Sarah Marrie

Bullying is a big issue that America is facing. Children and teens are being bullied for everything from not having the new clothes and technology, the way they talk, having a mental or physical handicap and liking someone of the same sex. Bullying can have many negative effects on the children and teens including suicide. One of the most important things for teen that are being bullied is support. Stopping bullying all together is going to take time, but in the mean time there can be support for those being bullied, and not accepted. Support can come from many different places including celebrities, well-known companies, and non-profit organizations. The support that the teens receive can be the difference between suicide and living.

            Macklemore is an up and coming artist. Macklemore raps and sings about things the typical rappers do not.  He has songs about getting and staying sober, celebrating who you are, and equal gay rights. Macklemore is different than many of the artists out today. He is willing to write about things others may not. His song “Same Love” is an example of how different his songs are.

 Macklemore uses pathos, allusion and anecdote in “Same Love” to get his point across. The pathos he uses is to help his audience feel just as strongly about equal rights as he does. He uses examples in his song of how people feel towards the gay community, “gay is synymous with the lesser” (Macklemore). Although Macklemore does not feel this way many people do. This line is an emotional line because people who are gay, or have a loved one or friend who is gay knows that they are not lesser of a person than anyone else is. Macklemore goes on to say “a world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are” (Macklemore). Too many teens commit suicide because of who they are. Macklemore is trying to bring this to everyone’s attention telling them how people feel so uncomfortable with who they are they feel their only option is to commit suicide. Throughout “Same Love” Macklemore uses stories to show why this topic is so important to him. “When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay ‘cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight” (Macklemore). Many people who are questioning who they are will be able to connect with Macklemore because although he was young, at one point he thought he was gay. Many more people will also be able to connect with him and this song because he says his uncle is gay. With the use of allusion, Macklemore is able to use his popularity to get his beliefs across, and able to connect to his audience. He also says, “bunch of stereotypes all in my head. I remember doing the math like, yeah, I’m good at little league” (Macklemore). Macklemore is showing that although there are stereotypes they are not true. There are so many stereotypes out there. Many of the stereotypes are hurtful, and not true. Just because you are a boy and like to paint, and draw does not mean you are gay, or just because you like to play football and you are a girl does not mean that you are gay. 

Many rappers now are not showing support for the gay community, they may even mock the gay community. Although the point of “Same Love” was to tell everyone how he believes in equal rights. And how he believes everyone is the same no matter who they love, that we all love the same. Through this song Macklemore was also able to show how he supports teens who are having a hard time accepting who they are. He was able to show everyone how he is different, and even he does not fit into the mold for what a rapper is. He leaves the reader feeling happy and hopeful, he says “we have to change us”(Macklemore). Macklemore is telling everyone that change is coming, it has started to happen every slowly, and hopefully soon everyone will be equal, there will be no more stereotypes, and bullying again the LGBT community can stop.

The It Gets Better Project is a program that was started by Dan Savage in 2010. Their purpose is to inspire hope for people facing bullying for being gay. Since the start there have been thousands of videos of people telling their own stories, and then encouraging the viewer that everything will get better. Both famous and normal people have taken part in It Gets Better.

One It Gets Better video is made by Pixar Animation Studios. To get their point across, this It Gets Better video uses pathos, anecdote, assertion, and allusion. Many of their animators are gay, and in the video. Both the pathos, and anecdote come in when the animators tell their own stories and experience with being bullied then finding hope. They talk about how they were bullied, and not accepted. One of the animators says, “all of my friends from my Catholic elementary school got to go to an all girls Catholic high school, but my mother wouldn’t let me go she wanted me to go to a public school so that I would be around boys” (Pixar Animator). This statement she said shows how people in the gay community are treated. They are looked at differently, and treated differently. If this woman’s mother was not accepting of her daughter then how is she and anyone else going to accept the fact that she is gay. The same woman then goes on to say how was planning on committing suicide, “I felt full of self hatred. Someone interrupted me from jumping off the roof of my dorm. I am so grateful to that person today because things got so much better, and I wouldn’t have known it if they didn’t stop me” (Pixar Animator). Everyone’s story is similar to this woman’s story. It can be very emotional watching the video, many of the people have thought about or attempted suicide. Many of them did not fit in with their friends and family. Another Pixar Animator says, “I got harassed verbally and physically” (Pixar Animator). Her story is just like so many other gay teens out there. The emotion that all of the animators have in the video really shows how bad the bullying situation is. Their emotion also helps the reader connect with what they went through, and what that was like for them. The assertion It Gets Better is trying to tell everyone is that it gets better. They know everything will get better, just wait. Do not make a permanent decision for something that will get better.

Along with Macklemore, the It Gets Better Project is trying to give support to people struggling with being bullied, and accepting who they are. Both Macklemore and It Gets Better use pathos to get their points across. But unlike Macklemore, It Gets Better uses more anecdotes. The whole It Gets Better video is many anecdotes put together. Where as Macklemore only uses a few personal stories in “Same Love.” Macklemore is saying he hopes eventually things will get better, and there will be equal rights. But It Gets Better is saying they know, from personal experience, everything will get better. They are making the accretion that everything gets better. It Gets Better is easier to relate to, as there are famous people many people look up to, and regular people who share their It Gets Better stories.

            The Trevor Project is a website that is aimed at stopping suicide within the gay community. The Trevor Project started in 1998. The Trevor Project is a website that offers both online and phone support for those contemplating suicide. There are people their willing to talk bullied teens through their problems at all hours of the day.

The Trevor Project uses logic, and anecdote. The Trevor Project uses the story of Trevor, a character in a movie. The name Trevor came from a movie in the 1980’s. Trevor was gay and he felt as though he did not fit in. He also felt as though he has no self-worth, and thought it would be best to end his life. Trevor ends up realizing that he does have self-worth, and decides it would be better if he did not kill himself. The Trevor Project uses Trevor’s character and situation to try to relate to teens feeling the same way a Trevor did. They show how Trevor was able to realize he had a purpose, and not kill himself hoping that someone will connect with Trevor and feel the same way. The Trevor Project offers support for the teens in many different ways. They have a hotline, which can anonymously be called at any time. They also offer an online chat, and a community support group. Their purpose is to end suicide among bullied teens, and help them realize they have a purpose in life.

The Trevor Project is similar to both Macklemore, and Pixar Animation’s Its Gets Better Project because all three of them are supporting those who feel as though they do not fit in or are being bullied. But The Trevor Project is very different from them as well. The Trevor Project offers actual advice, and there are people to call if help is needed. The Trevor Project uses logic, and almost no pathos to get their point across. But “Same Love” and It Gets Better both use pathos. The Trevor Project uses

            All three of these texts have the same common goal, helping to support those who are bullied and feel they do not fit in. Each of the texts accomplished this goal in their own way. Although all three of them have the same goal, two of them are more closely related. It Gets Better is telling teens that everything will get better, just wait. And at the end of the video it has all the information for The Trevor Project, and their hotline. Incase It Gets Better does not help the bullied teen feel better; they refer them to The Trevor Project for professional help.

            All three of these texts are different, and effective in their own way. Macklemore uses his popularity to his advantage. He tells a few smaller stories, but mostly he says how everyone is the same, and we should not let who we love define us. He tells his listeners that he supports gay marriage, equal right, and them no matter what. Macklemore uses a lot of emotion in his song to try to connect to the audience, and get them to be emotional when it comes to equal rights. It Gets Better tells more personal stories. Of how they were bullied and thought of suicide. But they ended up realizing that life does get better. And everything will work out in the end. The Trevor Project is a very important organization when it comes to the support of bullied teens. They are there any time of the day. They use the story of Trevor to try to connect to teens feeling the same way. Overall I feel as though It Gets Better sticks out as a more effective source. It Gets Better has both famous and non-famous people showing their support for teens. They have thousands of supports all over the world, and with social media today these videos are able to be shared, and viewed millions of times. Pixar is a company that teenager in America today have grown up with. We all have seen Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, and Toy Story growing up. Teens who are being bullied and feel as though they do not fit it may find it comforting that Pixar supports them, and is there for them. I think that Pixar also shows that yes, our employees may be gay but look how much they have accomplished in their life. They did not let being gay define who they are and their future. It Gets Better is able to reach more struggling teens and let them know they are not alone and not to give up.

          The most effective rhetorical technique used was pathos. Pathos is used in both “Same Love” and It Gets Better. When pathos is used the reader or listener of the text is able to connect to what the writer is saying. For teens being bullied and trying to find acceptance the use of pathos can help them feel more accepted. They will see that the artist is passionate about what they are saying. Also when someone issues a personal story the bullied teen can see that they went through a hard time too, and overcame it. 

Works Cited

Macklemore. “Same Love.” The Heist. Web. 4 Mar 2013

 The Trevor Project. 2010. Web. 4 Mar 2013

“Pixar Animations.” It Gets Better. YouTube. 2012. Web. 4 Mar 2014