campaign and her top of the charts single “Born This Way” was another source
that used analogy. Lady Gaga is comparing her life to others. She is trying to
say that because her mother said it was alright for her to be different, that
other parents will be okay with their child being different. Her point is to
get across that everyone was born diverse and to stand out. In her song she
says, “In the religion of the insecure I must be myself, respect my youth. A
colorful lover is not a sin. Believe capital H-I-M. I love my life, I love this
record and mi amore vole fe yah (Love needs faith).” She wants people to
believe that God loves everyone no matter what sexuality they are. She compares
the church to her beliefs on what being different really means. Near the end of
her song she says, “Same DNA, but born this way.” She is telling parents even
though your child has your DNA they were born to be their own person.
The use of analogy
of these sources was one of the important rhetorical techniques, but they all
are used differently. The NOH8 campaign compares the celebrities to normal
citizens in the photos when it comes to their sexuality. Glee is comparing this
made up story to real high students who get bullied and go through depression.
Lady Gaga uses analogy when comparing her life to others. She tells the story
of her mother telling her that she was born to stand out. The YouTube video “It
Doesn’t Get Better” uses authority and reasoning as different techniques.
Getting Down To The Facts
The
YouTube video “It Doesn’t Get Better” was the main source that used authority
throughout the video. She uses a lot of facts and statistics to show the
audience why life doesn’t get better after high school and the bullies never
going away. During most of the video she is using authority when she states
studies she found on the Internet. She says, “Suicide rates are high in LGBT
community not just in teens, but also adults.” She also stated, “In the baby
boomer generalization statistics I read that thirty-one percent reported
depression, forty-seven percent reported disability, and fifty-one percent
reported loneliness.” Throughout her video she tries to get people to
understand when using facts that life doesn’t get better right away because it
takes time to get there and possibly might not be happy. This video was
ineffective because it is all facts and her view point changes throughout the
video, but then goes back to saying bullying is wrong and it doesn’t get
better. “It Doesn’t Get Better” video shows that campaigning and giving young
people all this hope isn’t all happy endings and fairy tales.
“It
Doesn’t Get Better” YouTube video also uses reasoning as a rhetorical
technique. She tries to take it step by step how it takes time for it to get
better. She talks about how it doesn’t happen to everyone. She shows how
celebrities want young people to believe their lives will automatically get
better after high school, but that is not the case.
They Have The Same Purpose
They all want to point out everyone
is different and bullying them because they are different is wrong and America
should do something about it. Lady Gaga, Glee, and NOH8 campaign photo are
trying to point out to younger people that life isn’t always going to be so
hard and won’t have to deal with bullies. They want young people to believe
that life does get better. Likewise, the “It Doesn’t Get Better” video is
trying to tell young people that it doesn’t always get better because they
might have bullies wherever they go. The girl in the video wants young adults
to believe that it may not get better, but they can make change and try to make
it better themselves. She shows how people can go through mental and physical
problems because of bullying. Being gay or different should not be a reason to bully.
These
four sources all show bullying people who are different, especially gays, is
wrong. People are starting to notice how bullying in schools is wrong and
starting to speak out that it’s okay to be different. The NOH8 campaign photo
and Lady Gaga’s song shows how they are hoping their campaigns will make a
difference and make things better for those who are bullied. The Glee episode
is showing that bullying is wrong, but in time it does get better. Furthermore,
the “It Doesn’t Get Better” YouTube video shows that these campaigns shouldn’t
promise that it will get better right away because it takes time for things to
change to get better. In the song “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga shows if you are
different and were ever bullied just rejoice and love yourself for who you are. Work Cited
Bouska, Adam. NOH8. Photograph. Webshots.
NOH8 Campaign, 6 June 2012. Web. 1 October 2012.
“It (Doesn’t) Get Better.” YouTube. n.d. 22 February 2012. Web. October 2012.
On
My Way. Glee. Fox. WBNS-TV, Columbus. 21 February 2012. Television.
“Born This Way.” YouTube. n.d. 27 February 2011. Web. October 2012.
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