Do Words Hurt?
Bullying has been around for centuries, but just recently within the last 13 years the number of bully victims have increased rapidly. Bullying is no longer referred to as getting hurt physically, but rather verbally and emotionally by harsh words. This type of bullying is called cyber bullying, which “did not exist before 2000. Before that time, there was no need for the word to describe this type of bullying. In 2000 only about 40 percent of U.S. adults said they used the internet” (Hunter 8). Now almost 8 out of 10 people have access to a cell phone and due to this drastic ratio the need for bullying campaigns have increased. There needs to be a final stopping point.
Cyber bullying takes place in all ages from as young as elementary school all the way up to a work environment, which is why these images include all different ages being affected. The main focal point of the image is a little boy crying with harsh words wrapped around his neck. The tear rolling down the young boy’s cheek shows a sign of innocence and helplessness. This image alone appeals to all generations. It appeals to the older generations who may have kids and want to make sure their own are safe. It also appeals to children who have witness or been involved in bullying themselves. The images surrounding the little boy include signs of what could happen in later stages of bullying.
On the left of the little boy are two arms with cuts and harsh words carved into the skin. On the right shows an older female’s shadow with her head in her hands. These two images make strong arguments on how bullying affects everyone and in all different ways. The two images that are not the main focal point appeal to the older generations of teenagers and adults saying if you don’t stop bullying at a young age it may continue to escalade, which could result in hurting the ones you love. The audiences can vary greatly, which is the purpose of this advertisement. We don’t want to stop at just one person, but rather spread the word.
Ethos appeal is the strongest aspect used in this visual argument. There are three pictures each with very little words. The words play a big role in the images as they are used as an example of what people are being called. These words are a form of harassment and they are carved into someone’s skin, which shows the scars they face emotionally and physically. The words are also wrapped around a little boy’s throat, which symbolizes the struggle it is to break free from bullying and even with that being said the damage is still done if they break free or not. The message would not be as strong and creditable if it weren’t for the words in the image. It would just be a picture of a little boy crying for no reason or a girl bleeding from cuts with no cause behind it. I feel very strongly about bullying as I have had personal experiences with my younger sister. She has been a victim of bullying since the age of ten and has even seen a therapist for her suicidal thoughts. The sad truth is “bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University” (“Bullying and Suicide”). Some people take this topic lightly while I on the other hand can’t stress enough how important it really is.
Due to my strong personal opinion of bullying I used a very bold and straight forward typographic to get my point across. It has a question mark to make people think and the words “do words hurt” is in a bold font so people won’t over look the statement like bullying often times is. The entire background of the website is all black and the images are bordered in white. This gives the feel of a dark and unpleasant place, which is appropriate because bullying is not a warm and fuzzy topic. The thought that “nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying” is unreal and sends shivers through my body when thinking about it ("Bullying and Suicide"). The same feeling should occur when visiting my website and being presented with three saddening images. “Overall, suicide rate among teens has climbed in the past few years, from 6.3% in 2009 to 7.8% in 2011” (Neal). Its time more advertisements are made so bullying is stopped.
I used logos appeal to convince my audience that bullying is a very serious topic. The harsh words in the images do a great job representing what my argument is. It is presented in a clear matter with bold typography asking a question of “do words hurt” and showcasing images that answer the question for them. The color of the background is black, which also helps persuade them into thinking bullying is cruel and unacceptable. The placements of my pictures were not chosen at random. Instead, the main focal point is a young and innocent boy crying, which tugs at the audience’s heart. Then there are pictures that symbolize suicide and depression to make the audience feel like it is their job to help put a stop to this cruel event.
Pathos would be another strong aspect when it comes to my visual argument. Emotion is key with this argument in order for it to be most affective. The crying of the little boy, cuts and pain of someone’s arms, and a shadow of depression all play a role with the audience’s emotion. The goal of this advertisement is to have the audience so upset and worked up that they will share the saddening images they viewed. The bold font that says “Do Words Hurt?” is not suppose to be an actual question, but have the audience mad at the fact that I’m even asking, as if the images don’t say it all. Emotion is what will make the awareness of bullying spread and not just stop at the pictures I have posted.
The most challenging part of composing my argument was showing the devastating affect bullying could have on a person of any age. I wanted the audience to feel helpless and crushed when visiting my website. I wanted them to understand how powerful bullying really is and I think I did a great job finding pictures that represent several emotions into one. I also made sure to include multiple ages, genders, and race in my images to show that bullying can happen to anyone. The images are by far the most powerful piece in the website, but more specifically the middle image. The middle image is of a little boy no older than five who is completely stripped of his clothing, which shows that he has nowhere to hide. He has a small tear rolling down the side of his check and has harsh words shaped into a hand wrapped around his neck. This is the first thing the audience’s eyes go to when opening my website. It is unfortunately a shocking reality check for many people that say bullying is not a joke.
I made sure to make my website very creative with only having the images on the home page. This makes the audience think for themselves before reading the true story behind each and every one. When reading my peer reviews people seemed to agree with the style of my website. A few things I did have to revise was the essay portion. It was a little wordy in some places, which could become easily confusing for those who have never read about bullying before. When reading other people’s projects I realized that they had different introduction approaches. Personally, I believe my original introduction was very boring and did not grab the audience’s attention, but with a quick revision I managed to back a more pleasing beginning.
Time management was key when doing the entire visual argument website. It took a good day just to become familiar with creating a website alone. Then, I spent a good amount of time when searching for a meaningful topic and images that express how I feel towards the topic. I spent a few days creating my home page that only contains a few images. Grabbing the audience’s attention from the beginning and making them want to view more of the website was very important to me. The essay portion did not take as long as I thought it would, but I did go back through and make couple revisions after revising my peer reviews. All in all I’m very glad I started my project the week it was assigned. It made the experience stress-free and enjoyable when being able to take my time. I would not do anything differently if I had to do it all over again.
Works Cited
"Bullying and Suicide." Bullying Statistics. Stop Bullying, Harrassment, and Violence, n.d. Web. 18 Nov 2013. <http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-
and-suicide.html>.
Hunter, Nick. Cyber Bullying (hot topics). 1st. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2012. Print. Sampson, Rana, and First Sampson. Bullying In Schools. 12. 2008. Print.
Neal , Meghan. "1 in 12 teens have attempted suicide: report Read more:http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/1-12-teens-attempted-suicide- report-article-
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