New Domestic Violence PSA- "It Rarely Stops"
http://youtu.be/WL3rfk2iFww
This is a PSA commercial of domestic violence:
1.How does the director use you, the
viewer, to make a point?
2.Does the setting play a part in showing domestic violence as a private matter?
3.How does this commercial relate to our course theme?
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ReplyDeleteThis is a really sad commercial. It shows a woman, who is a victim of domestic violence. She stands in a bathroom and looks into a mirror. But the mirror in this case is the viewer or better to say the woman in the commercial is the mirrors picture and the viewer is the person, who looks into the mirror. Therefore, the author wants to open the eyes of other people who suffer from domestic violence and show them by using a shock-tactic how they look like or how domestic violence can end. This further indicates the main audience for the commercial: other victims of domestic violence.
ReplyDeleteThe setting plays a big role in this case. It is the bathroom, a really private place, which we normally only share with our closest people. In the commercial this seems to be the only place, where the woman can find some privacy. Maybe it also can be interpreted as a symbol for hope, because it is the only place where she can hide. But it is also a room of the truth, because in the mirror all the pain is shown.
This commercial relates to our course theme because it deals with something that happens at home. Many victims of domestic violence do not talk about it and keep it as a private secret. They mostly think that this is something that does not belong into the public. This is the point where the commercial tries to help: on one side it wants to open the victim's eyes and showing them by giving them a phone number that there are people in the public who can help. But it also wants to wake up the public that they should be aware that there is something like domestic violence and that a lot of people need help.
I am not sure if this commercial used the bathroom as a safe place. At the end of the video there is a slight hesitation where the woman looks back frightened. One can infer that the abuser is not stopping and is coming to abuse her more.
DeleteBut I do agree with you that the director used the viewer as some sort of escape. That the people that are watching the video and if they are having trouble to let them know there is help available.
Something else is you said that it shows domestic violence victims the end result of what could happen. I do not agree with this in that if a viewer happens to be a victim, they know what could happen or worse. I think that the reason they are showing this women is to show people that are being abused that they are not the only ones. If it was a woman that was putting on her makeup and covering her bruises that would not be as effective.
I have noticed that the title of this clip and the words shown on the screen, say " it rarely stops". It is the main line of this clip--after surviving from a domestic violence, the woman stood in front of the mirror to cover bruises on her face. She thought "Ok, everything is done, life is going to be better now", then her nose began bleeding. Then, she tried hard to stop the blood and tears to make herself look fine. she wanted to keep her suffering as a secret, endure it and move on. But she heard something happened in other room and she turned her head back. It may be another violence attack.
ReplyDeleteThis is to tell the audiance that domestic violence can never stop if you just bear it, especially to women. Sure, it is the domestic issue, but it is also the thing that women can tell, can talk, and really should to do so to ask for help. Hiding can only make things worse.
Yi, you pointed out a very important part of this video when you focus on the "it rarely stops" tagline. The director used this to show the audience what a vicious cycle domestic abuse actually is. I think this progression of injuries evoked an increasingly dramatic emotional response from the viewer and it really makes you wonder, "what's next for these victims?"
DeleteAlso to point out that the woman WANTED this to stay a private matter is important because at first she was applying makeup for a reason, but then as her injuries progressed, there was not anything she could do.
When the clip first starts, it is shocking and almost frightening because not only do you see the bruises and scars, but you can also see the quiet pain and deep fear in this woman’s eyes. Even though it is so simple, there is so much that can be taken away from this video. When you look into a mirror, it reveals everything; you cannot hide anything. Since the viewer is the mirror, the woman can’t hide anything from the viewer. When she starts putting on her make up, she obviously is not trying to cover it up for herself, but she wants to cover it up so no one sees it in public. On the opposite end, it seems as though she also wants someone to see through the make-up because she doesn’t know what to do; she is desperate. She is looking at the viewer/mirror in desperation, hoping someone will see.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Nadine, I think that the bathroom is a very private space. Yet with the door open in the back, it could be indicating that in this particular situation, she doesn’t have a safe place, or a private space. It may be saying that victims don’t have a safe place to go because in their private homes, they are being abused. Yet since it is such a private matter, victims don’t want public to try to invade their private homes because it could make matters worse or they are embarrassed.
I also thought it was interesting that bruises keep forming as the commercial goes on. These continually forming bruises show that “it rarely stops”: once it happens the first time, there most likely will be a second time.
I like how you point out, that the author used the bruises to show that "it rarely stops". I think the author also wants to show how hard it is to escape out of this situation. I further think that it is interesting that the author does not show any hope in the plot of the video. He/She shows nobody who comes in and helps or policemen who help. The video simply ends without an happy end. But then in contrast to this bad ending the phone number appears on the screen. By using this contrast the viewer notices this phone number as the light at the end of the tunnel (hope).
DeleteAlso the music is very supporting the message. In the song you can here "dreaming of mercy" at the end. This is probably one thought those victims have. They hope that it stops, but the video shows that it does not stop. The song also uses the word "alone". These victims of domestic violence feel like there are alone and they need to live with this. I only can repeat that this video is so sad, but sadly it is also true...
I agree with Lauren in the fact that the victim does not have a safe place to go because they are being abused in their home. Home is usually what people would associate most when it comes to privacy. And it is also the place that people would associate with safty. In the commercial the woman is being abused in her own home, taking what is suppose to be a safe place to be a dangerous place. But still, she stays in it because it is still a private space and what happens in there is still a private matter. Just like the other article, I think that if this were to happen in public the woman would not hide it as much because it is not in a private setting anymore making it not a private issue any longer.
DeleteNadine, thank you for pointing out the song because I mainly focused on what was happening to the woman's face while watching this video for the first time. After reading your comment, I looked up the song. The title of it is called Mercy Street and like you said, "dreaming of mercy" is one of the phrases from the lyrics, which is being repeated really often throughout the song. I believe this is the important message (I remember reading about the use of repetition in WA--often the purpose of it is to give readers the important/main message) that these victims are dreaming of mercy, which could mean public's help on their private matter.
DeleteI agree with Yi's view that this clip focuses on the endless domestic violence. At the beginning of the clip, you can see a wounded woman standing in front of the mirror and "mirror" is the audience or I could say "mirror” represents the public. She tries to make up herself and make her looks "good" in front of the public, but after she cleans her left eye bloodstain and right forehead bruise, the new bruise appears on her right eye and left forehead, something terrible is the nose bleeding. She tries to adjust her breath and calm down, but at last she seems to be scared and turns back to identify the coming danger. Even the clip stops after she turns back, we can also image that this woman will suffer from the domestic violence again.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly say this clip is about who invades whom, but I can aware that woman (privacy) tries to conceal from the audience (public) her private personal affairs (domestic violence).
As pretty much everyone has gotten at this video is giving the viewer a shocking inside view into the effects of domestic violence and that it "never stops". I thought it was interesting how the director used the action in to refer back to this idea that it never stops. At first the women had a few terrible bruises but no bloody nose. Then, after covering up one of the bruises, he nose starts to bleed insinuating that another attack occurred. And after examining he neck bruise she starts to bleed again inferring another attack. Finally the commercial ends with her turning and looking scared, which we all assume means her attacker is back. It just seemed overall interesting how the plot of the video progressed along with this idea that another attack will always come no matter how much you try to cover it up or think it wont happen again. I definitely agree with Nadine and Austin with the idea that the home is a private place so what happens in it people usually want to keep private but in the case of domestic violence it should be brought into the public's eye to stop it.
ReplyDeleteThis commercial is incredibly strong, emotionally, and filled with conviction on the directors part. As an audience, we are inclined to have a strong emotional response to the atrocious nature of what is being presented in this time lapse demonstrating domestic abuse. The director is relying upon our basic emotional instincts to feel a sense of helplessness for this woman who is being victimized and tortured by an abusive family member/lover. I think that this commercial is one of the best examples of a organization using pathos to ingrain its point into the mind of viewers; no matter their age, class, or race. Setting is key to letting the audience know that this is a private matter regarding domestic abuse because of the use of point of view and the fact that this is the woman's apartment/home. By the woman applying makeup to herself in front of the camera, you assume she is looking into a mirror of her bathroom. She, in a sense, is as concealed from the public as she could possibly be since she is in her home, which is the definitive place of privacy. This is a heartbreaking reference to our course theme, unfortunately, because its displays a incredibly brutal private matter such as domestic abuse. This is an intensely private thing that many people avoid making public because of its severity and emotional hurt.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out the us of pathos in this commercial. I definitely agree that this is probably the best example of using it to persuade/impact/affect the viewers' feelings towards the domestic violence victims. Like you said, no matter who the viewer is, his/her mind would be affected by the video, which is the whole point of the commercials--moving people's minds.
DeleteAs my peers have already mentioned, this Domestic Violence PSA is supposed to be used as a shock or scare tactic in order to target (mostly) teen girls who may be in some sort of an abusive relationship. The commercial uses the video to show different points in time from where the girl keeps coming back to the mirror in order to show her new wounds from the abuse.
ReplyDeleteI think the commercial does a good job of showing abuse as a private matter due to the girl trying to put makeup on in order to cover the terrible things that have happened to her. Also, as Lauren pointed out, she is trying to use makeup to cover up her bruises so that people in public don't know what is going on.
The most powerful point of this commercial I think is the ending where the girl quickly turns to her side as if someone were coming to attack her. This is probably the best scare tactic that is used because it just gives that little bit to push a viewer over the edge.
The point of the commercial is to help girls who may be in a violent relationship. It attempts to turn a private matter into a public matter by giving a telephone number in which girls or guys could call if they were in an abusive relationship and need help.
I agree with my classmates that this is an extremely powerful video. I think the author uses the viewer as the public. The public doesn't see this women being abused, they just see the after-effects. It really pulls you in because of the raw and pure emotion on the abused women's face. I think this commercial may be intended for us, the public. These women need our help. The women know how terrible the abuse is, they know "it rarely stops." The public needs to branch out to these women because they are scared. Most of these women do try to cover up their bruises and scars. I think this video is intended to show us that we need to look through that and see how these women are really struggling in the private.
ReplyDeleteInitially, the video is sad because you see a women who has obviously been beaten, and she is covering it up. As the video goes on, as she is getting progressively more hurt, she is looking into her mirror. Only it isn't a mirror, really she is looking right at the viewers of the PSA. I believe this commercial implemented this element to give the viewer the sense that the abuse is happening right before their eyes, but they can't do anything. A sort of sense of hopelessness, making this ad all the more powerful. Because this woman is in her bathroom, and based on the way she jumps when she hears a noise, it appears she is trying to keep her struggles private. Since this PSA is showing her in her private environment, it is putting this private situation in public space to call attention to it. Interestingly enough, they are invading public with private in order to help people, showing that a private on public invasion isn't always bad.
ReplyDeleteright, i agree with George's point that "a private on public invasion isn't always bad". sometimes "squiggly private truth" needs to be seen, be heard, or be known. That may be the only way to work it out. Nobody can always endure unfair treatments. Revealing disrepute privacy needs courage, though.
DeleteI agree with my classmates' opinions. Since the title of the video says that 'it rarely stops.' From the video, we can understand the meaning of the sentence easily. In the clip, the woman is trying to cover her injured area bu some makeup, which means she may just suffered from violence. She tries to cover it up by makeup may mean that she doesn't want to others know she has suffered such violence. It's a kind of privacy and she doesn't want it appear in the public, which I think it relates to our theme. In the end of the clip, the woman looks in the back. From her facial expression, she is scared. I guess she may find other people suffer from violence or someone finds her in the bathroom.
ReplyDeleteAs a viewer, mixed feelings aroused after I saw this video. It makes me feel unpleasant, sad and even angry. As most of my classmates have mentioned, this commercial is trying to get public’s attention to domestic violence which “rarely stops” . I agree with Brittany that these women need our help. The commercial pushes the audiences to observe the woman cover up bruises and scars. It is distressing observation in which new bruises come out and the woman can hide nothing. The fear and sadness in the woman’s eye indicate the fact she is the victim but can do nothing. The use of female figure as victim reveals a historical issue that women are always suffering from the past until now. Also the video intentionally induces us to think that why she tries to hide and cover her bruises. The purpose can be interpreted as evoking people’s consciousness of women having right to say no. However, they are unable to do so and are not strong enough in a private sense. The commercial wants to convey the public that they should involve and help because a lot of people need.
ReplyDeleteI would like to commend everyone for their great effort in analyzing the producers technique to convey this message about the detriments of domestic violence. Many of you have found the strategies used to portray this private issue trying to be displayed to the public. The privacy of the bathroom with the mirror being a portal to a concerned public audience is a great ploy that the producer used. The use of pathos is prevalent in this clip, and from the discussions above it can be said that it is very effective on the audience. Many of you have noticed that this applies to out course theme in such that it is privacy invading the public. That is great, and as such you have found that this isn't a case that is detrimental to others, but rather is a form of seeking solace. This is a terrible issue that many people face in the United States and this PSA is a great medium through which to muster support for the victims of domestic violence. Continue searching for more strategies in which the producer of this PSA tries to gather support, present it to the public, and combat this issue.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very intense and scary video that portrays domestic violence in its most raw form. The shock factor of the video shows how serious of a problem this really is and that it should be stopped. As the women put on her make up to cover up her wounds she's not only doing this for herself but also to hide what’s really happening to her from the public. She wants to keep the abuse to herself and leave it private but what the commercial really gets at is the fact that if this is happening to you, you need to call the helpline immediately.
ReplyDeleteThe main line of this video is "It rarely stops". As the video progress on the women does put on makeup to cover some of the cuts and bruises but as you watch a new wound appears on the forehead and her nose starts bleeding. This is to go with the line showing that all of it can be covered up but the abuse will continue on unless something is done about it. AT the very end the women frantically looks back over her shoulder if the abuser was coming after her again. This relates to the course theme in the ways previously mentioned about how this is a private matter that is made public with the continuous cuts and bruises. The setting of a bathroom is also something to consider in this because that's supposed to be like a sanctuary but the abuser can go anywhere in the house and the abuse will continue, ultimately not making anywhere private.
The director uses scare tactics and sympathy to make you more aware and open eyed to Domestic Violence. The setting of the bathroom definitely makes a point. As many of the other posts point out, the home, especially the bathroom is a very private place. A place where people an let everything go and feel as if they are not being watched. But in this case, it might be good for someone to be watching.
ReplyDeleteLike the most of the classmates have already said, I think the director uses the viewer as a mirror to the woman since she is staring at us and putting make-up on. Also, yes the setting definitely plays the part in showing domestic violence as a private matter because bathroom is a very private place. Like many of us already know, this kind of matter is hidden in our society because it’s a subject that the victims often find very hard to bring out to the public. People would never know that one is suffering from the domestic violence unless that one person comes out to public and tells us. In terms of private vs. public, I think we’re invading (not with bad intension) her privacy by watching her in her private place, analyzing what she is doing (covering up the wounds). I think the video is giving us the message that it is necessary for the public to make a move (by approaching them/it could mean invading their privacy since the victims want to keep the domestic violence as a secret (privacy)) in order to help them out.
ReplyDelete